A reef-reshing way to see paradise! Trying out an incredible submarine sightseeing trip in the Maldives (and there’s always the underwater spa if you’re claustrophobic)

It’s certainly warm in here: 33C according to the electric thermometer, with humidity rising. It’s cosy, too, with barely a foot of space above our heads, a narrow padded bench and our toes curled upwards thanks to the three-inch acrylic glass surrounding us on all sides.

But compromises are necessary given that we’re 100ft underwater, tightly sealed (I hope) in a multi-million-dollar submersible normally used for military operations, coastguard rescues, scientific research and commercial exploration. Now it’s the latest glitzy USP in the perpetual arms race between high-end Maldivian islands to attract deep-pocketed guests.

I’ve come to two resorts in this tropical archipelago to get closer to the coral reefs – without getting wet. In what it claims is a world-first, the ‘seven-star’ Patina, an hour north of Velana International Airport by speedboat, is now offering 45-minute trips in a four-tonne submarine. The justly famous and freshly spruced-up Huvafen Fushi, meanwhile, is home to perhaps the most spectacular ‘house reef’ in a nation groaning with them – and contains the world’s first and only underwater spa, 26ft beneath the waves.

If diving’s not for you, or if you simply prefer not to mess up your blow-dry, then these two places surely offer the most exciting and original ways to savour the ocean colour scene.

With me in the sub, juggling the equally demanding roles of tour guide and captain, is a smoothly debonaire fellow called… Casanova.

‘I fell in love with the ocean watching Jacques Cousteau videos as a child,’ says Fabien Casanova, his French accent thicker than ripe brie. Born in Toulouse, and now working for Dive Butler International – which operates out of Patina – he completed his masters degree in marine biology and will wax lyrical about ‘ze beautiful shark’ until the sea cows come home.

But now he is one of the three ‘pilots’ of Ocean Pearl, whose four near-silent thrusters propel it through the water with tremendous precision, bringing us just inches from the Ali Giri reef.

And what a sight it is. Dozens of bluestripe snappers, luminescent yellow with electric flashes, skitter nervously in front of us. Behind them are perhaps 200 surgeonfish, blue-black and nibbling on plankton. Beneath my feet, I see the furred and leathery lump of a sea cucumber – then glimpse the eerie stare of a marbled grouper.

‘The biodiversity here is very special,’ says Casanova, who has explored oceans around the world. ‘Australia has the Great Barrier Reef, of course, and there are some wonderful dive sites in Egypt – but nothing compares to the variety of the Maldives.’

This is no mere pleasure-cruise: eight men have been hired for the ‘expedition’, as scuba instructor Joe Schoombie grandly calls it when we meet in Patina’s ‘Dive Centre’ for an initial chat. Next we board a souped-up ‘dhoni’, or traditional Maldivian boat, with captain Rilwan and three other crew, for the half-hour journey to the reef.

Waiting for us there is Casanova and two further colleagues, who have towed the submersible into position with a smaller ‘topside’ boat and erected a temporary floating dock, enabling easy transfer between the vessels. After a lengthy safety briefing, I take off my shoes – and down we go.

You’ll be wondering: is it safe? Two years ago, five people were tragically killed when the Titan submersible imploded deep in the Atlantic – on what appears on current evidence to have been a shamefully amateurish $250,000-a-head attempt to see the wreck of the Titanic.

Memories of Titan are high when I sign a waiver accepting that ‘this activity involves substantial risk or [sic] bodily injury and/or death’. But the experience – at a swimmable 100ft compared to the 11,000ft Titan is thought to have reached before it failed – feels pleasantly secure. The submersible industry has a near-unblemished safety record, with zero fatalities for almost half a century until 2023, despite thousands of trips. The Dive Butler team take great care, with the craft enduring daily checks as well as regular services and external auditing. And while we’re underwater, the topside crew track us with GPS and check our oxygen levels – replenished by tanks filled to last three days – every 15 minutes.

So when Casanova cries: ‘Bubbles on the way!’ into his headset to mark our resurfacing, I feel a surge of exhilaration rather than relief.

Patina, which opened in 2021, hopes that the sub will help it to secure recognition as one of the Maldives’ premier resorts – having already lured ex-Bond Girl Rosamund Pike among others to its ultra-luxy sands. Entirely manmade – the site was underwater six years ago – it now has some 90 villas, all with private pools, dotting its 40 hectares, with more planned soon.

In one of its two infinity pools, I meet Charlotte, from Hampstead in north London, who is spending several days here with her two adult children following a week at the even-more-expensive Ritz-Carlton nearby. So which does she prefer?

‘The food here is definitely better,’ she says. ‘And because everything is still new, all the buildings feel fresh – the weather wears everything out so quickly in the Maldives.’

She’s right about the food: the breakfast buffet, spread across three rooms, is a cornucopia that features Paris-perfect pastries and addictive ‘hoppers’ – a spicy Sri Lankan stuffed pancake. A total of 13 places offer food here, from £100-plus Australian wagyu steaks at Brasa to a decent burger truck, as well as free ice cream all afternoon.

After the sub ride, it’s time for a change of pace at Huvafen Fushi. This pioneering resort, opened in 2004 and eternally popular with British honeymooners (not to mention, it’s claimed, Kate Moss, Tom Cruise, Naomi Campbell and the Clooneys), has just had its 46 villas tastefully refreshed along with the construction of two impressive new double-bedroom overwater ‘pavilions’.

But the underwater spa remains its centrepiece – and if there’s one thing as good as exploring a coral reef in a billionaire’s submersible, it’s watching another reef’s clownfish and dogtooth tuna dance in front of you from behind five-inch glass while having coconut oil rubbed into your feet and scalp.

I visit a second time for the so-called ‘SpaQuarium’ during which marine expert Steve Pasla answers my questions, while blacktip reef sharks chase their prey of bluefin trevally and giant red snappers pitilessly devour live crabs. Then Steve turns off the lights so we can gaze on the coral glowing in the dark, a true wonder of the subaquatic world.

Being a natural island, with expertly tended gardens, Huvafen Fushi feels authentically Maldivian, complemented by large numbers of local staff. Two of the restaurants – Japanese-Peruvian Salt and Raw, where almost nothing meets the stove – are built over the water, so sharks and eagle rays prowl the turquoise beneath your feet.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with finding Nemo with the help of a snorkel and flippers. But there is, too, something special about venturing into this brightly teeming world while staying exquisitely dry.