A beginner’s guide to the Maldives

With more options than ever, it can be hard to know where to start, says Lee Cobaj. Here’s how to plan the trip of a lifetime

2023-10-28 -

Composed of 99 per cent water and just 1 per cent land, with most of that terra firma lying less than 3ft above sea level, the Maldives is one of the world’s most extraordinary – and ecologically fragile – countries. Its chain of 26 atolls is made up of 1,190 coral islands, which stretch across nearly 500 miles of bright blue Indian Ocean, from the tippy-toe of Sri Lanka to south of the Equator. Flying over the Maldives, it appears more like a work of abstract art than a country, with delicate rings of coral reefs and pearly sandbanks swirling in a luminous backdrop of blue.

Beneath that shimmering surface is one of the world’s largest coral reef systems, spread over 3,400 square miles – an area almost as big as Cyprus. Among the most biodiverse seascapes found anywhere, its watery depths are home to more than 700 species of fish (including sharks and manta rays), 400 species of molluscs, 200 species of coral, 198 different crustaceans, at least 20 varieties of marine mammals – dolphins, porpoises and whales – and five out of the seven species of sea turtles.

It was these natural attributes that first drew Western tourists to the region just over 50 years ago, with fledgling adventurers hitching lifts on cargo ships, shacking up in simple thatched-roofed bungalows and catching fish for barbecues. But the history of the Maldives reaches much further back, with local folklore dating the arrival of the first inhabitants some 2,500 years ago.

Today, it’s one of the world’s most aspirational holiday destinations – all overwater villas and underwater restaurants – attracting more than three million visitors in 2019. Although the island nation has long been synonymous with luxury and romance, the market has evolved rapidly and there’s now a choice of accommodation to suit all needs, from relatively affordable all-inclusive holidays to family getaways with action-packed kids’ clubs, tranquil wellness retreats, surf breaks and even business events.

So where do you start when it comes to booking a holiday here? Look no further than our beginner’s guide to organising the trip of a lifetime.

North and South Malé Atolls

Your international flight will land in Malé, the capital of the Maldives. Resorts in the surrounding North and South Malé Atolls are reached by speedboat, sometimes in as little as 15-minutes – ideal following a longhaul flight. The downside is that the area has been robustly developed over the past decade, making it difficult to escape the air and sea traffic and feel as if you are genuinely off-grid. Huge infrastructure projects around the airport and the construction of Hulhumalé – a gigantic reclaimed island built to solve overpopulation in the capital – as well as numerous artificial island resorts, have also had a detrimental impact on marine life. That said, the North and South Malé Atolls are great if you’re looking to fly and flop on a sensational beach, and it is still possible to find peaceful corners and healthy reefs if you do your research. There’s also a fantastic surf scene that is well suited to learners.

Gili Lankanfushi (00960 664-0304; gili-lankanfushi.com; double rooms from £982) may see a lot more passing traffic than it did when it was built 20 years ago, but its lagoon setting is still one of the most beautiful in the country. Como Cocoa Island (00960 664-1818; comohotels.com; doubles from £1,734) has some wonderful reefs nearby, while Jumeirah Maldives Olhahali (00960 668-2600; jumeirah. com; doubles from £1,781) is surrounded by huge pods of dolphins

Baa Atoll

The Baa Atoll is the busiest atoll outside of Malé, best known for Hanifaru Bay, its Unesco Biosphere Reserve, which is home to the world’s largest known aggregation of manta rays, a phenomenon that featured in Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II series. From May until late November, visitors can snorkel and dive with the magnificent earth-aliens – sometimes with up to 100 mantas at a time – as they pirouette through the water feasting on nutrient-rich plankton. It’s still possible to spot the odd manta ray during the high season as the creatures visit cleaning stations, but there’s plenty more to keep marine lovers enthralled throughout the year.

Luxury eco-escape Soneva Fushi (00960 660 0304; soneva.com; double rooms from £1,637) has been pioneering sustainable travel in the Maldives for nearly 30 years. Meanwhile, thoroughly modern Amilla Fushi (00960 660 6444; amilla.com; double rooms from £1,266) is the only resort in the Maldives to have been certified by Inclucare as being fully accessible to all guests regardless of their ability

Raa Atoll

Located about 45 minutes by seaplane from the capital, the Raa Atoll neighbours Baa Atoll and shares many of its natural wonders, from healthy coral cover to dramatic shark-filled channels and underwater caverns. Manta rays can be found here across most of the year, though not as many as you’ll find at Hanifaru Bay, with numbers peaking between October and November. Raa is also one of the few places in the Maldives where you can encounter bioluminescence, with the mesmerising “Sea of Stars” making an appearance on moonless nights between June and October.

Bioluminescence washes straight onto the shores of Alila Kothaifaru Maldives (00960 659 1234; alilahotels.com; double rooms from £628). An area around the Intercontinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort (00960 658 0500; intercontinental.com; double rooms from £681) is currently pending protected status as the Maldives’ first manta nursery, because of its abundance of pregnant females and baby mantas

Lhaviyani and Shaviyani Atolls

Located north east of Malé, Lhaviyani and Shaviyani are two emerging atolls. Resorts tend to be smaller scale and more spread out, so the area never feels busy. For now, the islands are allnatural and often have rich house reefs just off-shore. A diverse underwater landscape peppered with coral walls, fast-moving channels, pinnacles and shipwrecks make this a paradise for divers, whether they’re learners or old hands. Snorkellers can also enjoy paddling around the colourful reefs, swimming in seagrass prairies filled with huge green turtles and having seasonal encounters with manta rays (September to March).

Hurawalhi Island Resort (00960 662 2000; hurawalhi.com; double rooms from £551) and swish sister resort Kudadoo (00960 662 2000; kudadoo. com; doubles from £2,708) has incredible house reefs, which you can also enjoy from its shared underwater restaurant 5.8. The Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi (00960 654 8888; fairmont.com; doubles from £602) is another hotel that has a beautiful house reef as well as an ethereal underwater sculpture gallery

Ari and the Southern Atolls

While it’s possible to bump into the occasional whale shark around Hanifaru Bay, there’s only one part of the Maldives where you’re (almost) always guaranteed to spot these elegant creatures – the serene South Ari Atoll. Around 100 whale sharks – which can grow to up to 39ft long – spend their adolescence in the Maamigili protected zone, not far from the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort. Aside from dips with the world’s largest fish, visitors to this little-developed atoll will also find pristine reefs, pods of dolphins and manta rays visiting feeding stations.

Venturing further south will take you to some of the Maldives’ least developed atolls: Thaa, Laamu, and, on the other side of the Equator, Gaafu Alifu (also known as Huvadhu). Islands here are often larger and more jungly, edged with great ribbons of cotton-white sand and resplendent house reefs. Some also have old British colonial-era naval bases and ancient Buddhist ruins nearby to visit. While it takes a little bit more time to reach this part of the country, it is absolutely worth it for the sense of splendid isolation and the wondrous marine life.

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (00960 668 0629; conradmaldives.com; double rooms from £616) is home to underwater suite The Muraka and is one of the only spots in the Maldives where you can encounter manta rays and whale sharks in the same day at any time of year. The remote Six Senses Laamu (00960 680 0800; sixsenses. com; doubles from £862) is reached via a 60-minute transfer (by domestic flight and speedboat) , but its isolation and superb surroundings make the trip

How to get there

British Airways (ba.com) operates daily non-stop flights from London Heathrow to Malé from October to March, and flies three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) throughout the rest of the year. In October 2023, Virgin Atlantic (virginatlantic.com) launched a thriceweekly direct service from Heathrow (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday) over the winter season, from late October until the end of March. Multiple airlines, including Qatar Airways (qatarairways. com), Emirates (emirates.com), Etihad (etihad.com) and Turkish Airlines (turkishairlines.com) offer one-stop flights from various British hubs.

If you’re staying near the capital, you’ll be transferred to your resort via the hotel’s speedboat, with journey times varying from 15 minutes to one hour. Resorts located further away – such as those in Baa, Raa or Ari – will require a 30-minute to 60-minute seaplane transfer, which will usually be arranged by your hotel or tour operator. Seaplanes can fly only relatively short distances and cannot fly after dark – they’re also not ideal for nervous fliers. A good network of domestic airports and scheduled flights cover most atolls and offer an (often significantly cheaper) alternative to travelling by seaplane. Maafaru Airport in Noonu Atoll also has a private-jet terminal, which is popular with those going to Soneva Fushi, Velaa Private Island and Cheval Blanc Rangali.

When to book

Although last-minute deals do sometimes crop up in the low season, the Maldives is an increasingly popular holiday destination, so if you’re planning to visit for a special occasion or you want to travel during high season, it’s always best to book as far in advance as possible – flight schedules and package deals are usually released 12 months in advance.

When to go

Temperatures in the Maldives sit between 24C and 30C throughout the year. The most popular time to visit is between mid-December and early March, when you can expect calm seas and 12 hours of unbroken sunshine a day. However, this is also the high season and hotel rates often double – or triple – over the Christmas and New Year period. Prices drop again as temperatures rise in March and April, which is a wonderful time to visit as the Indian Ocean settles into a crystal-clear lake-like calm. The monsoon season, peaking in June, July and August, is the time to see manta rays – but it can be rainy and windy at times.

How much does it cost?

Luxury resorts such as the new Soneva Secrets, Cheval Blanc Randheli, Velaa Private Island, Ritz-Carlton Maldives and the Waldorf Astoria Itaafushi attract a seemingly endless stream of celebrities, and their top residences can command rates of £20,000 a night. But you don’t have to be an A-lister to visit the Maldives, with shoulderseason breaks at a modest all-inclusive resort such as Cinnamon Ellaidhoo coming in at about £2,000 per week, including flights.