The sleek and contemporary M/V Carpe Novo is a large 43m wooden monohull Maldives liveaboard. You can choose among a variety of 7 and 10 night itineraries in the northern, central and southern Maldivian atolls.
22 guests can socialise with their fellow divers or find a quiet spot at one of the seating options across the 3 upper decks. The air-conditioned saloon/ dining area is located on the main deck. Here you can take in a movie on the large flat screen TV, play your favourite playlist through the sound system, or take some time out and enjoy the idyllic island scenery from the curved seating area with panoramic views across the bow. There is an open-air sitting area just off the saloon, where you can sip a refreshing drink, with a gentle cruising breeze maintaining the perfect outdoor temperature. When the Carpe Novo liveaboard is at anchor, head to the stern of the liveaboard for a refreshing dip in the Indian Ocean off the swim platform. The swim platform features 2 freshwater showers and a bathroom for your comfort. The dedicated camera room, camera table and charging area are also on the main deck.
The upper deck offers spectacular views from the spacious Junior suite's picture windows. Waking up in a suite onboard the Carpe Novo, one would think that you were in a hotel, and not on a diving cruise liveaboard. Unusual for liveaboards, the Carpe Novo has 2 main deck suites allocated specifically for single occupancy. 6 Standard cabins offer two different bed options. All accommodations have private bathrooms, flat screen TVs and entertainment systems, safety deposit boxes and wireless internet.
Dining is a significant aspect of your liveaboard diving safari. Your buffet style meals are served in the open-air dining area that is aft on the upper deck of the Carpe Novo. The bar is conveniently located here to ensure that you are well hydrated during the day, and can share the delights of your day's sightings with fellow divers in the evenings over cocktails, beer or wine. When it’s time to ensure you return home with a golden hue, the sun deck provides the perfect combination of sun loungers and ample shaded seating.
The most important component of your cruise is the diving. Your Maldivian diving dreams come true from the Carpe Novo liveaboard’s 18m dhoni. Here your tanks are filled with air or complimentary nitrox for certified divers, all your equipment is stored, prepped and ready for your next dive. The dhoni also features 2 hot water showers and a bathroom. What more could you wish for, besides a second or third Maldivian diving safari vacation?
Maldives Central Atolls
Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, very popular, wreck diving
Dive sites and activities: North Male, Ari, Rasdhoo, South Male, Felidhoo and South Male atolls
Day 1
Guests will be picked up and transferred from Male International Airport to board the sleek 43 metre MV Carpe Novo liveaboard. You can enjoy the boat briefing, familiarise yourself with the boat and crew and take care of the initial paperwork. After that the fun can begin with a great check dive in the afternoon. Dinner will be served in the air-conditioned restaurant as the sun sets over the atoll chain. This is a good chance to get to know the crew and the other guests. You can enjoy a good first night's sleep before the liveaboard departs the harbour on the morning of the second day of the cruise.
Core Days
The Maldives are known for the stunning beaches and azure waters, but it's the life beneath the water's surface that will leave you speechless. This liveaboard will take you on the ‘Classic’ Central Atolls route to see amazing an abundance of marine life with 3 dives a day. Highlights here include tuna, jacks, reef sharks, mantas and eagle rays … you will love it. South Male features large schools of fish, big pelagics, plenty of soft corals and caves, as well as one very good wreck. Miyaru Faru is aptly named since ‘miyaru’ means shark in Dhivehi and not surprisingly this is where you can encounter the ‘big boys’. An overhang protects you from the current and provides an excellent viewing spot for the impressive parade of pelagics and patrolling grey reef sharks, or even the occasional hammerhead. The channels at Felidhoo Atoll are also a great place to find reef sharks and there is a spectacular wall showcasing caverns, swim-throughs and overhangs festooned with colourful soft corals and bushes of black corals. There is also a spectacular night dive with dozens of huge nurse sharks, sting rays and giant trevallies. Ari Atoll is famous for its mighty whale sharks which can be regularly seen in its marine protected areas. Hammerhead sharks, manta rays and other pelagic fish are also commonly encountered here.
Your meals onboard usually follow the same pattern during your Maldives diving cruise. A light pre-breakfast is available at 6 am before your first dive, and a cooked breakfast follows the 2nd dive. Dive 3 is followed by lunch at noon. In the afternoon a 4th dive is scheduled. Dinner is normally at around 19:30 hrs (or 20:00 hrs if a night dive is offered). Meals are steward-attended and buffet style in the upper deck's dedicated dining area. The cuisine features a range of different international dishes with some local specialties as well. Snacks, fruit and hot drinks are available throughout day. Alcoholic drinks are available from the well-stocked bar.
Please note there are only 2 dives on the last full day of the trip before Carpe Novo heads back to port.
Final Day
Arise to an early light breakfast before disembarking the boat for Male International Airport.
Maldives Central & Northern Atolls
Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving
Dive sites and activities: Baa, Raa, Ari, Rasdhoo, Felidhoo, North Male and South Male atolls
Day 1
Guests will be picked up from Male International Airport and board the sleek 43 metre MV Carpe Novo liveaboard. You can enjoy the boat briefing, familiarise yourself with the boat and crew and take care of the initial paperwork. After that the fun can begin with a great check dive in the afternoon. Dinner will be served in the air-conditioned restaurant as the sun sets over the atoll chain. This is a good chance to get to know the crew and the other guests. You can enjoy a good first night's sleep before the boat departs the harbour on the morning of the second day of the cruise.
Core Days
Get ready to enjoy an amazing cruise to the little visited northern atolls, including Baa Atoll. Baa was a declared UNESCO World Biosphere and its amazing reefs offer a wide variety of marine life, ranging from small fishes and turtles to the giant filter feeders - mantas and whale sharks. Walls and thilas full of hard and soft corals, plateaus, overhangs, pinnacles and swim-throughs are all yours to explore. Here you will snorkel in the world famous Hanifaru Bay, a marine protected area where hundreds of manta rays gather, from May to November, in a spectacular feeding frenzy. Watch them barrel roll as they scoop up huge mouthfuls of nourishing plankton. By regulation, only snorkeling is allowed here, but there are many fascinating dive sites nearby.
South Male features large schools of fish, big pelagics, plenty of soft corals and caves, as well as one very good wreck. Ari Atoll is famous for its mighty whale sharks which can be regularly seen in the marine protected areas. Hammerhead sharks at Rasdhoo Atoll, grey reef sharks and manta rays, tuna, jacks, and eagle rays, and other pelagic fish are also commonly encountered here. North Male features thilas, reefs and drop offs that are rich in nutrients that attract large pelagics like manta rays. Other highlights include Napoleon wrasse, hawksbill turtles, giant trevally, barracudas and other schools of large fish. Felidhoo Atoll will astonish you with its deep channels buzzing with reef sharks and rays, schools of trevallies and tuna in search of small prey, midnight snappers, kingfish, and an amazing night dive with dozens of huge nurse sharks, sting rays and giant trevally.
Your meals onboard usually follow the same pattern during your Maldives diving cruise. A light pre-breakfast is available at 6 am before your first dive, and a cooked breakfast follows the 2nd dive. Dive 3 is followed by lunch at noon. In the afternoon a 4th dive is scheduled. Dinner is normally at around 19:30 hrs (or 20:00 hrs if a night dive is offered). Meals are steward-attended and buffet style in the upper deck's dedicated dining area. The cuisine features a range of different international dishes with some local specialties as well. Snacks, fruit and hot drinks are available throughout day. Alcoholic drinks are available from the well-stocked bar.
Please note there are only 2 dives on the last full day of the trip before the liveaboard heads to port.
Final Day
Arise to an early light breakfast before disembarking the boat for Dharavandhoo Airport and your flight back to Male.
Please note that these cruises sometimes run in reverse or use different ports - check above for details.
Maldives Central, Southern & Deep South Atolls (13 Days / 12 Nights - 33 Dives)
Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: North Male, South Male, Felidhoo, Meemu, Thaa, Laamu, Huvadhoo, Fuvahmulah, Addu atolls
Day 1
Guests will be picked up from Male International Airport and board the sleek 43 metre MV Carpe Novo liveaboard. You can enjoy the boat briefing, familiarise yourself with the boat and crew and take care of the initial paperwork. After that the fun can begin with a great check dive in the afternoon. Dinner will be served in the air-conditioned restaurant as the sun sets over the atoll chain. This is a good chance to get to know the crew and the other guests. You can enjoy a good first night's sleep before the liveaboard departs the harbour on the morning of the second day of the cruise.
Core Days
The Maldives are known for the stunning beaches and azure waters, but it's the life beneath the water's surface that will leave you speechless. Carpe Novo will take you on this amazing route through the Central Atolls to the Deep South to see amazing an abundance of marine life with 3 dives a day … you will love it. In the Deep South, known as 'The Galapagos of the Maldives', you could meet up to 10 different species of shark. You will explore the best channel dives in Huvadhoo, with hammerhead sharks and big schools of reef sharks. Try one of the most incredible drift dives in the archipelago at Fuvahmulah. Surrounded by depths in the middle of the Indian Ocean, this island offers unique conditions to encounter species like tiger sharks, oceanic manta rays, threshers, grey reef sharks, mola mola, silkies, and other big fish. Felidhoo Atoll will challenge you with its deep channels and strong currents that attract different types of sharks, schools of trevallies and tuna in search of small prey, and an amazing nurse shark dive. Meemu Atoll is where you will have the best chance to see whale sharks feeding on plankton, while Thaa Atoll is all about drift dives in the company of whitetip reef sharks and eagle rays. The abundance of marine life, almost untouched by humans, will leave you speechless.
Your meals onboard usually follow the same pattern during your Maldives diving cruise. A light pre-breakfast is available at 6 am before your first dive, and a cooked breakfast follows the 2nd dive. Dive 3 is followed by lunch at noon. In the afternoon a 4th dive is scheduled. Dinner is normally at around 19:30 hrs (or 20:00 hrs if a night dive is offered). Meals are steward-attended and buffet style in the upper deck's dedicated dining area. The cuisine features a range of different international dishes with some local specialties as well. Snacks, fruit and hot drinks are available throughout day. Alcoholic drinks are available from the well-stocked bar.
Please note there are only 2 dives on the last full day of the trip before the liveaboard heads to port.
Day 13
Arise to an early light breakfast before disembarking the boat for Gan International Airport. Airport.
Please note that these trips sometimes run in reverse or use differing ports - check above for details.
Ari Atoll (8 Days / 7 Nights - 18 Dives)
Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, very popular, wreck diving
Dive sites and activities: North and South Ari Atoll, Rasdhoo Atoll
Day 1
Guests will be picked up and transferred from Male International Airport to board the sleek 43 metre MV Carpe Novo liveaboard. You can enjoy the boat briefing, familiarise yourself with the boat and crew and take care of the initial paperwork. After that the fun can begin with a great check dive in the afternoon. Dinner will be served in the air-conditioned restaurant as the sun sets over the atoll chain. This is a good chance to get to know the crew and the other guests. You can enjoy a good first night's sleep before the liveaboard departs the harbour on the morning of the second day of the cruise.
Core Days
The Maldives are known for the stunning beaches and azure waters, but it's the life beneath the water's surface that will leave you speechless. Ari Atoll is considered one of the best dive locations in the Maldives and is famous for its mighty whale sharks which can be regularly seen in the marine protected areas. Hammerhead sharks at Rasdhoo Atoll, and other pelagic fish are also commonly encountered here. A highlight you won't want to miss is a dive at Maaya Thila which is home to grey reef sharks and manta rays, tuna, jacks, turtles, and eagle rays. There many pinnacles where you can find some of the mesmerising macro life living on these reefs, such as leaffish and ghost pipefish. There may also be a dive at Fish Head, one of the best in the region for sheer fish biomass.
Your meals onboard usually follow the same pattern during your Maldives diving cruise. A light pre-breakfast is available at 6 am before your first dive, and a cooked breakfast follows the 2nd dive. Dive 3 is followed by lunch at noon. In the afternoon a 4th dive is scheduled. Dinner is normally at around 19:30 hrs (or 20:00 hrs if a night dive is offered). Meals are steward-attended and buffet style in the upper deck's dedicated dining area. The cuisine features a range of different international dishes with some local specialties as well. Snacks, fruit and hot drinks are available throughout day. Alcoholic drinks are available from the well-stocked bar.
Please note there are only 2 dives on the last full day of the trip before the yacht heads back to port.
Day 8
Arise to an early light breakfast before disembarking the boat for Male International Airport.
Maldives Central & Southern Atolls
Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving
Dive sites and activities: North Male, Ari, Rasdhoo, Felidhoo, Meemu, Thaa, South Male atolls
Day 1
Guests picked up from Male International Airport will board the modern Carpe Novo liveaboard. A welcome briefing will help you on familiarising with the boat and its skilled crew. There will be some paperwork to fill in and sign, but also a great check dive in the afternoon. Dinner will be served at around sunset, inside the air-conditioned restaurant where you will get to know the crew and the other guests. The boat leaves the harbour early on the following morning.
Core Days
The Maldives are known for the stunning beaches and azure waters, but it's the life beneath the water's surface that will leave you speechless. Carpe Novo will take you to the Central and Southern Atolls to see amazing an abundance of marine life with 3 dives a day. Highlights here include tuna, jacks, reef sharks, mantas and eagle rays … you will love it. South Male features large schools of fish, big pelagics, plenty of soft corals and caves, as well as one very good wreck. Miyaru Faru is aptly named since ‘miyaru’ means shark in Dhivehi and not surprisingly this is where you can encounter the ‘big boys’. An overhang protects you from the current and provides an excellent viewing spot for the impressive parade of pelagics and patrolling grey reef sharks, or even the occasional hammerhead. The channels at Felidhoo Atoll are also a great place to find reef sharks and there is a spectacular wall showcasing caverns, swim-throughs and overhangs festooned with colourful soft corals and bushes of black corals. There is also a spectacular night dive with dozens of huge nurse sharks, sting rays and giant trevallies. Ari Atoll is famous for its mighty whale sharks which can be regularly seen in its marine protected areas. Hammerhead sharks, manta rays and other pelagic fish are also commonly encountered here. Meemu atoll is where you will have another great chance to see whale sharks and mantas feeding on plankton, while Thaa Atoll is all about drift dives in the company of whitetip reef sharks and eagle rays.
Please note that on the last full day of the trip there will be only 2 dives before the liveaboard travels back to port.
Final Day
An early light breakfast followed by a departure from the boat for your final destination: Male International Airport.
Please note that these cruises use different ports - check above for details.
Maldives Northern Atolls (Express) (6 Days / 5 Nights - 12 Dives)
Trip highlights: whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics
Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, wall diving
Dive sites and activities: Baa, Raa, North Male atolls
Day 1
The adventure begins at Male International Airport. Here, you’ll be greeted and transferred to the Carpe Novo liveaboard, where the crew will be ready to welcome you aboard. After settling into your cabin, you’ll gather in the saloon for a welcome briefing. This is a chance to meet your fellow divers, run through the safety procedures, and get to know the layout of your home for the next week. With the formalities complete, you can set up your scuba gear, taking your time to ensure everything is exactly as you like it.
Later in the afternoon, slip into the water for a check dive. This initial dip is less about exploration and more being a chance to confirm your buoyancy is spot-on and that all your equipment is working perfectly in the warm Maldivian waters. As dusk settles over the harbour, dinner is served. Then, as the lights of Male fade astern, the engines hum to life, and we set a course north towards the rich atolls that await.
Core Days
You wake to the gentle motion of the boat as it cruises through the night. This is the real charm of the Carpe Novo liveaboard: you cover ground while you sleep, waking each day in a new dive zone, ready to drop in before the day boats arrive. The first destination is Baa Atoll, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. The underwater geography here is varied, offering a mix of dive profiles. From approximately May to November, the plankton-rich currents draw manta rays into the atoll’s inner channels. While scuba diving is not permitted inside the famous Hanifaru Bay itself, the Carpe Novo anchors at nearby sites where you can observe these graceful rays cleaning or cruising the reef edges. Outside of this season, the atoll’s character shifts. The thilas and kandus become arenas for grey reef sharks, inquisitive Napoleon wrasse, and the occasional solitary eagle ray gliding over the reef crests.
Pushing further north into Raa Atoll, the pace changes. The topography here feels less visited, with submerged pinnacles and overhangs where white tip reef sharks rest in the shade. You might hover over expansive plate coral gardens while schools of fusiliers flit past, their movement catching the light. The guides, familiar with these waters, keep an eye on current and visibility, positioning the boat where conditions are most promising for encounters with the larger pelagics that patrol these nutrient-rich channels.
On the final full day, as we begin the journey back towards Male, the schedule adjusts to 2 dives instead of 3. This creates a more relaxed rhythm, giving you time to enjoy a slow breakfast or simply sit on the deck and watch the atolls slide by. It also allows the Carpe Novo liveaboard to reposition overnight, ensuring you wake up close to the airport without any rush in the morning.
Day 6
An early breakfast is served in Dharavandhoo at the designated drop-off point. After a final coffee and a farewell to the crew, you’ll disembark for your transfer back to Male International Airport.
Please note: Male and Dharavandhoo are both used as alternate ports. Your specific ports will be confirmed with full details prior to travel.
[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].
