Situated on the equator in the Indian Ocean, about 375 miles south west of Sri Lanka, the 1200 coral islands that make up the republic of the Maldives are perhaps the ultimate tropical paradise. The majority of the islands are uninhabited, and only 90 have been designated as holiday islands, occupied by one small resort and reached by seaplane or speedboat.
The islands may be idyllic, but the real action is in the sea: there are reefs and lagoons aplenty populated by the most stunning array of brilliantly-coloured fish, with each atoll surrounded by a coral reef, and a reef and a crystal clear lagoon surrounding each island.