When you take a trip out to the Maldives to see the Sea of Stars, you’re not very limited in your options. What Can You Do to Experience the Sea of Stars in the Maldives? Seeing the Sea of Stars can vary from time to time, so it can be worth making more than one trip out on a longer stay in the Maldives just to see if you have better luck on a second attempt. It also might be anywhere from dim sparkles to bright and vibrant constellations glowing beneath the waves. Usually, July and August are going to be your best bets, with some spectacular shows still to be seen in September. Conditions are better for the plankton to grow and reproduce during that season, so you’re more likely to see the density of plankton necessary to make the Sea of Stars visible. That said, the peak season is the wet season, which is anywhere between May and November. In that sense, it’s actually a lot like the Northern Lights, only about as far from the poles as you can get on the planet. Other times, you might not even know it can show up on the beach you’re strolling, but you look down, and there it is, an unexpected sight. Sometimes, you do everything right, and you still don’t see it. The Sea of Stars is a natural phenomenon that comes and goes at the whims of the tides and the plankton that make up the sparkles and stars beneath the waves. A boat can bring you from Male to Vaadhoo directly and will take anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on the kind of boat and whether or not you make any stops along the way. A slower but possibly more pleasant option is to book a boat to take you there. The fastest is a simple domestic flight to Ifuru Domestic Airport, a ways to the north and close to Vaadhoo Island. Once you arrive in Male, you have a few options.

Male is the location of the Male International Airport, the primary way into and out of the island nation. Luckily, Vaadhoo is located pretty close to the capital of the Maldives, Male. While looking at a map, the Sea of Stars is usually fairly well marked, but if not, you’re looking for the northerly Vaadhoo, not the one to the south.

Note: There’s actually more than one island named Vaadhoo in the Maldives. The second-best island is Mudhdhoo, but it’s less likely than Vaadhoo. Put simply, if you want to have any reliable chance of seeing it, you need to visit Vaadhoo. The same plankton get around and can be found all throughout the island chain, but it’s in much smaller numbers and much less frequently anywhere else. The island of Vaadhoo in the Maldives is the foremost home of the Sea of Stars. In the case of the Sea of Stars, it’s caused by a kind of plankton, sparkling to disorient predators and keep them from feeding on the tiny organisms. The firefly analogy is apt, as their flickers and glows are a similar effect of a different color. It’s a natural glow produced by chemical reactions in living things. This is a phenomenon known as bioluminescence. “Stars” sparkle beneath the waves and flare up when disturbed. The darker it gets, the more vibrant the color.

Each wave crashing to the shore, each step you take, disturbs something in the water, and that something reacts by flashing blue like a cold firefly. But as your eyes adjust, you notice that it’s not stars at all but cascades of vibrant blue rippling through the waters. Glancing down, you might think the stars are sparkling off the waves. The sun dips beneath the horizon, and the stars high above start to come out. At first, you’re admiring the sky and the way the gorgeous light reflects off the ocean in the distance.

It’s sunset, with the sun slowly dipping beneath the waves. Imagine, for a moment, that you’re strolling along a beach. The island itself isn’t exactly a bustling hub, but the unique appearance of the Sea of Stars is making it an increasingly popular destination for adventurers and tourists alike.įirst, let’s describe it. The Sea of Stars is a specific beach and area along the coast of one of the Maldives islands, specifically Vaadhoo Island. You may also like What is the Sea of Stars?

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