Maldives travel guide

The country’s pristine beauty is matched by the quality of its tourism industry. Hotels here always top “best of the best” lists for design and service. Resorts offer everything from cutting-edge modernism to rustic-chic sophistication, from life on board state-of-the-art yachts to off-grid glamping on a secluded sandbank. And although it’s generally seen as honeymoon central, it is brilliant for children too, so families should definitely have the islands on their radar.

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What to do

The Maldives is the poster child for fly-and-flop holidays. Doing nothing beyond sipping a negroni beside a spectacular infinity pool is an essential component of any trip, but given nowhere in the world has such an abundance of marine life, diving and snorkelling will eventually tempt you from that lounger.

Most resorts have a colourful house reef within a flipper’s flick or two of the beach where you’ll float over a 3D version of Finding Nemo. Divers tend to favour the North Ari Atoll for encounters with hammerhead sharks and the South Ari Atoll to see whale sharks; while Hanifaru Bay, the centrepiece of the Unesco-protected biosphere reserve within the Baa Atoll, has the world’s largest population of manta rays.

Wave-hunters have also been coming to this region for years, entranced by its clean, clear waters and endless empty waves. The North and South Male atolls have a mix of forgiving and challenging breaks for wave and kite-surfers. The Huvadhoo Atoll is an impressive under-the-radar surf spot, with memorable breaks such as Beacons and Tiger Stripes. There’s also excellent deep-sea fishing and sailing across the archipelago.

The Maldives is, increasingly, gaining a reputation for wellbeing, with islands such as Kagi Spa Island and Joali Being at Bodufushi Island dedicated to wellness. Holidaymakers can also do their bit for the ocean’s health, taking part in conservation projects including planting coral for reef regeneration and turtle-protection programmes.

Where to stay

Although the Maldives is synonymous with ultra-glamorous overwater villas at private islands such as Cheval Blanc Randheli, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stayed, these are not the only options. Those after a more authentic experience can stay on local islands at simple guesthouses such as Kiha Beach on Dharavandhoo, a steal at about £65 a night. However, bear in mind that inhabited islands are Muslim; there is no alcohol and visitors should be sensitive about what they wear.

The vast majority of Maldives travel, however, is to tourist resort islands. Topographically it’s tricky to tell them apart. They are all mini paradises, home to a whole lot of swaying palms and silky sands and, usually, just one hotel — but there is a huge variety of styles and prices. Stay somewhere unpretentious such as Kuredu Island Resort & Spa and you can get a full-board week from about £1,500pp, or you can lose an eye-watering £8,000pp for seven nights at the Japanese-inspired Kudadoo. There are also upmarket all-inclusives such as Ozen Life Maadhoo, child-friendly islands such as Meeru Island and an A-lister nightlife at resorts such as Finolhu.

Facilities are another key consideration. Would you prefer a sleepy one-restaurant resort such as Naladhu, with just 20 hideaway villas, or do you thrive on the Mediterranean-style bustle of a bigger set-up such as Kuramathi, with 360 rooms, ten restaurants and loads of activities, from nature walks to floodlit tennis?

The sound of the occasional plane from the nearby international airport keeps prices down at resorts such as Velassaru, but it also means a seamless and quick transfer. Choose a more distant hotel such as Anantara Kihavah and your seaplane transfers alone cost about £500 and add several hours to your journey time which, after an overnight flight, can be painful. On the plus side, the flight over the atolls doubles as a thrilling sightseeing tour.

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Where to go

Although the Maldives’ 1,192 islands may look similar on the surface, its 26 atolls contain an astonishing array of biodiversity, which varies from north to south and east to west. The South Malé Atoll, which surrounds Malé International Airport, was the first to be developed and is now, by far, the busiest part of the country. Reached by speedboat, resorts in this atoll are great for a fly and flop but there is a lot of sea traffic, air traffic and a number of man-made island developments which have scarred the marine life, particularly the coral reefs, so the snorkelling isn’t as colourful as elsewhere. The North Malé Atoll is slightly further out but can still be reached by speedboat. The reefs are in better shape, there are fewer resorts twinkling in the distance and it’s home to huge pods of dolphins and some of the best surfing in the country – find chickens, cokes, sultans and jailbreaks along the eastern coast.

Seaplanes cover more distant atolls. North of Malé, there’s the popular Baa Atoll, famed for its Unesco Biosphere Reserve and annual aggregation of manta rays (the world’s largest), and the neighbouring Raa Atoll, which is popular with divers due to its high number of thilas (submerged islands). Next door, Noonu Atoll has its own private jet strip making it a magnet for the One Percent. While to the east, there’s the barely-developed Shaviyani Atoll (great for star-gazers) and the luscious Lhaviyani Atoll, which has some of the healthiest corals and most abundant marine life in the country – green turtles, hawksbills, olive ridleys, loggerheads, sting rays, eagle rays, reef sharks – thanks to its close proximity to the cooling properties of the 4,000-metre deep Laccadive Sea. Also within seaplane distance is the Ari Atoll, which is teeming with pelagic species such as whale sharks, manta rays and hammerhead sharks.

Skimming the equator, the atolls in the far south – Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Laamu – are out of reach of the seaplane so you’ll need to take a slightly less exciting (although cheaper and more comfortable) domestic flight. The islands here tend to be larger than elsewhere in the Maldives, with miles of soft golden beach and jungly hearts, some also have ancient Buddhist ruins and old British colonial-era naval bases. The marine life is stupendous, with scores of healthy coral reefs and every kind of sea creature imaginable, from macro-sized seahorses to gigantic whale sharks.

Food and drink

Dining on tropical islands can often be disappointing, but when you visit the Maldives there is an array of local and international cuisines as varied as you’d get in London or New York, covering all the culinary bases from European to Asian. Standards are enviably high, understandable given many resorts such as Soneva Fushi work with Michelin-starred chefs. There’s also experiential dining, so guests can go on catch-it-then-cook-it fishing trips, have castaway picnic lunches on a desert island or dine on a sandbar where it’s just you, a ribbon of white sand disappearing into the blue and a discreet butler parked on an anchored boat, who rows ashore to serve you each course.

There’s Instagrammable food as theatre too, with several underwater restaurants including 5.8 at Hurawalhi, the world’s largest all-glass dining room sunk at — you guessed it — 5.8 metres; and Nest on Niyama, where tables are tucked into the tree branches and accessed by a series of wooden walkways. Most restaurants are sand-floor and open-air, and buffet meals get an injection of drama thanks to live cooking stations where white-hatted chefs cook your breakfast eggs to order, and sizzle your seafood with your favourite spices.

Don’t miss

The Maldives is one of the few destinations where the ocean glows in the dark. From June to October, tiny harmless bioluminescent plankton arrive offshore and, as you splash about during a late-night swim or snorkel, they emit defensive sparkles of light, creating trails that look like stardust. It’s utterly magical. The Raa and Baa atolls are the best places to experience this natural phenomenon. The dry season is between December to March, when temperatures and humidity are much more manageable.

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Know before you go

Credit cards are widely accepted, so you’ll only need small denominations of US dollars for tips.

UK plugs work on most islands, so you don’t need to bring adaptors.

There is a baggage limit of 20kg per person for seaplane transfers, and make sure you have water and ear plugs — it gets hot and noisy onboard.

Don’t buy any alcohol in duty-free as it will be confiscated on arrival, although the resorts are allowed to serve alcoholic drinks.

Avoid bringing unnecessary packaging or leaving any behind — the Maldives has a huge problem with waste disposal.

Take me there

Inspired to visit the Maldives but yet to book your trip? Here are the best Tui holidays and British Airways breaks, as well as the best Maldives tours from trusted operators.

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