The InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort celebrates World Ocean Day 2023 on 8 June with the launch of a brand-new offer, The Manta Ray Experience. Celebrating the ocean and its eternal beauty, the Manta Trust team and Marine Biologist based at the resort have also prepared a range of fun and educational experiences for kids and adults alike.

The Manta Ray Experience package addresses the curiosity and adventure lust of the resort’s guests, bundling the must-try experiences surrounding manta rays together in one comprehensive package. On their manta journey, guests will join different talks about the manta rays in the Maldives, their relatives around the world and how they are researched and protected. Guests will also get to join a manta excursion, seeking manta rays within Raa Atoll and surrounding areas. Should there be an unidentified manta sighted during the excursion, guests can name the manta and will receive updates on their whereabouts whenever sighted by the Manta Trust team. As a token and memory, guests will also receive a mantastic gift from Manta Trust before their departure.

For the perfect manta experience, the seaplane transfers from and to Male International Airport and half board are already included in the package, as well as the InterContinental Club benefits and more.

The new offer complements the resort’s annual Manta Retreat, the next retreat set to take place in March 2024. While the Manta Retreat comprises an even deeper dive into the world of manta rays, with hands-on experiences in manta research and exploration, The Manta Ray Experience offer provides a great overview of everything manta related.

While The Manta Ray Experience Offer can be booked by any guest throughout the year, on 8 June 2023, the focus lies on World Ocean Day. A day to raise awareness and educate on the oceans, to learn and get excited by the mysteries still lying beneath the oceans’ surface, and most of all, to enjoy the beauty and fascination of marine life. At InterContinental Maldives, guests from young to old will have the chance to participate in talks and presentations as well as marine life-related activities, beach fun and an ocean-themed movie night.

Naturally, the manta rays are the main event on this World Ocean Day. However, we take a closer look at the tiniest creatures too, exploring how plankton looks under a microscope and learning about their significance in the marine life food chain.

Attention will also be drawn to the life of corals as those fascinating creatures grow, evolve and influence marine life in a reef. On this day, the marine team will commemorate a specially designed coral frame and plant coral pieces together with guests to use this opportunity to teach everything about them.

InterContinental Maldives is located at the southern end of Raa Atoll, recognised for its unspoiled and beautiful marine life. The resort’s lagoon is a known juvenile manta ray aggregation point, and with the partnership with the resort-based Manta Trust, the goal is to learn more about these gentle giants, their movements and how to protect them, their natural habitat and migration behaviour. While there is never a guarantee to spot manta rays, the chances of a manta encounter within the lagoon of Maamunagau island are great from December to April, while excursions to the world-famous manta feeding point in Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, are offered from June to November as well.

For more information, please visit www.maldives.intercontinental.com