The separate section with underwater pictures probably sells itself.  Snorkelling is easy, and we spent some 4 hours a day in the water snorkelling.  The pictures are just a snapshot of the underwater world we discovered.  The density and diversity of the fish is breathtaking, and the pictures do not do justice to it.  You can snorkel out before lunch, just for a twenty minute session, and find yourself surrounded by a shoal of 600 blue Triggerfish calmly floating through the plankton, that weren't there in the morning.  Later in the afternoon, you can go out again, and suddenly be confronted by a shoal of 7 ft Eagle Rays sweeping past within 6 feet!  Everywhere you look, there are different fish. The only sad thing is the state of the coral - which has been devastated by a cruel twist of nature in 1998.  When the El Nino event of that year sent water temperatures in the Pacific and Indian Oceans soaring, the shallow-water temperatures of the Maldives stayed too high for too long - killing an estimated 80% to 90% of the corals in the shallow water.  This is referred to as bleaching, and is certainly a tragedy of global proportions.  Coral reefs are very complex and delicate things, and take a very long time to establish.

We had been quite concerned about the state of the corals before travelling.  However, it is fair to say that whilst there is a lot of dead coral, there are definitely signs of life, and apparently this is improving.  Also - for some reason the water is now richer in plankton, and this attracts many more fish, some that have not been seen in such numbers before.  So, whilst the evidence of the tragedy is there for all to see, it didn't spoil our snorkelling holiday at all.

Access to the coral reef is excellent on Bi-Ya-Doo.  The island is surrounded by a lagoon of clear water which is around 30 to 70 cm deep depending on the tide.  This lagoon is mostly sandy-bottomed, and full of baby black-tipped Reef Sharks (around 2 to 3 ft long) and Sting Rays.  The sharks are not a threat, and the Sting Rays move out of your way.  We heard somewhere that Sting Rays are supposed to be as clever as cats, with large brains.  Of course, with the threat of Stone Fish, we never went into the lagoon without waterproof sandals on.

The lagoon is bounded by a fringe of coral, with water less than 1 foot deep, and then the coral drops off to around 25-30 m depths.  So, the ideal snorkelling on the "house-reef" is around the edge of these slopes.  To get there, you have to swim out on the lagoon, and then get through the coral fringe.  This would not be easy, were it not for special passages that have been cut for you to do this in certain places (seven in total - all well marked).  It really was easy just to throw on a snorkel, mask and fins, and to head out for even ten minutes for a quick perusal at the underwater world.

Currents around the island vary, and on some days it was completely still, whilst on others there was a current so strong beyond a passage that you could barely swim against it (with fins on!).  However, in such circumstances, you only have to go to the other side of the island (all of 200 m away at most) to find completely different conditions.

One thing that often surprised us was the variety of marine life that you could see in the lagoon - right up to the beach-edge.  It was not unusual to see sharks, Sting rays, triggerfish, tang, etc all within a foot of the shore!

Finally in this section - it is worth saying that we went as snorkellers, but that a lot of people go for the diving.  The Maldives certainly have an amazing number of top dive sites, and many people go just for that.  However, we did feel that we saw most of what the divers could see just by snorkelling, and this at far cheaper cost and with less technology.  Indeed, the diving operation on Bi-Ya-Doo is so geared up for divers, that there is little time to advise snorkellers.

Food and drink
Accommodation on Bi-Ya-Doo was all-inclusive.  Whilst there are always risks when you are tied to only one place to eat (after all, there is only one resort per island), the food here was excellent.  We had an entertaining waiter (a young chap from the southernmost Atoll) with a dry sense of humour who looked after us al week.  Breakfasts were good, with everything from Omelette to porridge.  Lunches were buffet style, whilst dinners were served to the table.  You had to select your dinner in the morning, and there was always a good variety.  Of course, with the Maldives so close to India and Sri Lanka, there was always a curry dish.

Most evenings there was a theme evening (at extra cost).  The Curry night was outstanding, with some thirty dishes to select from on an all-you-can-eat basis.

Social life in the evenings was slow-paced - and limited to a few drinks at a bar on the beach with may be two or three other people around.  If your idea of night life is a slowly sipped coconut with a straw whilst you listen to the sea and watch the last rays of sun on the horizon, then like us you would find this perfect.  If you want discos - then go somewhere else.

In summary - we had a fabulous holiday.  There is something so magical about snorkelling - and we have been spoilt by doing this in one of the best places.  What better compliment to a resort and a country than to say that we will return to the same place one day!

Igor and Michelle.