Maldives wildlife calendar: what to see, month by month

The Maldives has two monsoons. The Maldives Meteorological Service calls the northeast monsoon (January to March) the dry season and the southwest monsoon (mid-May to November) the wet season. April and December are transition months. Air temperatures stay around 30–31°C and the sea around 28–29°C all year.

The wind drives the currents, and the currents move plankton. Plankton is food for manta rays, so mantas follow it from one side of the atolls to the other. Most other animals you are likely to meet, such as turtles, reef sharks, stingrays and spinner dolphins, live on Maldivian reefs and in its lagoons all year.

For most wildlife, the month decides the conditions: how flat the sea is and how often boats go out. For mantas, it also decides where to stay. Our best time to visit the Maldives guide covers the weather month by month.

This table sums up the patterns described in our wildlife guides. “All year” means present in every month, not seen on every trip. No sighting is ever guaranteed.

Reef fish, turtles, reef sharks, stingrays and spinner dolphins belong in every row, so we left them out.

Mantas are the clearest example of a seasonal pattern. Research by the Manta Trust shows the atolls work like funnels and traps for plankton:

• Southwest monsoon (about May to November): mantas tend to feed on the eastern sides of the atolls.
• Northeast monsoon (about December to April): they tend to move to the western sides.

Mantas also visit cleaning stations through much of the year, so a well-placed island gives you a fair chance in most months.

The famous gathering is at Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll, a protected area inside the Baa UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Its season runs roughly May to November, with the biggest feeding gatherings usually from about July to October. Only snorkelling is allowed, and the authorities set the season and booking rules each year.

Read more in manta rays in the Maldives.

The South Ari Marine Protected Area is one of very few places in the world where whale sharks are found in every month. Most are young males feeding near the outer reef. There is no season you have to hit.

The month matters for the sea, not the sharks. Calmer days from January to March make the long boat ride easier; in the southwest monsoon, rough seas can postpone trips. See swimming with whale sharks in the Maldives for the rules in the water.

Green turtles and hawksbills live on Maldivian reefs and are the species you are most likely to meet. You can snorkel with them in any month; calm, clear days in the dry season simply make them easier to spot.

Nesting is a different story. The Olive Ridley Project’s study of records from 2018 to 2024 found that green turtles laid most nests, and that green turtle nesting peaks around June to August, though it can happen in any month. Hawksbill nesting has become very rare. If you see a turtle on a beach at night, stay well back, keep quiet and use no lights.

More in sea turtles in the Maldives.

Spinner dolphins live in Maldivian waters all year, so evening dolphin trips run in every season. Seas are usually calmer from January to March. In the southwest monsoon, trips are sometimes cancelled or moved, but the dolphins do not leave.

Whales are a matter for specialist offshore trips. According to the Important Marine Mammal Area factsheet for the Maldives, blue whales are recorded from about November to April, with peaks in December–January and in April, and humpback whales are seen more from June to October. See dolphin watching in the Maldives.

Blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and nurse sharks are present all year. Baby blacktips often patrol local island lagoons in the early morning and around sunset.

Stingrays and eagle rays have no season at all. Look for them in lagoons at high tide on calm mornings and late afternoons, and near jetty lights after dark. All rays have been protected since June 2014, and feeding them is not allowed. See stingrays and eagle rays in the Maldives.

Resident birds such as grey herons, Asian koels and the white-breasted waterhen, the national bird, can be seen all year. Many shore and wetland birds are visitors, and most arrive with the northeast monsoon, known locally as *iruvai*.

• Waders, such as ruddy turnstones, whimbrels and common greenshanks, breed in Siberia and the Russian Arctic and spend the northern winter here. Look on reef flats at low tide.
• Eastern cattle-egrets appear on grassy areas and football fields in the season. Their Dhivehi name, *iruvaihudhu*, joins *iruvai* and *hudhu* (white).
• Globe skimmer dragonflies arrive in swarms in October, thought to be crossing the ocean from India towards Africa.

More in birds of the Maldives.

We have not found a scientific study showing a seasonal pattern for glowing plankton here. Visitor reports often mention the second half of the year; treat that as anecdote. What helps most is a dark night near the new moon, calm water and looking every night you can. See bioluminescence in the Maldives.

A local island puts you close to the reef at an affordable cost. Take Dhiffushi as one example. It sits on the eastern rim of North Malé Atoll, about 37 km north-east of Malé, so the southwest monsoon is the time to ask about manta trips there. Our manta and whale shark season page sets out the local timing, and turtles, reef sharks and dolphins are around in any month.

For a wider overview, start with our Maldives marine life guide.

• Never touch, chase or ride any animal.
• Don’t feed sharks, rays, whale sharks or fish.
• Keep lights off around nesting turtles and hatchlings.
• Choose licensed trips that don’t promise guaranteed sightings.
• Leave shells, coral and turtle products where they are, and never buy them.