Diving

Boasting a house reef that is rife with flora and fauna, the unchartered waters of Noonu Atoll is a real treat for the dive enthusiasts seeking new experiences. Over 30 dive sites are available to explore within an hour from the island. with an abundance of marine life ranging from magnificent manta rays and rare humpback turtles to regal reef sharks and a rich variety of colourful corals.

  1. Dive Facility

    The PADI Gold Palm 5 star diving facility is located inside the lagoon near to the house reef on the Western side of the Island, and consists of a large and convenient deck all around the diving school, administration office, 3 air conditioned class rooms, compressor, spacious wet room and a wet bar.

    Sun Diving School at Iru Fushi has a broad spectrum of diving packages and excellent facilities, allowing all visitors to explore the deep delights of the Noonu Atoll. Other facilities and packages include Discover Scuba Diving, Open Water license, Assistant Instructor and a variety of specialities including Nitrox, digital underwater photography, videography, underwater scooter and Rebreather, giving the beginner and the experienced diver the opportunity to enrich their knowledge and work on their diving skills.

    Our team of energetic instructors embody a wealth of experience and instruction is available in all major European languages as well as Japanese and Russian.

  2. Diving Highlights

    The house reef is located near the diving school and gently slopes down 18 metres to a sandy bottom. Covered with sponges and corals and teeming with neon coloured reef fish, it provides the perfect setting for beginners to experience a breathtaking first dive.

    Nearby, the aptly named Snow White site offers a kaleidoscope of colourful and beautiful reefs with red berry sponges and green, blue and light brown finger corals - all framed by a snow white sandy bottom where hermit crabs and sea stars can be discovered. At rush hour, passing traffic includes large Jack fish, turtles, eagle rays, tuna, barracuda and schooling red snappers.

    In keeping with the pantomime theme, Christmas Tree is located north-west of the island and so-called because, from a distance, the profile of the reef looks like a Christmas tree. As one of the most precious thilas in the Noonu Atoll, it’s home to an astounding array of soft and hard corals with deep and shallow overhangs where nurse, guitar and leopard sharks rest and green and hawksbill turtles feed. Furthermore, clouds of golden and jewel fairy basslets create a glowing effect at the top of the thila which makes Christmas Tree a photographer’s dream.

    Another vision is Koen’s Dream, a heavenly thila where large barracuda hang motionless in thecurrent and where majestic manta rays, small white tip and grey reef sharks are also common. Manta rays, on many a diver’s wish list, can actually be found at almost all dive sites and everyone can view grey reef sharks at an easily accessible location. The rarer humpback turtle is also frequently spotted among the large green and hawksbill turtles.

    Download full list of dive sites