Tips
Best time to visit the Maldives for snorkeling
- dry: January to March
- transition: December and April
- wet: mid-May to November
- experienced: April 2025 and August 2026
In short According to the Maldives weather service, it is only dry from January to March. Visits to Hanifaru Bay can be booked from May to early December.
Translated from the German original.
While snorkeling I estimated visibility, water temperature and depth, just as I experienced them on the days I was there. On dives the dive computer measured depth and duration, and values with a named source show what is usual there, not how it was for me.
In mid-April 2025 the sun shone on Rasdhoo almost every day, and the sea was calm. On many travel sites, April still counts as dry season. The Maldives weather service sees it differently: for it, April is already transition. There, it is only dry from January to March.
If you want a lot of sun, go between January and March. The big manta gatherings in Hanifaru Bay only happen in the wet half of the year. I have been to the Maldives twice. That was in mid-April 2025 and then in August 2026.
At a glance
| Dry | January to March (Maldives weather service) |
| Transition | December and April |
| Wet | Mid-May to November |
| Air | on average 25 to 32 °C, warmest in March, April and until mid-May |
| Hanifaru Bay | visits bookable from May 1 to December 1, 2026 (Ministry of Environment) |
| Water when we were there | April 29 °C, August 28–29 °C, both estimated; a wetsuit was never an issue |
| Our trips | Mid-April 2025 and August 2026 |
Contents
- At a glance
- What is the best month to go to the Maldives?
- Hanifaru Bay: when can you see the mantas?
- What changes at the reef in the wet season?
- Is the Maldives cheaper in the wet season?
- Do you need a wetsuit in the Maldives?
- Maldives in December and at Christmas: what to expect
- My conclusion
- Frequently asked questions
- Where the information comes from
- Further reading
What is the best month to go to the Maldives?
According to the weather service, the sun shines longest from January to March, 10 to 11 hours a day, in the other months 7 to 9. The tourism site Visit Maldives counts the mostly sunny northeast monsoon from November to April and the southwest monsoon from May to October. The weather service counts differently:
| Months | According to the weather service | Sun per day | Hanifaru Bay |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March | dry, northeast monsoon | 10 to 11 hours | not bookable |
| April | transition | 7 to 9 hours | not bookable |
| May | wet from mid-May | 7 to 9 hours | bookable from May 1 |
| June to November | wet, southwest monsoon | 7 to 9 hours | bookable |
| December | transition | 7 to 9 hours | no longer bookable from December 1 |
For us, the sun still shone almost all the time in mid-April 2025, and that made the visibility better than on the August trip.
Where you go matters too. According to the weather service, about 2,218 millimeters of rain fall in the south each year, in the middle of the country about 1,966 and in the north about 1,779. So the north is a little drier.
Hanifaru Bay: when can you see the mantas?
For the bay in Baa Atoll, Visit Maldives gives May to December. According to the Ministry of Environment, visits in 2026 can be booked from May 1 to December 1. Rangers keep watch in the bay, and only a limited number of snorkelers may go in at the same time. According to a study from 2021, reef mantas are found in the atolls all year. With the monsoon, though, they switch sides of the atolls, because the wind drives their food. Between December and March, according to the study, they tend to visit the west sides, in the rest of the year the east sides.
In August 2026 we went from Maalhos to Hanifaru Bay, and that afternoon it rained. At least fifty mantas were around us, and some swam so close to me that I pulled up my legs. The bay was full of plankton.
I tell the whole afternoon in the report from Hanifaru Bay. In April 2025 we saw a single manta on a boat trip off Rasdhoo.
What changes at the reef in the wet season?
On the house reef of Rasdhoo I estimated the visibility in April at about twenty-five meters. On the August mornings it was no worse there. Over the whole August trip, though, the water was murkier, because the sky was more often cloudy and rain and wind made the sea rougher.
On the beach of Dhigurah the waves on the day we arrived were so strong that we did not even go into the water with our son. The next day we snorkeled there.
Is the Maldives cheaper in the wet season?
In my experience, prices are much lower then. Our places to stay on the inhabited islands cost about 90 to 115 euros per night for three people in August 2026.
For flights it is mixed. According to KAYAK, June is the cheapest, on average about 700 euros round trip from Germany. July, at about 890 euros, is one of the most expensive months, and December is at the very top.
Do you need a wetsuit in the Maldives?
We did not. The water was an estimated 29 °C in April, 28 to 29 °C in August, and a wetsuit was never an issue on either trip. If you get cold quickly or stay in the water for hours, you can bring a thin suit. There is no reliable monthly table of the water temperature.
Maldives in December and at Christmas: what to expect
We were not in the Maldives in December. What is written here is research.
The weather service counts December as transition; the dry season only starts in January. It still gets busy. In December 2025, according to Visit Maldives, 224,455 guests arrived, at the time more than in any month before. In February 2024 there were already 217,392.
Flights cost the most then. On KAYAK, December was on average about 1,030 euros round trip from Germany. You can no longer get into Hanifaru Bay over Christmas; visits can only be booked until December 1.
My conclusion
On the way to Hanifaru Bay it started to rain almost as soon as we had left Maalhos. It was still not cold, and you get wet snorkeling anyway. In principle I would go in the wet season again. There are many large animals then, like the mantas in Hanifaru Bay, and the trip costs much less, even if the weather is more changeable and rainier.
Frequently asked questions
Is April still dry season in the Maldives? According to the weather service, no. It counts April as transition; it is dry from January to March.
Can you visit Hanifaru Bay over Christmas? No. According to the Ministry of Environment, visits in 2026 can only be booked until December 1.
When does the sun shine longest in the Maldives? From January to March, with 10 to 11 hours a day, according to the weather service.
What is the warmest month in the Maldives? In the air, March, April and until mid-May, according to the weather service.
When are flights to the Maldives cheapest? According to KAYAK in June, on average about 700 euros round trip from Germany, as of October 13, 2026.
Where the information comes from
Only the two trips are experienced ourselves, mid-April 2025 and August 2026. Visibility and water temperature are estimated. Everything else is research; the sources were accessed on October 13, 2026:
- Monsoon, sun and air: Maldives weather service
- Hanifaru Bay: Visit Maldives, page about mantas; visiting window: Ministry of Environment of the Maldives
- Mantas and monsoon: Harris and Stevens (2021), PLOS ONE
- Arrivals in December 2025: Visit Maldives, news of January 5, 2026
- Flight prices: KAYAK, flights Germany–Malé, average of searches over the last twelve months
- Monsoons according to the tourism site: Visit Maldives, Travel Information
Further reading
- Two seasons, the same reef: one house reef, two trips, one manta
- Hanifaru Bay: a rainy afternoon and the mantas
- Maldives with kids: snorkeling with a child on inhabited islands
- Maldives destination: islands, reefs and routes