Maldives

The Maldives is usually sold as one thing and is not. The atolls differ, the reefs differ, and a resort with a poor house reef will disappoint a snorkeller however good the villa is. We pick for the water first. Baa Atoll’s Hanifaru Bay draws feeding manta rays from June to November, sometimes a hundred at once. South Ari holds whale sharks all year. For travellers who prefer the older Maldives, a guesthouse on a local island in Dhaalu costs a fraction and comes with the call to prayer at five. Most people pair four or five nights here with India or Sri Lanka, which is what the flight schedule wants anyway.