Read my review of the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard and find out if it is the perfect trip for your next vacation. I did a one-week spa and diving cruise on this splendid boat and share plenty of useful tips to dive the Maldives. I have done over 20 liveaboards all over the world and wanted to see if diving it is worth scuba diving in the Maldives given all the recent reports of coral bleaching. I was impressed and here is my report.
Content of this article:
Flying to Male and entering the Maldives during Covid
Getting to Male is very straightforward, with plenty of flights from Emirates, Ethihad, and European airlines. I flew with Emirates. They have three or four flights a day to Male, and you can read my review of Emirates Business class here.
The passport control looked a bit chaotic, with hundreds of people queuing and people diverted left and right. However, it went surprisingly fast. The whole queue took me less than 15 minutes. I had done my PCR test before leaving and had all my paperwork for entering the Maldives ( I also needed the Maldives health form and the booking confirmation from each boat or resort I was going to stay at during my time in the Maldives).
Scubaspa Ying liveaboard
Tip: Pick the queueing lane on the right side. It goes a bit faster as it gets diverted in the other lanes.
I was met by a representative from Scubaspa liveaboard, and within one hour of landing, I was onboard their Dhoni ( the smaller tender boat that they use for diving) and on my way to the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard. They took my luggage from the airport, and I found it directly in my cabin.
The Scubaspa Ying boat was stationed 10 minutes navigation away from the airport.
Tip: If you forgot anything, there is a small pharmacy on the left of the arrival desk that sells food, beauty products, and electronic items.
I was greeted with a fresh coconut from Max, the cruise director. After signing the diving papers, we were quickly shown to our cabins.
The whole transfer to the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard was seamless, which was good because I had spent the night in planes and the airport and was ready to start my relaxing holiday in the Maldives.
Review of the Covid procedures on Scubaspa Ying
I now add a review of the COVID procedures to all my liveaboard reviews as some people are still hesitant to travel and want to make sure that they will be safe during their liveaboards in the Maldives.
The Maldives is a good place to travel during Covid, as most resorts and activities are on isolated islands and outdoor. Every guest entering the Maldives or coming onboard Scubaspa Ying liveaboard must do a PCR Covid test.
Upon boarding the Scubaspa Ying, our luggage got disinfected. Scubaspa Ying also offered to launder our travel clothes on the first day free of charge to ensure they were Covid free. It was the first time I saw that on a boat, and I found it a great idea. The whole crew is fully vaccinated. Hand sanitizer bottles have been placed throughout the boat. Masks are optional when onboard. All the common areas are outdoors, and all the guests during my trip chose not to wear a mask.
ScubaSpa Ying liveaboard can help you arrange a PCR test onboard if you need it for your onward travel. It is very straightforward, as a nurse comes on the boat, and the cost is 120 USD.
Overall, those procedures made me feel safe. I did get a test after the cruise, as it is required to board the next boat, and I am happy to report that it came out negative.
Review of the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard in the Maldives
The first impression when getting onboard is wow! This boat is huge, and it looks marvelous. It has been carefully designed and decorated. A lot of attention has been given to the color scheme and the lighting to create a cozy atmosphere.
The middle deck on Scubaspa
The middle deck is the central point of the boat. It hosts the restaurant, the bar, and the suites.
The restaurant is large and breezy. There is a large ” communal table” in the center surrounded by smaller two or four-people tables. The communal table is a great way to meet new people if you are traveling alone or just feel like being social. The restaurant has plenty of panoramic windows that allowed us to see the Maldives landscape while cruising.
This area has a huge TV screen and was also used for the dive briefing.
The is no camera station on the Scubaspa liveaboard, but one of the tables had been assigned as a camera table with many charging plugs.
Behind the restaurant is the bar. The bar is surrounded by an outdoor seating area with plenty of comfortable seats, and it was the most popular place on the boat to hang out. It was always busy with people relaxing and socializing in between dives. The Scubaspa Ying organized a happy hour every day at 6 pm when they offered a 20 percent discount on selected cocktails, and most people would meet at the bar and share stories from the day they’d just had.
The lower deck has the standard cabins where I was staying.
The Upper deck on Scubaspa liveaboard Maldives
The upper deck has another outdoor shaded area with lounge chairs and sofas. This was my favorite area of the boat, and I spent hours lounging there.
The Spa is huge and gorgeous. There is also a little gym with rowers, weights, and other equipment for fitness aficionados.
Still on the upper deck is a front terrace with lounge chairs that was a great place to chill during navigations and see the tropical atolls passing by while cruising in the Maldives.
The Sun deck on Scubaspa Ying liveaboard in the Maldives
The sun deck is huge and has plenty of lounge chairs. I loved watching the sunset and stargazing from that deck.
There is a jacuzzi at the front of the boat if you need extra relaxation in between dives. The Jacuzzi is not heated but had a wonderful sunset view
Tip: Beware of the sun if you stay on the sun deck. It can be dangerous. It gets breezy when navigating, and you might not feel how hot it is. Wear sunscreen.
With four lounging and relaxation areas (three of them with shaded space), there were plenty of options for everyone onboard, and the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard never felt crowded.
There were no mosquitos on board as we were always at sea. The motors are located at the back of the boat and are relatively quiet, even during navigation.
The Scubaspa boat is very well laid out. Navigation through the boat is easy with wide stairs and large hallways.
Unlike other liveaboards around the world, Maldives diving liveaboards do not have a dive deck. Instead, they are accompanied by a smaller boat ( the dhoni) that follows us around and where we store diving gear.
Tip: Getting from the main boat to the Dhoni ( tender boat) could be challenging. It was done from the upper deck, and there was a gap of 50 centimeters to 1 meter between the two. I would, therefore, not recommend it to people with mobility issues who want to get on and off the boat often, but if you plan to do the spa package and stay onboard, you should be fine. If you have mobility issues, book one of the suites on the middle deck, and it will reduce the need to go up and down the stairs)
The Scubaspa Ying liveaboard is a splendid boat and sometimes feels more like being in a luxury resort than on a liveaboard. I really like its open-air concept, where most of the common areas are open and well-ventilated. It makes you feel much closer to the sea.
Review of the cabin on Scubaspa Ying boat
I stayed in one of the lower category cabins called Seastar.
I was positively surprised by the size of the cabin and the bathroom.
My cabin (number 6) was located at the front of the boat. I usually try to avoid cabins located at the front of the boat as they are the more choppy. However, the sea in the Maldives is very quiet, so the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard barely moved during our cruise. Also worth noting, boats in the Maldives avoid night navigation, as it can be dangerous with all the atolls. All the nights were, therefore, quiet and peaceful.
Tip: Try to keep the AC or ventilation on. As the porthole windows can’t be opened, a moldy smell would appear if I turned it off (it happens on most boats if you stay on the lower deck due to the humidity).
The cabin is pleasantly decorated in a light cream color and natural wood. It has a large bed and two porthole windows. There is plenty of storage space and a small desk. A safety box and bathrobes are provided.
AC is individually adjustable in the cabin.
The room steward would top-up the water bottles every day, so the room was always filled with drinking water.
The bathroom is large for a liveaboard and also had a porthole window. It has a shower. The hot water pressure was good and consistent. I liked that it had a normal toilet, and unlike other boats, you could throw toilet paper in the toilet.
Tip: Shampoo and shower gel are provided, but you might want to bring a conditioner to protect your hair from the seawater.
Review of the diving organization on Scubaspa Ying
The Scubaspa Ying liveaboard organizes three dives a day. All the guests are assigned to a diving group for the week, and groups size range from four to five divers. Our group had both experienced and inexperienced divers.
A few guests were doing their open water diving, but those were assigned to their own group. The Scuba Spa is a great boat for new divers. They offer a whole range of classes beyond open water certification.
The maximum dive time is 60 minutes (or 50 bars). The Maldivian government mandates that dives cant be deeper than 30 meters so you will find those rules on all the boats in the Maldives.
Nitrox is available for 100 USD per week, which is useful as we would spend a lot of time diving at 20 or 25 meters.
Like all scubadiving in the Maldives, diving is done from the Dhoni, a smaller boat that accompanies the Scubaspa liveaboard. The journey on the Dhoni to the dive sites was usually short. It just gave us time to gear up.
Tip: There is no drinking water on the Dhoni, so if you want to hydrate before or after the dive, bring your bottle with you.
There were four divemasters during our trip. Dive guides are, in my opinion, the most important people working on a liveaboard, as they can make the difference between having a good dive and having a great dive.
I was diving with Najee, and he was outstanding. Besides being very friendly, he knew the dive sites very well and could bring us to the spots with the most action. He is a good spotter and was able to find us a few cool-looking nudibranchs. One of the persons in our group was less experienced, and he always made sure she felt safe and comfortable.
Dive briefing on the The Scubaspa Ying liveaboard
The dive briefings were professional, with a map of the dive site, a dive plan, and instructions on the current we were likely to encounter. The diving was overall well-organized. They would announce the three dive sites for the next day, and you could choose which dives you wanted to do. You can see that this boat has been running for a while, and all the staff know what to do.
Review of the Spa on the Scubaspa liveaboard
The Spa onboard Scubaspa Ying was just wow!
It occupies most of the top deck. The treatment rooms look as good as some of the best spas in the world. From changing area to oversized stones bathtub, they have it covered. All of the six spa rooms have a beautiful sea view. There is something special about having a massage while the boat is cruising. I think the waves add to the general relaxation.
The three spa therapists were outstanding. They have years of experience and golden hands. I mostly live in Bali, where I do at least one massage every week. Yet, I was impressed by the quality of the spa on the Scubaspa Ying Liveaboard.
I had chosen the Scuba and Spa package, so I had four treatments included. If you chose the full diving package, you could still use the spa for a fee. Treatments ranged from 60 to ~150 USD, and I highly recommend them! You will feel refreshed and rejuvenated.
The Scubaspa Ying Spa is the best spa I have seen on any liveaboards so far, so don’t miss it!
Review of the Food on the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard
The food was varied and very good. Scubaspa pays a lot of attention to its food. They had no less than four cooks preparing a feast for us every day.
All the meals are served buffet-style and have numerous options, including for vegetarians.
Breakfast would be served at 8 am. It included bread, croissants, cereals, and fruit. The hot breakfast option included four or five dishes that changed every day. We even got to try some Maldivian food for breakfast.
There was also a live cooking station for eggs, and the chef was happy to prepare your eggs any style you wanted them.
Every day, they would prepare a freshly blended juice, and those were delicious.
Lunch was served around 12:30 after the second dive. We could choose from four to five dishes. Fruits would be available for dessert.
Dinner was at 19:15. Every night, they organized a theme night. From French night to Italian night or Maldivian night, every day was different.
The tacos during the Mexican night were mouthwatering.
The desserts were very good. The bananas flambee were a big hit with everyone! The Pavlova cake was one of the best I have ever had (and I lived in Australia for one year )
The beach barbeque on a deserted island was a special meal in a lovely setting.
Soft drinks and alcohol are not included in the Scubaspa cruise price. The wine selection was impressive, and they could make pretty much any cocktail. They have two full-time professionals bartenders.Soft drinks were about 5 USD and beers 6-10 USD.
We were given a refillable drinking water bottle. A water station is located behind the restaurants where you can refill your bottle with drinking water.
Who are the passengers on Scubaspa Ying?
The Scubaspa spa Ying attracts a whole range of passengers looking for more than just a diving trip. Guests were mostly from Europe, the US, and Russia.
The Scubaspa Ying is a great option for families or groups with divers and non-divers looking to scubadive in the Maldives. Non-divers can enjoy the spa. The boat is spacious and has plenty of sunbeds to hang out during the day.
I did the “Maldives central itinerary,” and it offered outstanding diving. I would however not recommend it to snorkelers. Most of the best dive sites in the central Maldives were submerged pinnacles or channels and, therefore, unsuitable for snorkeling. In addition, I had the impression that the corals at shallow depth had been much more affected by El Nino and were mostly dead and broken. The diving was however splendid!
ScubaSpa Ying is a great boat for women traveling alone. The spa tends to attract a more feminine clientele than traditional liveaboards. The Scubaspa liveaboard is also a great option for beginner divers. They can learn and do their dive certification onboard. The divemasters were very attentive and patient with new divers.
Review on the internet on a Maldive diving cruise
The Scubaspa Ying liveaboard is one of the few Maldives liveaboards that provides internet onboard. Each cabin includes a package of 2 Gb of data. If you need more data, it is available for 10 USD per GB or 100 USD for an unlimited data package.
The internet from the boat was good and working 95 percent of the time. Only a few moments during navigation in between atolls was it not connecting. It was generally good enough to do video calls.
As I was traveling in the Maldives for three weeks, I also bought a sim card with a data package. This is easy to do as soon as you exit Male Airport. There are two providers with shops to the right of the airport exit door. You can buy a sim card valid for one month with 17 GB of data for 30 USD. I bought the Ooredoo sim card, and it worked very well during the whole trip to the central islands.
I was very impressed with the quality of the 4G signal in the Maldives.
Review of the crew on Scubaspa Ying
Expect to be pampered while cruising the Maldives on Scubaspa Ying.
During our cruise, there was over 25 staff for 17 guests! The boat ran like clockwork, and all the staff was very friendly. Special mention to Jim, the waiter, who was always so welcoming. The Bar crew was also awesome.
Review of the itinerary on the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard to “Central Maldives.”
Our itinerary covered the Male, Maafushi, Rashdoo, and Ari Atolls. It is a standard itinerary for scubadiving that visits the best dive sites in the central Maldives.
On Scubaspa boats, you can choose to dive, do a spa, or a combo of both. This is ideal for people who want to do more than diving during their holiday or groups of divers and non-divers traveling together.
The diving package offers three dives a day for a total of 17 dives during the trip. The Spa package includes 8 treatments at the spa. You can also mix and match with the Scuba Spa package that includes six dives and four spa treatments.
I chose the scuba spa package and, therefore, only dived one time per day. I could choose which dive to do. This created a bit of anxiety as I was afraid to miss a really good dive! I thought that the spa package would include Yoga, but it was not really the case. There was only one 25-minute class offered during the whole week, so that was a bit disappointing.
Tip: If you are into diving, the six dives included in the mixed package dive and spa will not be enough. There are so many good dive sites that you will want to do more. I recommend booking the full dive package and doing spa treatments as an add-on. Spa treatments are available for around 120 USD per treatment.
Day 1: Arrival day and discovering the boat
After arriving on the boat, we had the whole day free to relax, unpack, and set up our diving gear. The boat stayed moored the whole afternoon and didn’t depart until the next day.
Day 2: Stingray ballet diving and relaxation
I had a lazy morning as I skipped the first dive at 6:15 am.
My first dive in the Maldives was Stingray city ( or the fish factory) in Male Atoll, near the chicken island. This dive site is very near the airport, so we didn’t even move the boat. It is located next to a fish factory. The dead fish waste that they throw back in the water attracts an incredible amount of fish. I don’t think I have ever seen so many stingrays and moray eels in a single dive before.
The site goes from 5 to 20 meters and is a sandy bottom interspersed with coral bommies. The corals are not fantastic. but this is not why you are here Most stingrays gather near the broken jetty. Some holes in the coral had up to six moray eels! (Honeycombs, black moray eels,…). As there was a bit of current, we used our reef hooks to stay in place.
Around the middle of the dive, the factory started to throw dead fishes in the water, and the frenzy began! Tens of stingrays raced to feed on them, creating the most graceful ballet. They were accompanied by schools of fusiliers, jacks, and surgeonfishes. We didn’t know where to look anymore, and I got brushed over by a few rays.
It was an absolutely magical dive.
We then cruised towards Rashdoo island. It took us four hours of navigation to get there. The sea was super quiet, and we could barely feel the boat moving.
I was quite surprised, as August is the rainy season in the Maldives, and the sea can be windy and choppy. No complaints here. We spent a lazy afternoon relaxing on the deck and saw a few dolphins jumping out of the water.
I enjoyed my first spa treatment after lunch. I chose the Swedish massage, and it was awesome. I really needed it, as my body was still tense from the overnight flight to get to the Maldives.
Day 3: Diving Maaya Thila, our first Pinnacle
We moved to the North Ari island near the Thila resort. Maaya Thila dive site is a pinnacle that starts at five meters surrounded by a sandy bottom at 35 meters. It is a relatively small area, and it is possible to go around if there is not too much current. The place was extremely fishy. We saw so many white-tip sharks that after a while, we just stopped pointing at them. A few tunas and giant trevallies were hunting the many fusiliers. There is an overhang at 19 meters.
We saw two octopuses hiding in the reef.
Towards the end of the dive, we hooked in a shallower area that was full of sharks and small little red anthias fishes.
It was a fantastic dive. The corals were pretty damaged and broken, but the number of fish was phenomenal.
I spent the afternoon relaxing on the deck. Around 4 pm, we arrived at a perfect-looking deserted island surrounded by a reef.
We did yoga on the beach. It was a short 25-minute session that would fit beginners. It was focused on breathing, relaxation, and meditation. What a magical place to do yoga by the sound of the gently rolling waves.
Tip: While there are no mosquitos on the Scubaspa boat, there were many on the beach before sunset. Make sure you put on your insect repellent if you get out of the boat.
The Scubaspa team prepared an island barbecue for us.
Their bar has to enter the award for best bar in the world!
We all gathered for sunset on the island and watched the sun go down with cocktails. One of the barmen did a cocktail-making demo including a fire show!
The barbecue was delicious, with grilled fish, prawns, meat….
The island barbecue was followed by a dancing party on the boat that left a few people unable to do the 6:30 am dive the next day . What a magical evening!
Day 4: Shark action at Fishhead dive site
We are now moving towards the west-central side of Ari Atoll. Fishhead dive site is a pinnacle dive. It is a small dive site of 110 meters, so it is easy to go all around the pinnacle.
It starts at 8 meters and goes down to 30-40 meters The south side has many overhangs and caves that are full of glassfish. We hooked up in the current at 20 meters and waited for the sharks to appear. There were so many of them! Mostly white tips but also a few huge grey reefs.
One of the sharks had a hook in its mouth with a 5-meter fishing line behind him. He was clearly bothered and swam closer to us. I gave my dive knife to our divemaster, and he was able to cut and remove the line. The Fishhead dive site is one of the most famous dive sites in the Maldives due to its huge number of fish.
We saw a group of giant trevallies, jackfish, and dogtooth tunas hunting fusiliers. It was such a spectacle to see this huge school of fish moving quickly from one side to the other. The reef was again quite damaged, but we found a few nudibranchs and nemos. A turtle was grazing in the shallow area.
The current was quite mild when we dove it. This site must be fantastic if you happen to catch it in full current during a feeding frenzy!
Today was the first rainy day of the trip. It rained most of the morning but started clearing up in the afternoon. It has to be said that the Maldives looks much better under the sun.
Day 5: Looking for whale sharks
We moved to the Maamigili region in South Ari Atoll to look for whale sharks. The weather was not with us as it was grey and rainy all day. The Donhi boat had a technical issue, but the Scubaspa team was very quick to recover, and they managed to rent a local boat at very short notice.
We went looking for whale sharks in the rain. We were told we had a 50 percent chance of finding them as the area where they hang out is pretty big. If you have never swum with a whale shark, you absolutely have to try. It is a phenomenal experience to swim with those gentle giant fishes. They can be up to 10 meters and 20,000 kilos!
I have had the chance to swim with them before in Kaimana, Indonesia, and the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. It is always a very special moment, and I was looking forward to meeting and dive with the Maldives whale sharks.
Tip: The Maldives whale shark search lasts 2.5 hours, so make sure you bring water with you.
The Maldives has set rules for the whale sharks encounter, which is necessary as there can be up to 100 people in the water snorkeling with whale sharks. The boat has to stay at least 10 meters away from the whale shark, and you need to stay at least three meters from the whale shark. It is, of course, forbidden to touch the whale shark or to use flash photography. Unfortunately, I did not see the whale sharks on that day. However, I went back to the same area while staying at the Maafushivaru resort, and we found two whale sharks. You can read my review of the Maafushivaru resort here.
An island beach cocktail was planned for the afternoon, but that got canceled because of the bad weather so instead, we played board games at the bar. It was the perfect excuse to go and do another great massage at the spa. This time, I tried the Balinese massage.
Day 6: A freaky night dive with too many sharks
The first morning dive was the Kudarah Tilah dive site. This dive site is a pinnacle that starts around 15 meters, and it was my favorite dive of the trip.
There is an arch at 24 meters and scenic overhangs on the side. The corals and soft corals are amongst the best I have seen in the Maldives. Our guide even showed us the magic coral that changes color when you get close to it!
But what makes this site famous is the huge amount of fish in attendance. I don’t think I have ever seen so many blue-striped yellow snappers on a single dive site. Those schools of thousands of yellow fishes were so impressive. But they were not the only ones. Schools of fusiliers and Anthias joined the dance. A manta also made an appearance. Even with poor visibility and cloudy condition, this dive site was amazing, so I can’t even imagine what it would look like in good condition.
After that dive, the sun came back. A few dolphins made their presence known during lunch. I had a lazy afternoon enjoying a massage at the Scubaspa spa and relaxing on the sundeck. We could see turtles and sharks jumping out of the water just outside the boat.
We did a night dive on the Alimathaa house reef dive site looking for nurse sharks.
Alimathaa house reef is a shallow reef with a sandy bottom that goes down to 25 meters. It is a very easy dive as you just need to wait in a sandy area for the sharks to show up. And show up they did. There were over 50 nurse sharks and a few blacktip sharks. They were also many divers, with four boats in attendance. But the sharks didn’t seem bothered in the least. They came so close to us that they were at certain times touching us! Freaky! Stingrays and jacks also joining the frenzy.
This is the site with the most aggregation of nurse sharks in the country, and it should not be missed if you dive the Maldives. It is a unique experience!
Day 7: More sharks and mantas
Today was already our last day of diving. We made our way back to the South Male Atoll.
It was a tough decision as I had only one dive left and had to choose between a dive on a cool pinnacle with fish action or a dive on a manta cleaning station. I chose the pinnacle dive.
The Kandhooma Thila dive site is a pinnacle located inside a channel that can encounter strong currents. It is teardrop-shaped and about 200 meters long. Kandhooma Thila starts at 16 meters and goes down to 40 meters. There is a dropoff with overheads on the northern side filled with soft corals. The visibility was not great, but the fish life was incredible. We saw over 30 grey reef sharks and a few blacktip sharks. A huge turtle hung out with us for a while. Napoleon, giant trevally, and the colorful sweetlips were patrolling the area. We also found an octopus that came out of its hole to greet us. I was told that there were nudis on the reef, but to be honest, I didn’t have time to look. The reef was not the most colorful, but this dive site is amazing for its amount of pelagics. You can see that they are used to divers as they came very close to us.
I went kayaking around the boat while the others did the manta dive. They saw four mantas at the end of their dive and got to snorkel with them. Nice way to finish the Scubaspa dive trip 🙂
We spent the afternoon cruising back to Male. I had a last massage to ensure I was fully relaxed before leaving the boat.
We arrived in Male for sunset and were treated to a cocktail party on the top deck. There was a festive spirit as all the passengers gathered to watch the sun go down.
Day 8: Disembarkation
It was already time to get off the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard. Departure was scheduled at 8:45 right after breakfast.
We took the diving Dhoni boat back to the airport. The boat got hit by a wave, and I got totally soaked. I was very fortunate that my body was protecting my computer and camera bag, so they didn’t get wet.
Tip: Book your onward flight around lunchtime. There are two morning dives planned on day 7 so that you follow the recommended guidelines of no flying for 24 hours after the last dive. If you book a later flight, you will have to spend the day in Male or the airport, and it is not that exciting. If you want to book a day room to spend the afternoon, plan ahead. They were all booked during my trip and overpriced.
In conclusion of my review of Scubaspa liveaboard in the Maldives
The Scubaspa Ying liveaboard has an incredible value proposition for people who want to spa and dive. It has the nicest spa I have seen on a dive liveaboard. The boat is beautiful, the crew friendly and enthusiastic, and the dives are great if you want to see sharks and fish action.
It is one of the best luxury dive boats in the Maldives. I highly recommend the Scubaspa Ying liveaboard and hope to cruise with them again.
To book Scubaspa Ying, check their website here.
If you are planning a trip to the Maldives, check out my review of the Blueforce liveaboard. If you want to spend a few more days in the Maldives after your diving trip, check this luxury travel review of the Maafushivaru resort.