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If you are looking for a laid back and
easy going island at affordable prices and with excellent diving
opportunities you will not be disappointed in Kandooma. No other
island has quite so many excellent dive sites within close quarters
as does Kandooma - this alone makes the island more than a second
thought if you are an enthusiastic scuba diver.
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takes 35 minutes by speedboat to reach Kandooma, which has a total
of 124 rooms in three different categories - standard rooms, beach
superiors and bungalows. The beach around the island has been
manufactured artificially but is still good. It is the unrivalled
diving opportunities which makes the island so attractive. On the
edge of the island's housereefs are the Kandooma Caves - regarded by
many divers as a true wonder of the underwater world. In addition to
the caves, there are numerous other great dive sites close by where
you can see more species of fish - large and small - than you have
ever imagined |
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are 120 rooms, either standard, beach superior or bungalow. Only the
beach superiors and bungalows have a/c (and these are the first to
be booked up), but they all now have fresh water in the taps. The
standard rooms are small and basic, the others are somewhat larger
and lighter. But none of the rooms would keep you lingering during
the day.
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A
couple of minutes down the channel are Kandooma Thila. With its
beautiful landscape and schools of trivially and bass tuna and
barracuda, this could be considered among the best dives in the
Atoll. Then there is the vast Protected Marine Area
called Guraidhoo Kandu on the opposite side of the
island’s reef. This is undoubtedly one of the best sites in the
country. Your group may well not be alone, however, because there
are eight other resorts in the neighborhood.
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and lunches are set meals, dinners are buffet. The restaurant could
not be said as attractive, due to those plastic chairs, beside the
tables - but well lit. And the food is not up to the same standard.
Outside the restaurant is an airy lounge corridor with arches that
curves around to the reception. Service at this point is so laid
back as to be almost self-service. And that's fine, it suits the
atmosphere of the place. There isn't much of a divide between the
friendly staff and guests
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Snorkeling
is not feasible in the large, shallow lagoon so there are two trips
out a day for the purpose, as well as a cheap special snorkeling
trip to two nearby reefs. The lagoon at the front of the resort is
almost enclosed by the large inhabited island just opposite so the
water is slow moving and not the typical clear turquoise by any
means.
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resort is a big, manufactured beach. It serves its purpose, though
it is compacted and there isn’t much shade. At the back (facing
the ocean), the shore is all coral stone, large and small; terrific
for tied pool enthusiasts, but not for sunbathers.
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It is the wonderful diving so close by that makes
Kandooma worth considering. Not that it makes much difference
between a five-minute boat ride and 25, but there you are. On the
edge of its own reef is "one of the underwater marvels of the
Maldives". Kandooma Caves are probably the largest caverns in
the entire tourist Atolls |
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