Explore Noonu Atoll

Nestled in the Northern Atolls of the Maldives, Noonu Atoll, or South Miladhunmadulu, offers a captivating underwater adventure for divers of all skill levels. Comprising 71 islands with only 13 inhabited, it is a serene escape where divers can explore a variety of enchanting dive sites, including vibrant reefs, dynamic channels, and the mysterious thilas—submerged pinnacles teeming with marine life. Whether embarking on a shore dive, setting out on a boat, or joining a liveaboard expedition, the atoll promises a diverse array of experiences.

One of the atoll's highlights is Salim’s Lot, situated off the edge of Maafaru Island. This site descends from 8 meters/26 feet to 30 meters/98 feet, accommodating both novice and advanced divers. The waters of Noonu Atoll are bustling with life; divers can expect encounters with turtles, colorful reef fish, and even the majestic manta rays during the season. The atoll's remote beauty and the convenience of Maafaru's airport make accessing this diving paradise seamless, captivating the hearts of those seeking both relaxation and exploration beneath the waves.

For an unforgettable dive holiday, Noonu Atoll stands out with its blend of tranquility, accessibility, and abundant marine diversity. The unique seasonal influx of whale sharks adds an element of surprise and delight, ensuring that every dive is memorable. Embrace the allure of the Maldives by exploring the underwater marvels of Noonu Atoll, where each dive unravels a new chapter of the ocean’s fascinating story.

Courses and Events

Scuba Skills Update

It is easy for dive skills to get rusty and to lose confidence when you have not dived for a while. With the SSI Scuba Skills Update, we will get you back in the water and diving with ease in no time. This scuba refresher course allows you to review and practice scuba skills you learned in your Open Water Diver program, under the guidance of an SSI Professional. This is a great course to take just before a dive holiday, so you spend less time worrying about your skills and more time admiring the marine life.If you are a non-certified Open Water Diver student, a Scuba Skills Update is ideal for practicing your dive skills before your open water training dives. With no fixed course duration, you can take your time and focus on the skills you need help with.
On request

Open Water Diver

This globally recognized certification program is the best way to begin your lifelong adventures as a certified scuba diver. Personalized training is combined with in-water practice sessions to ensure you have the skills and experience required to become truly comfortable underwater. You will earn the SSI Open Water Diver certification.
On request

Scuba Diver

Using online learning, confined and open water dives, the SSI Scuba Diver program is a perfect foundation to become a confident and safe diver. You will learn all you need to scuba dive in open water up to 12 meters deep with an SSI Professional. In this program, you will complete almost half of the Open Water Diver course training and can upgrade your certification easily. You just need to complete the remaining academic and confined water sessions, plus two open water training dives.
On request

Advanced Open Water Diver

If you cannot decide which specialty programs are the best choice for you, join the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver program! You will try Deep Diving and Navigation plus a variety of 3 more specialty areas of choice before committing to full specialty training. It is a great way to experience what advanced diver training is all about and how valuable it can be to your diving adventures.During the Advanced Open Water Diver Program, you will experience 5 different specialties by completing one open water training dive per specialty after a comprehensive briefing with your SSI Instructor.By taking this program you will have total freedom to explore. You can complete the full Specialty trainings any time in the future and credit your Advanced Open Water Diver training towards them.
On request

Assistant Instructor

The Assistant Instructor rating is the next step after becoming a Divemaster along the scuba instructor pathway. It allows you to collect valuable teaching experience, practice briefings, teach academics, and conduct in-water training. If you want to further your career as a dive professional, you can finish the Instructor Training Course, pass the Instructor Evaluation, and become an Open Water Diving Instructor.

01 March +4 More
EUR 2,689.92
USD 3,200.00

Open Water Instructor (Instructor Training Course ITC)

To join the SSI Instructor Training Course (ITC), you must be a certified Divemaster or hold an equivalent qualification. This comprehensive program is part of SSI’s 2-Step Instructor Training Approach. It begins with the Instructor Training Course combination, supported by immersive digital learning. After successfully completing the ITC, you will attend the Instructor Evaluation (IE) to become an SSI Open Water Instructor. As a certified instructor, you’ll be able to independently teach key SSI programs such as Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Enriched Air Nitrox, Diver Stress & Rescue, and Dive Guide. Need more time or want to gain hands-on experience before becoming a full instructor? You can take the Assistant Instructor portion as a standalone step. This allows you to assist with real student courses, build valuable teaching experience, and then complete the Instructor Evaluation at your own pace. The possibilities are endless – start your scuba diving instructor career now!

06 March +7 More
EUR 2,689.92
USD 3,200.00

Dive Activity

Diving in Noonu Atoll

The dive sites around the Gilis are all reef dives and offer stunning hard and soft corals. Gorgonian sea fans, whip corals and anemones stud the reefs hiding a multitude of macro creatures. Stunning rock formations like overhangs, small swim throughs and caves will keep all levels of divers happy.

The channels of the atoll (also known as kandus) offer drift diving. The nature of the current depends on the weather and tidal conditions. Diving at the wrong moment can turn a gentle drift dive into ripping currents, so it is vital to always follow dive guide who knows these sites well.

As with several atolls, dive centres are minimal in Noonu Atoll. However, there are several dive resorts on offer. These are all at the top end of the price range though, so if you plan on doing a lot of diving a liveaboard may be a more economical choice.

As with most atolls in the Maldives, a liveaboard remains an excellent way to see the best dive sites the atoll has to offer. The picturesque surroundings mean the miles will drift by and you can concentrate on seeing all that underwater Noonu has to offer. If you are interested in doing dive courses, check with your resort beforehand as most liveaboards require a certain number of dives or a minimum certification level before you can join them.

Top Wildlife Sightings in Noonu Atoll

Noonu atoll diving is characterised by its awesome marine life encounters. All of the dive sites give the opportunity to see the array of reef fish on offer. Snapper and fusiliers swarm out in the blue while bigger fish like sharks, trevally and tuna hunt. Turtles are frequent visitors to the atoll and you can see up to five species of turtle, though green and hawksbill are the most common.

Peering deeper into the reef offer rich rewards too. The usual suspects of lobster and moray eels lurk in the crevasses, and more camouflaged scorpion fish and frog fish hide among the corals. For the nudibranch hunters, these reefs offer unparalleled variety and will keep you occupied for hours - or until the end of your dive!

Though manta rays are not as common as they are at some of the other atolls, they can be glimpsed out in the blue from the eastern edges of the atoll. A “Noonu Atoll” special is its resident pod of spinner dolphins. If you’re lucky, you will glimpse them out in the blue when diving. If you’re not lucky enough to see that, they will hopefully come and play in your diveboat’s slipstream.

Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 200

Alamy-WaterFrame

Moray Eel
532 Sightings
J
34
F
50
M
28
A
71
M
29
J
38
J
59
A
70
S
37
O
47
N
34
D
35

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 25

iStock/Juliosanjuan

Eagle Ray
433 Sightings
J
41
F
35
M
35
A
39
M
35
J
4
J
38
A
23
S
48
O
50
N
49
D
36
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography

Green Turtle
246 Sightings
J
24
F
37
M
18
A
39
M
3
J
10
J
40
A
1
S
24
O
11
N
19
D
20
Shutterstock-Ed Jenkins

Hawksbill Turtle
164 Sightings
J
16
F
4
M
18
A
27
M
18
J
2
J
20
A
16
S
12
O
22
N
6
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 600

iStock/ultramarinfoto

Wrasse
119 Sightings
J
2
F
21
M
5
A
2
M
20
J
9
J
32
A
16
S
8
O
3
N
0
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 27

iStock-Global_Pics

Barracuda
38 Sightings
J
6
F
4
M
0
A
2
M
2
J
1
J
7
A
0
S
1
O
5
N
7
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 12

iStock/cinoby

Lionfish
555 Sightings
J
38
F
52
M
38
A
53
M
39
J
37
J
66
A
84
S
48
O
49
N
29
D
22

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 28

Udo Kefrig

Clownfish
545 Sightings
J
6
F
35
M
41
A
61
M
50
J
42
J
74
A
83
S
45
O
42
N
35
D
31

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 100

iStock-burnsboxco

Parrotfish
536 Sightings
J
11
F
20
M
42
A
54
M
48
J
49
J
77
A
94
S
51
O
46
N
21
D
23

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 130

Shutterstock_Krzysztof Odziomek

Butterfly Fish
513 Sightings
J
24
F
32
M
38
A
39
M
41
J
44
J
73
A
88
S
44
O
35
N
33
D
22
Show More

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 90

Shutterstock-Rich Carey

Angelfish
484 Sightings
J
4
F
31
M
39
A
35
M
34
J
45
J
73
A
86
S
51
O
33
N
31
D
22

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 85

iStock-mirecca

Surgeonfish
412 Sightings
J
12
F
14
M
19
A
35
M
40
J
43
J
62
A
81
S
34
O
40
N
18
D
14

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 40

iStock-wrangel

Triggerfish
407 Sightings
J
14
F
24
M
29
A
28
M
32
J
45
J
68
A
58
S
45
O
35
N
7
D
22
iStock-June Jacobsen

Whitetip Reef Shark
384 Sightings
J
59
F
26
M
21
A
42
M
11
J
22
J
51
A
26
S
37
O
37
N
27
D
25

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 150

Shutterstock-aquapix

Sweetlips and Grunts
374 Sightings
J
20
F
19
M
28
A
33
M
31
J
33
J
62
A
66
S
36
O
27
N
7
D
12

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 80

iStock/Extreme-Photographer

Stingrays
364 Sightings
J
37
F
49
M
38
A
38
M
15
J
8
J
30
A
36
S
34
O
31
N
19
D
29

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 8

Alamy-Reinhard Dirscherl

Bannerfish
359 Sightings
J
4
F
25
M
22
A
33
M
22
J
39
J
68
A
58
S
30
O
23
N
18
D
17
AdobeStock-Nikolai Sorokin

Blacktip Reef Shark
289 Sightings
J
20
F
21
M
6
A
47
M
12
J
17
J
40
A
32
S
34
O
33
N
12
D
15

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 110

iStock-Rainer von Brandis

Snapper
252 Sightings
J
12
F
5
M
9
A
13
M
28
J
30
J
53
A
57
S
26
O
4
N
14
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 40

iStock-Hoatzinexp

Jackfish
213 Sightings
J
5
F
8
M
9
A
3
M
16
J
27
J
52
A
36
S
26
O
16
N
12
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 60

iStock-Global_Pics

Soldierfish
199 Sightings
J
2
F
3
M
3
A
2
M
28
J
25
J
50
A
58
S
17
O
4
N
6
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 90

Shutterstock-Levent Konuk

Goatfish
199 Sightings
J
3
F
3
M
3
A
6
M
19
J
26
J
47
A
48
S
29
O
11
N
3
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 350

Alamy-Andre Seal

Damselfish
164 Sightings
J
0
F
2
M
2
A
2
M
19
J
23
J
33
A
44
S
21
O
10
N
5
D
3

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 130

AdobeStock-JirinaVFR

Pufferfish
161 Sightings
J
2
F
8
M
24
A
15
M
15
J
25
J
12
A
26
S
22
O
6
N
4
D
2
AdobeStock-Marc Henauer

Grey Reef Shark
144 Sightings
J
16
F
20
M
16
A
14
M
2
J
9
J
11
A
5
S
13
O
16
N
15
D
7

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 2

AdobeStock-hakbak

Nurse Shark
143 Sightings
J
9
F
15
M
3
A
26
M
4
J
5
J
21
A
15
S
19
O
11
N
7
D
8

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 60

iStock-Global_Pics

Squirrelfish
125 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
4
A
3
M
25
J
17
J
28
A
32
S
11
O
4
N
0
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 25

AdobeStock_Vladimir Wrangel

Boxfish
125 Sightings
J
2
F
14
M
2
A
10
M
12
J
1
J
23
A
33
S
17
O
8
N
0
D
3
AdobeStock_cherylvb

Garibaldi Damselfish
71 Sightings
J
0
F
2
M
0
A
0
M
2
J
3
J
14
A
30
S
20
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 15

Shutterstock-Al McGlashan

Tuna
58 Sightings
J
4
F
5
M
3
A
0
M
3
J
3
J
6
A
17
S
9
O
0
N
7
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 80

iStock-bearacreative

Emperor
45 Sightings
J
0
F
2
M
2
A
0
M
1
J
3
J
32
A
4
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
1

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 250

iStock-Miguel-Angelo-Silva.

Scorpionfish
45 Sightings
J
0
F
7
M
3
A
2
M
3
J
4
J
7
A
11
S
0
O
0
N
3
D
5

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 15

Shutterstock-Hans Gert Broeder

Garfish
33 Sightings
J
0
F
0
M
0
A
0
M
17
J
4
J
7
A
5
S
0
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 55

k

Lobster
31 Sightings
J
0
F
1
M
0
A
4
M
1
J
1
J
0
A
11
S
3
O
2
N
3
D
5

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 250

Shutterstock-Henry_and_Laura_Whittaker

Grouper/Basslets
31 Sightings
J
6
F
6
M
2
A
6
M
1
J
9
J
0
A
0
S
1
O
0
N
0
D
0

The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.

Total number of species: 3400

Shutterstock-Shane Gross

Shrimp
30 Sightings
J
3
F
5
M
0
A
3
M
1
J
4
J
5
A
0
S
9
O
0
N
0
D
0

The best Months to dive in Noonu Atoll

Diving in Noonu Atoll is accessible nearly all year round. Due to its location in the Northern Atolls, it enjoys a drier climate than the Southern Atolls, though it does have a monsoon season from June to November.

The dry season is usually January-April this time is also high season. The winds are low, the temperatures are constant and high and the seas are millpond calm. As a result it is a joy to dive at this time because the visibility is so good. There may be the occasional rain shower but it is likely you won’t see one if you go at this time.

The rainy season still offers a great opportunity for diving. Despite the increased rain, there is still an average of 7 hours of sunshine a day. The rates of some resorts decrease during these months due to reduced demand. The winds pick up which does make the sea a little choppier and bring in plankton blooms, reducing visibility at times. The benefit of this, however, is that it attracts ocean giants like mantas and whale sharks to feast on the plankton. The only caveat is that diving in June is sometimes suspended due to rough seas, so be sure to check before you book with your dive centre.

Dive Centers

Sun Diving Irufushi

Sun Siyam Irufushi, 2036 Noonu Atoll, MDV

Sun Diving @ Siyam World

Siyam World, 20066 Male, MDV

Dive Sites

Sun Diving Ptv. Ltd., 2036 Noonu Atoll

Saeedh Ge'Hadhiyaa (★4.3)

The inside wall of this channel rises up from a depth of 24 meters to an incredible top reef completely covered with hard corals.The overhangs in the wall are filled up with black corals and a number of other animals like the giant winged pearl oyster.
Sun Diving Ptv. Ltd., 2036 Noonu Atoll

Minaavaru Faru (★4.3)

The East side of the Island Minaavaru has a beautiful reef dropping from 2 meters until 18 meters of depth.An easy dive, even when currents appear. Between varieties of hard corals, cream colored ’loped pore corals’ are scattered around the reef
Sun Diving Ptv. Ltd., 2036 Noonu Atoll

Kaalhu Maizaan (★4.2)

The maximum depth is 18 meters with a steep reef, small over hangs at different depths with colorful decorated roofs and purple whip corals are mixed with small gorgonian and spiral black corals on the bottom.
Mares

Than'buru Canyon (★4.5)

The swim through experience 40 min by boat. Max Depth:30m / Average depth: 17m. Canyons and swim through for all levels of divers, it doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an experienced diver. The reef drops down to 30 meters and is full of small crevices and openings.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Snow White (★4.1)

The reef is gently sloping downwards to a sandy bottom at a depth of 18 meters, which makes it easy for beginners to make their first open water dives and divers conducting their check dive.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Toshi Caves (★4.4)

Kudey Kandu is known for its unique dive site, featuring the Toshi Caves, which can be described as a rounded and expansive corner. Despite the strong currents in the area, this dive offers an easy channel experience. The reef drops steeply from the surface to a depth of 30 meters, and the varied shapes and sizes.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Dhigu Faru (★4.3)

A long reef extends from northwest to southeast, starting at around 6 meters deep and sloping down to 24 meters before transitioning to a sandy bottom.
Mares, Predrag Vuckovic

Irufushi House Reef (★4.2)

The reef has a gentle slope that descends to a sandy bottom at a depth of 18 meters. This depth makes it ideal for beginners making their first open water dives, as well as for divers conducting their check dives.
Mares, Predrag Vuckovic

Vavathi Kurolhi / Christmas Tree (★4.5)

This dive site is one of the best and most precious thilas / pinnacles in Noonu atoll. It gets its name from the fact that the pinnacles of the reef are stacked to resemble a christmas tree.
Aqualung

Orimas Thila (★4.6)

Orimas Thila is a deep thila dive site with the top of the thila at approx. 20m and is known as shark point due to the sharks that hang around in this area. If the current is strong you may need to hook into or hold onto the rocks to stay up current with the fish life.