 | Maldives Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 106 |  | Popular Warnings or Dangers | Miscellaneous Warnings or Dangers Tips | All Tips (106)
When I went to the Maldives it was Aug/Sept time. Now, I got friendly with this rather large fish who kept coming right up to the water edge. Now I know this seems daft, but he kinda turned into my pet, as he used to turn up regular each day. We used to swim around together, I used to feed him bread, and I used to chase after him, which he seemed to enjoy. He did have these big rabbit-like buck teeth though. Anyway, after about a week I was telling the owners, and they informed me that I was swimming with a Trigger fish, and to be careful. Apparently around this time they can get a bit 'territorial' as it's the breeding period. Be especially vigilant if they are in pairs. The previous year they had to 'dispose' of a couple that had given a german tourist a nasty bite on the toe whilst sunbatheing on his lounger and they have been known to chaser divers out of the water. No wonder that fish looked perplexed. Leave a Comment
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There are lots of things in the sea that can be dangerous, but next to the obvious ones (shark, stingray, stone fish), here is one I did not know about befor coming to the Maldives: the Trigger Fish. We were warned during our first meeting on the island about him. The giant trigger fish gets 30-40cm big, has a distinct coloration (see picture, it looks like it is wearing a mask) and is very aggressive, especially, if you come too close to its nest. It attacks without a warning first, and it attacks not only to shy you away, but to bite you! If you are unlucky you loose a bite of flesh (their teeth are made to bite corals, so very strong). If you are very unlucky you could have your achilles tendom separated. So better keep your distance when you happen to see them. An advice we followed of course. We often saw them, then making a detour around the place it swam. Never had a problem until one of our last days there. We were snorkeling over not too deep water. Coming over a coral block, I suddenly discovered a trigger fish directly behind it. I just had time to shove my husband next to me as a warning and swim away as fast as I could. My hubby was not so fast, but managed to get his finns between him and the fish ... that promptly attacked and bit inot them - several times, until he managed to get far enough away. Gladly he was not bitten himself, but we have the marks on the finns to prove how aggressive this fish can be. Leave a Comment
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upon my return home, my mother took one look at my legs and declared that it looked like i had been in a fight. i had cut, gashes, massive bruises and welts all over my legs and knees. what, may you ask, caused such horrific catastrophes? CORAL!!! yes, i was swimming in the shallows, and somehow swallowed some seawater in my snorkel. in my panic i lashed my legs about the place, and got them cut all over the coral. as soon as my skin came in contact with it, i had large welts and bleeding from where the coral had touched my legs. i had to go to the resort infirmary and the nice french doctor there helped me (damn i wish i had her job, living on an island and attending to the cuts and abrasions of idiotic tourists). anyway, 3 months after my trip, as i write this tip, i still have a scar where the worst of the swelling had occurred. i dont know if it will ever go away either. i suppose im lucky i wasnt lashing my face onto the coral! hehe. note to you all - stay away from coral. it does weird things to ya! Leave a Comment
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Please remember that you cannot bring any alcohol into the Maldives as it's a Muslim country.........if you buy some at your originating airport, it will be held with Maldivian Customs until your departure day when you'll get it back. They x-ray all your luggage when you arrive. So don't even try to pull the wool over their eyes and just repsect their rules. Also, don't attempt to filter alcohol into another container: apparently if you are caught doing this it's seen as smuggling! Leave a Comment
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Not exactly *dangerous*, but definitely slightly annoying...! ;o) Be aware that even though your resort claims to have a number of excursions available to guests, chances are that when you get to your island some of these excursions might not exist anymore, others might get cancelled on very short notice, and some might already be fully booked. A rather limited number of excursions was available on Kuramathi island when we visited, and some were only available once or twice a week. Some excursions are offered in different languages, so your preferred language might only be available once a week. After chatting to some staff members, we were under the impression that cancellations happened quite often on Kuramathi. The "Island Hopping" trip (where you get to visit another resort island, plus a local island and a deserted island) was cancelled a short time before departure, and no reason for the cancellation was given. To increase your chances of actually getting to go on the trips you want, check out the excursion schedule soon after arrival, and book right away. Leave a Comment
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