There are few things on a surfer’s bucket list that top a boat trip through the Maldives. Renowned for their beauty and perfect waves, the chain of islands hide some of the best waves in the world in crystal waters. A good boat trip requires more than just a good boat. Here are five reasons why (and how) you can check that boat trip off your bucket list.
1. You will score the best waves of your life.
The Maldives consist of more than twenty separate atolls, all varying in size and shape. Their location is perfect for that postcard dream trip: warm water, swaying palms, deserted white sand beaches, and of course, one of the most wave-rich stretches anywhere on the planet. Waterways Surf Travel has a boat called The Horizon II, a 78-foot surf finding machine, that’s spent the last few years floating through the atolls of the Maldives finding the waves you’ve always dreamed about.
2. The Horizon II has done all the work for you.
In its travels, The Horizon II has uncovered countless waves folding over the farthest reaching reefs. But as any surfer knows, wave discovery is a lot more than just stumbling onto one–tides, direction, wind, and a pile of other factors play into it. Essentially, one discovery takes way more than one trip. Sure, you can fluke out and find a wave one day, but it might not be there the next time.Knowing how those waves work is half the battle. The Horizon II has that covered… they’ve done all the hard work, so all you have to do is show up and score.
3. You will form life-lasting bonds.
The ship carries up to 12 guests with six cabins, each one air-conditioned and with its own ensuite bathroom. For anyone that’s spent any time on a boat, you’ll know that if you’re not working on it, there will be a lot of down time. In between sessions, if you can drag your eyes away from the incredible sights that surround the Horizon II, there’s a salon/bar/dining room with movies and music–but you’ll probably want to spend most of your time taking in what you’re floating on. The area is one of the most beautiful and tranquil in the world, but like any trip, a huge part of it is who you’re with. There’s no better way to make friendships that will last a lifetime than spending time in the best waves on earth with a person. And you’ll be stuck on a boat with them, so you’ll get to know them better than anywhere else.
4. Long paddles don’t exist on a boat trip.
You know those spots that you can barely see from the beach? The ones where if you squint from the sand, you can just barely make out what might be a perfect wave feathering over the reef? By the time you’ve paddled out, you’re too gassed to do anything but sit and watch as those perfect waves unload in front of you. When you’re good to go again, you’ve probably missed out on a few waves that you might’ve remembered for the rest of your life. Since the Horizon II spends part of each year carting divers back and forth from some of the reefs that surround the atolls, it comes with a support boat that will take you from the deck to the wave and back when your shoulders are burned and busted and you’re tired of getting shacked off your head. Or when night falls, and you’re dragged in kicking and screaming from the sea by your leash.
5. If you don’t do it, you’ll regret it.
A good boat trip is necessary. Not just a few buddies on a boat with surfboards in tow, puttering around aimlessly in search of waves you think you saw on Google Earth–although the search is pretty damn awesome in itself–but a real life, honest-to-God boat trip. The ones you see in magazines. The ones you’ve been dreaming about since you first paddled out. Do it. Just do it. Don’t spend the rest of your life thinking about it.
Horizon II will be covering the Central atolls May 8-Aug 29 and the Outer Atolls Aug 30-Oct 21. Book a trip now with Waterways Travel!