Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India. Area: Total: 300 sq km Land: 300 sq km Water: 0 sq km Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 644 km. Maritime claims: Measured from claimed archipelagic baselines Contiguous zone: 24 NM. Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM. Territorial sea: 12 NM. Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August). Terrain: Flat, with white sandy beaches. Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m. Highest point: Unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m. Natural resources: Fish. Sun, sand and sea, a thousand ‘Robinson Crusoe’ islands, massive lagoons with different depths and infinite shades of blue and turquoise, dazzling underwater coral gardens; a perfect natural combination for the ideal tropical holiday destination. However there is more to the Maldives than just that. Not only do you discover aspects of the planet denied to most people, but you make a lot of good friends as well! The Maldives is famed for its rare underwater beauty. The profusion of psychedelic colors and the abundance and variety of life underwater have fascinated divers and snorkellers since Maldives was discovered as a diving destination. The highest level of visibility that one could expect- sometimes exceeding 50 meters - and warm temperatures throughout the year makes diving in the Maldives a delight you would want to experience over and over again. The Maldives has some of the best dive sites in the world and many visit the Maldives repeatedly for the sole purpose of diving. All resorts in the Maldives have professional dive schools with multi-lingual instructors and conduct courses for beginners as well as the advanced. Many of the resorts have excellent house reefs. Just a short swim from the beach and snorkellers too can experience the same pleasures from the surface. With your first look the islands are hardly differ from each other - apart from their size: tropical vegetation with palms, mangroves, Scaevola, Frangipani or Hibiscus bushes, powder-white sandy beach, surrounding turquoise-blue seas. In fact the versatility of Maldives is in the detail, because of the “one island-one resort concept“ each resort is on an island of its own and the resorts in Maldives offer a broad spectrum with respect to conception, architecture, style and comfort. To plan a vacation in the Maldives, you must be well informed about your own interests and ideas in order to find the matching island under the vast list of possibilities.