Extraordinary Experiences at Four Seasons Resorts Maldives

The pristine waters surrounding the 1190 islands and 26 atolls of the Maldives are nirvana for ocean enthusiasts and guests of the Four Seasons Maldives Resort at Kuda Huraa and Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru can enjoy a complete ocean lifestyle indulging in an endless array of watersports ranging from surfing and paddle boarding to kayaking, snorkeling, diving, sailing and more.

For guests craving that extra level of excitement, the resorts offers two new "Extraordinary Experiences" - the ultimate surfing adventure and an unforgettable diving experience. Charter your own plane at Four Seasons Resort Kuda Huraa for a Seaplane Surfari, hopping the Indian Ocean from surf break to surf break to catch the next perfect wave. Prefer thrills under the sea? Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru offers a chance for guests to become a Manta Scientist for a day and dive with manta rays along with a team of marine biologists in conjunction with The Manta Trust.

FOUR SEASONS RESORT MALDIVES KUDA HURAA

SEAPLANE SURFARI - charter a plane for the ultimate surfing fantasy

What do you get when you cross Four Seasons Resort Kuda Huraa's epic surf team, secluded A-grade waves and a seaplane? Fantasy surfing beyond your wildest imagination.

Guests chartering a seaplane surfari with Kuda Huraa's expert Tropicsurf guides can now experience the adrenalin of discovering their own surfing nirvana.

Departing directly from the Resort, each private excursion sees groups of up to 8 surfers circling strings of pearl-like islands in a sea of infinite blue before descending to catch perfect, clear breaks in some of the Indian Ocean's most pristine locations.

With no agenda other than the pure, unadulterated sport they love, surfari adventurers can wave-ride to their heart's content, paddle back to the plane for refreshments, or decide to fly on to the next break to catch a dropping tide.

Each fantasy flight - escorted by expert guides from the Resort's Tropicsurf Surf company - covers as many secluded, in-the-know secret breaks as can be accessed in daylight hours, ensuring hours of exhilarating escape into the heart of Maldivian surf wilderness.

Host to one of the world's most elite surfing events, the Four Seasons Maldives Surfing Champions Trophy, Four Seasons Resort Kuda Huraa is fast gaining a reputation as one of the Indian Ocean's top surf hangouts. With its own Tropicsurf Surf operation, the Resort inspires surfers as young as six years old with lagoon-based courses directly off the beach, right up to surf clinics on world-class breaks just a short hop from Kuda Huraa's private garden island. Warm, pristine waters, consistent year-round swells and deep, flat reefs make the Maldivian archipelago one of the planet's most consistent surfing playgrounds with typical chest-high to once-overhead waves rising to double- overhead in size between June and September.

FOUR SEASONS RESORT MALDIVES AT LANDAA GIRAAVARU

MAD ABOUT MANTAS? Become a ‘Manta Scientist for a Day' in UNESCO-accredited waters

The manta ray, the largest of the rays, ranks high on the list of "must-sees" for many divers who visit the Maldives. And thanks to Baa Atoll, home to the Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru and one of the world's best locations for manta rays and whale sharks sightings, Four Seasons guests can now become a ‘Manta Scientist for a Day'.

Guests who take part in this Extraordinary Experience can get up close with the majestic manta rays. A unique experience developed in conjunction with The Manta Trust, since 2006 the Resort has been home to the Maldivian Manta Ray Project (MMRP) - the founding project of The Manta Trust, the world's leading manta ray charity.

Nearly every day during ‘manta season', guests are invited to join the scientists on board their study cruises to known aggregation sites in the surrounding Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere. Viewed very much as ‘part of the team', participants will discover how to spot manta rays and whale sharks in the water; help record critical environmental information; learn how to take ID photos; join in the identification process and improve their free-diving technique. A lucky few may even get the chance to name a previously unseen manta, forever adding their mark to the world's largest manta ray database.

Between May and November, these gentle giants flock to the area in large numbers to feed on plankton swept in by seasonal tides. To date, the project has identified over 3,300 individual manta rays from more than 25,000 sightings in the Maldives, helping to unravel some of the global mysteries surrounding the population size, migratory routes and life history strategies of these elusive oceanic residents.

Guests of Four Seasons Resort Landaa Giraavaru can also sign up for ‘Manta on Call' – an exciting snorkeling experience that sees them whisked out to sea to swim with mantas - as well as private manta ray cruises.

For rates and reservations, please contact the central reservations department of Four Seasons Resorts Maldives at tel: (960) 66 00 888, email: reservations.mal@fourseasons.com or visit www.fourseasons.com/maldives.