Going Awesome Places

Detailed itineraries + travel guides

  • Destinations
  • Itineraries
  • Guides
  • Packing
  • Travel Blog
    • Travel Tips
    • Travel Hacking
    • Travel Gear & Tech
  • Deals
  • Toolbox

Amazing Conrad Maldives House Reef Snorkelling

Last Updated February 24, 2023 William Tang

You are here: Home » Accommodations » Amazing Conrad Maldives House Reef Snorkelling

Share12
Tweet149
Pin391
Email
More
552 Shares
This article may contain affiliate links where we make a small commission for purchases you make from links that you click from this article. For more details, read the disclosure page.

Honestly I don't know if it gets any better than the house reef at the Conrad Maldives.  Having been to several resorts over the years, the local reef off the beach is always, for lack of better word, “shitty”.  There is minimal coral and if there are any, it's been trampled over so many times that it becomes a barren wasteland.  No coral = no fish.

The Conrad Maldives is completely the opposite.  The house reef is teeming with life and the size of the reef itself is massive.  Being out there felt like we were dropped in the middle of the ocean for a snorkelling excursion.  It was so good we ended up doing the house reef three times during our 10 day stay!

Read more about the Maldives

  • Ultimate Conrad Maldives Review
  • How to Save Money at Conrad Maldives
  • Conrad Maldives King Beach Villa Review
  • Free Tour of Male with Conrad Maldives
  • Our Best Maldives Content

How to find the best travel deals?

  • Hottest deals – Bookmark the frequently updated travel deals page.
  • Car rentals – Save the most money through car rental coupon codes.
  • Hotels – Use corporate codes or get Genius 2 tier with Booking.
  • Flights – Have you ever heard of the “Everywhere” feature?
  • Insurance – Make sure you're covered for all of your adventure activities with the best travel insurance.

Here's what we're covering:

  • How to get to the house reef
  • When to go
  • What should you expect to see
    • Big fish to look out for
    • Where to explore
  • Borrowing snorkel gear from SubAqua
  • Tips & tricks
  • Final thoughts
  • Book Conrad Maldives

How to get to the house reef

I did my research before heading down to the Conrad and I knew approximately where it was.  I knew it was on the beach villa side where we first stayed.  I thought we could just head out into the water from our villa but we soon discovered that the water is pretty shallow so you can't really snorkel above the coral.  We tried to navigate around to see if we could get in deeper but eventually you get stuck or trapped.

After a bit of exploration, we eventually found the “channel” that everyone was talking about.  It was a lot further north of our position but once we saw it, we understood that this was the proper way to explore the house reef.

The channel is the only way to get from the beach side to where the reef drops off.

Check out the two images below.  This'll give you a very good idea of where it is.

Location of the house reef in relation to the whole resort.
Location of the house reef in relation to the whole resort.
Where to find the house reef channel.
Where to find the house reef channel.

When to go

For our three snorkelling sessions at the house reef, we tried morning, early afternoon and around sunset and in all those times, I didn't notice too big of a difference so personally I don't think you really need to schedule anytime that you *have* to go.

That being said, we talked to a few other guests and some swore by the early morning and that makes sense since fish don't like to be out when it's blazing hot.  Problem for us was always that we could never get up early enough to hit the water before breakfast.

We did notice that at around sunset, the water did get a bit more rough with the wind blowing and the tide rising so do keep that in mind.

What should you expect to see

I didn't take the greatest photos down there but this gives you an idea of what it's like in the house reef.  As you snorkel down the channel there are tons to see to the left and to the right.  Not too much colorful coral per say but a lot of interesting mushroom, fan and spikey-type of coral.

Fish wise, I think we were most excited to see some really big puffer fish and giant tuna in the distance.

Big fish to look out for

Here are a list of some of the bigger things that other guests were telling they saw so make sure you keep your eyes open!

  • Turtles
  • Eagle rays
  • Octopus
  • Big tuna

Of course it's all depending on your luck.  Unfortunately we didn't see anything crazy out there but there are some that did!

Where to explore

The satellite map below shows you where you can snorkel around.  Take the channel down to the end where there's a cliff drop off and go either to the left or the right.  Your chances of seeing bigger fish are higher here because of the open water whereas the channel area is much more shallow.

CM House Reef Exploring

Borrowing snorkel gear from SubAqua

Renting a snorkel mask, snorkel and fins is a piece of cake at the dive center.  We basically went over there the first day we got there and signed out the gear.  We were able to keep the snorkel gear with us until our very last day when we returned it.

Tips & tricks

  • I highly recommend you wear at a minimum a t-shirt or better yet a rash guard shirt when snorkelling.  It doesn't feel like it because the water keeps you cool but when you're snorkelling, your back is being cooked by the sun the entire time.  Trust me, you don't want your back to burn (speaking from personal experience here).  Wear a shirt and protect yourself.
  • Combine the above with lots of sunscreen.
  • Since SubAqua has pretty good equipment, there really is no need to bring your own snorkel equipment.
  • We snorkelled all the way around the resort on the main island (a big loop) and the areas outside of the house reef weren't that exciting at all so I would spend most of your time up and down the channel.

Final thoughts

We had a blast snorkelling around Conrad Maldives' house reef.  It's incredible how much you can explore just steps away from the resort.  The house reef was one of the many incredible features of the resort that we absolutely loved.

Book Conrad Maldives

Check out the prices for the Conrad Maldives for when you want to go.

What you should read next

  • Everything You Need To Know About Conrad Maldives
  • Best Snorkeling on Big Island, Hawaii
  • Best Snorkeling on Kauai You Can't Miss
  • Conrad Maldives Diving with SubAqua
  • A Guide To Lahaina, Maui
Share12
Tweet149
Pin391
Email
More
552 Shares

Filed Under: Accommodations 4 Comments

About William Tang

William is the Chief of Awesome at Going Awesome Places which is focused on off-the-beaten-path, outdoor adventure, and experiential travel. His true passion lies in telling stories, inspiring others to travel, writing detailed trip itineraries to help others plan their own trips, and providing helpful tips and tricks to guide readers to travel better. He is based in Toronto, Canada but you'll find him on the road more often than not. Make sure to learn more about William to find out his story and how Going Awesome Places started.

author will tang going awesome places profile photoHey, my name is Will and I'm here to help you travel to some awesome places around the world and my home country of Canada by providing insanely detailed itineraries, travel guides, and packing lists.

More about me

JOIN TO BE AN INSIDER

Get access to the ultimate packing list, bonus itinerary content, exclusive deals, monthly newsletters, weekly flight deals, and more!

POPULAR POSTS

10 Breathtaking Activities to Do In Maui Without a Car10 Breathtaking Activities to Do In Maui Without a Car1K Total Shares
6 Day Smoky Mountains Itinerary – 2 States, One Grand Adventure6 Day Smoky Mountains Itinerary – 2 States, One Grand Adventure549 Total Shares
When Is The Best Time To Go To Iceland?When Is The Best Time To Go To Iceland?313 Total Shares
Must-Read Guide to Visiting Hawaii for the First TimeMust-Read Guide to Visiting Hawaii for the First Time299 Total Shares
7 Essential Apps for Iceland in 20237 Essential Apps for Iceland in 2023229 Total Shares
The Perfect 2 Day Oxford County Cheese Trail ItineraryThe Perfect 2 Day Oxford County Cheese Trail Itinerary219 Total Shares

Everything I use to travel and link to my travel toolbox

Where do you want to go travel to next? Find your destination

The best travel deals with Going Awesome Places

Learn how to start a travel blog

Find us on social media

YouTube Instagram Pinterest Facebook Twitter
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Work With Us

Copyright © 2023 · Privacy Policy · Disclosure Policy · Accessibility