Maldives is a paradise on Earth, the smallest country on the Asian continent has more than one thousand islands. The white beaches surrounded by the immense ocean and beautiful palm trees are the perfect calm and refreshing environment to spend a few of the most memorable days of your life. One unforgettable experience we had to deeply experience this paradise was visiting the dunes of white sand surrounded by turquoise water, known as sandbanks. See here more details about this tour to dream about.

The best activity to do in Maldives: Visit a sandbank

Maldives is 99% water and just one percent land, located in the Indian Ocean the islands are stretched in 900 kilometers from north to south. And as anyone might expect, the thrills of the Islands lie on, under or over the surface of the water. Due to crystal clear water the visibility is up to 60 meters and diving, of course, was one the activities in the top of our list. Diving is an incredible way to see an entirely different world, and it’s one of those skills we learned to love after a few trips. 

Because Maldives is an archipelago, it’s no wonder the destination is famous for its world-class scuba diving, but even the snorkeling is enough to see beautiful corals and colorful fishes. The island has a tropical climate, and water temperatures range from 80 to 86 degrees year-round, making the diving good nearly any time of year. 

Another activity my husband and I had in our bucket lists was visiting a sandbank. All those crazy movies with couples trying to escape the sharks and surviving after encountering a beautiful island with a happy ending, reminds me of Maldives. Sandbanks are the nameless surprises which dot the landscape of the Maldivian archipelago. The ocean moves and recreates the sandbanks according to its will, making the banks an evolving organism of mystery and timeless beauty. 

Also known as sand strips or sandbars, sandbanks add an element of fun to any Maldives tour package. Most hotels offer private tours for couples to these unique places. This is a must have experience in Maldives.

Sandbank tours in Maldives

Most resorts prefer to offer their guests complete tranquility and due to the pandemic restrictions during our visit, we barely leave our resort. Even a tour to visit Male, the capital, required a test to return to the hotel. So, we bought this excursion directly from our resort. However, the agencies offer a variety of tours to the sandbanks. From a picnic basket where your personal butler serves you select delicacies under your beach umbrella, to the candlelight dinner date and overnight camping offered by a 5-star private island resort, couples can do everything they imagine to make this experience more enjoyable. Our Sandbank tour was not that fancy, but for two hours, we had one island exclusively for us. In addition to the sandbank, our package included snorkeling, where we could dive with a guide watching the beautiful corals around the island. Check here some exciting sandbank tours in Maldives.

Our Experience in a Sandbank in Maldives

We left the hotel around 11 am enjoying a boat ride to the private island. Arriving there, we saw the mix of most white sand and turquoise water we have ever seen. If there is a place called heaven somewhere, this is literally what I imagine as paradise. 

We spent around 1 hour enjoying the island and our guide helped with some fun pictures. The only thing you must worry about in these small islands, is the amount of small eggs from the birds, you have to be careful not to step on it, there are tons of them. So beautiful!

Collect moments, not things.

-Tamsin King.

From there, our guide moved the boat to a beautiful place where we could see colorful coral reefs. For snorkeling and scuba diving, the Maldives has some of the best diving sites in the world. The best season to dive is between the months of January and April, when the weather is dry, warm and visibility is best. Your GoPro will be very useful in a trip like this, you’ll be surprised watching the videos with the amount of sharks your eyes are not able to see! 😬

The boat was in the middle of nowhere and we were glad to have a professional with us. At Maldives you are almost guaranteed to see an abundance of baby reef sharks around the shallow waters of the lagoons and quite often find yourself swimming among them. I confess this was the scariest part of the trip for me. Happy to be there, but ready to be back in the sand! We had life jackets and did snorkeling only, and for sure, the resorts sent experts to guide you throughout the experience.

Few of the many aquatic creatures that you can spot during these activities are Dogtooth Tuna, Tuna, Trevally, Jacks, Sweetlips, Butterfly fish, Mating octopus, Wahoo, Fusiliers. Our guide helped us to take pictures of the lobsters. It was fun to see the big one in their natural habitat. 

After 1 hour enjoying the magical world with exquisite marine creatures and vegetation under the Indian Ocean, we came back to the hotel. The boat ride is also an amazing part of this tour. I loved the experience and I hope we can return one day to witness the various shades of the sky during the sunset followed by a romantic dinner.