Azalea

Diving Squad Rating:

 9.9/10

9.9 / 10

Azalea has more extra activities and onboard amenities than any other luxury Maldives liveaboard out there!

If you enjoy water-sports like wake-boarding and water-skiing, this is the only liveaboard that can arrange them for you alongside scuba diving.

There’s also activities like illuminated beach bbq’s and a glass bottom boat trip – plus massage treatment and a hot tub.

Great for: Central Routes, Water-Sports, Extra activities, Massage, Yoga, Hot-Tub, Land Excursions, Small Groups, Underwater Views from Cabin

Trip Lengths: 3 – 7 Nights.

Max Guest Capacity: 16

Operates: Year Round

The Route:

The Azalea runs just one route: the “Best of the Maldives” itinerary, which explores the central Maldives consisting of Male, Ari, Rasdhoo and Vaavu atolls:

Male atoll has a varied and coral covered underwater landscape of many rocky pinnacles, thilas, walls and caves as well as plenty of manta ray cleaning stations.

Vaavu atoll (aka Felidhe atoll) has strong currents and a lot of reef shark action. You can see sharks hunting huge schools of fish which makes for adrenaline soaked dives!

Ari atoll is considered the best place in the country to see a whale shark, whereas Rasdhoo atoll is the number one place to go for hammerhead shark encounters.

(Read our main article on Maldives Diving to find out more about each atoll and region).

Guests are required to have at least their open water cert and 50+ logged dives. They will need to be confident diving in medium currents as there is a lot of drift diving!

The “Best of the Maldives” generally lasts 7 nights, but sometimes just 3.

(If you want be on a luxury liveaboard that visits more off the beaten track regions, such as the south or north, check out Conte Max or Duke of York Some mid-price liveaboards and a few cheap ones also go there).

However! The Maldives central region is incredibly beautiful in itself and has many of the countries most popular dive sites.

The Liveaboard:

Azalea offers more extra activities than any other Maldives liveaboard, period.

Guests can partake in wakeboarding, water-skiing, jet-skiing, kayaking, yoga classes, massages, a glass bottom boat excursion and a beautifully illuminated BBQ beach party!

(The water-skiing, jet-skiing, wakeboarding, GB boat and massages do cost extra).

The Ocean View cabins offer Queen/King Size beds with the finest Egyptian linen and stunning ocean views, as well as a private bath.

The Superior cabins have twin beds, ensuite showers and are situated below deck, with underwater view windows. You may awaken to find a fish staring through at you!

For common areas, there’s a large indoor dining area located on the main deck which is connected to the huge al-fresco dining space.

On the upper deck is a large TV lounge and bar which leads through to a sleek and comfortable outdoor lounge with partial shading and plush furniture.

Above, lies the huge sundeck; complete with hot tub: an excellent place to soak in the incredible Maldives views.

The one thing Azalea doesn’t have is private balcony cabins – the only luxury Maldives liveabaord that does is Adora!

However Azalea has more extra activities than any other Maldives liveabaord – and is the only option to offer wakeboarding, water-sking and a glass bottom boat experience.

If you’re looking to have a memorable dive trip around one of the Maldive’s most popular regions, whilst enjoying a range of exciting activities, aboard a truly luxurious and superbly equipped yacht, Azalea is the luxury liveaboard for you!

Guest Reviews:

"This was my first liveaboard and I am sure it will be the best! Everything on the boat is very clean, many free public space for leisure times. Different tasty fruit drink served after each dive. High quality services delivered by professional crews. Food and the table set up are also awesome! In general, it was a fantastic experience with Azalea! I will definitely be on this boat again!'

"Manta diving on several dives Shrimp dinner. Seriously, best shrimp i ever had. Hot showers in our room Best crew we have been with, super helpful, over the top Wednesday Island dinner, killer food and company Some decent resort wrecks"

"I booked this trip via liveaboard.com and had only moderate expectations. This high-end Azalea liveaboard cruise has exceeded every expectation that I ever had! Everything from the operator and crew having such attention to detail made my dive vacation the best I have ever had. It was truly luxurious and everything the dive guides said we would see in the briefings, we saw, and more!!! They were so knowledgeable in taking us from site to site. The food was prepared fresh daily and was absolutely delicious. This being one of the more expensive liveaboards, it attracted a high quality group of divers which will be life-long friends to me. This experience was like no other and I will be repeating it, bringing some of my South Florida friends with me."

Naturalist guide
Free internet
Daily housekeeping
Camera station with separate rinse for u/w cameras
Western and local food with vegetarian options
Non-smoking rooms
Library
Warm water showers
Family cabins
Water golf
Beach games
Cocktails, fine wines, spirits and beer.
Yoga

Carl E from Canada said:

“The Azalea does things differently, they do their best to get you to popular dive sites when others are leaving so you can enjoy uninterrupted, uncrowded, and unspoiled dives.

The food was nothing short of fantastic always more than enough to go around and the chefs will gladly whip up a snack if you ever get hungry.

As for the boat; you cannot find another yacht in the Maldives offering the same comfort and quality finishings. Multiple outdoor lounge areas, watersports activities, and relaxing indoor furnishing offer more than enough personal space and activities that everyone can enjoy! I will most definitely find my way back onto the Azalea for another trip.

Thank you to all the crew for making it such a memorable experience!”

Similar Maldives Liveaboards:

Duke of York

Scubaspa Yang

Written by:

Alex

Scuba fanatic, travel ecstatic and loveable rogue. A rootless divemaster and perpetual adrenaline-junky, Alex holds the esteemed rank of Grand Admiral of the Diving Squad; a title he most nobly awarded to himself. A scuba-junky since 2014, he's dived much of the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Maldives, Red Sea, Ireland, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. It's hard to say where he'll pop up next for he never settles; forever a leaf on the wind... or perhaps a lone bubble blasted along on the current.