Maldives

⚠️ Entry rules and local regulations change without notice. Before booking, check entry requirements and local rules — visas, access, nature reserves, visitor quotas — with the official authorities.

The Maldives are barely there: 1,190 coral islands scattered across 26 natural atolls in the Indian Ocean, of which fewer than 200 are inhabited. The average elevation is 1.5 metres — the lowest country on earth. What that geography produces is a lagoon system of extraordinary clarity, with manta rays and whale sharks feeding in the channels, and a tourism model unlike anywhere else: one island, one resort. Since 2009 the alternative has existed too — guesthouses on local islands, at a fraction of the price, with a different set of rules.

One island, one resort — or the local option

For decades the Maldives worked on a single principle: each resort occupies its own island, and visitors never leave it. That model still dominates, and it explains the prices — everything, including your drinking water, arrives by boat or seaplane. All-inclusive is not a luxury here, it is a practical necessity.

Since the law changed in 2009, local islands may host guesthouses. Maafushi, Thulusdhoo, Dhigurah and others now offer rooms at a tenth of resort prices, with the same lagoon outside. The trade-off is cultural: these are Muslim villages. Alcohol is prohibited outside resorts, and swimwear is limited to designated 'bikini beaches'. Neither rule is negotiable, and both are easy to respect once you know.

Two monsoons, two very different seas

The dry northeast monsoon, from November to April, brings calm seas, reliable sun and the highest prices — February and March are the peak. The southwest monsoon, May to October, brings rain, wind and rougher crossings, with July and August the wettest.

But divers should not dismiss the wet season. The plankton that the rain and currents bring is exactly what draws whale sharks and manta rays to the feeding stations of Hanifaru Bay and the South Ari atoll. From June to November the visibility is lower and the encounters far more likely — and the rooms cost half.

Getting there, and getting between

There are no roads between islands and no cars to hire: transfer is the whole logistics of a Maldives trip, and it should be settled before booking. A speedboat serves the nearer atolls; a seaplane, spectacular and expensive, reaches the far ones — and flies only in daylight, so a late arrival can mean an unplanned night in Malé.

Public ferries connect local islands for a couple of dollars, but run on a slow and infrequent schedule that rarely suits a short stay. Whatever the resort quotes for transfers, add it to the room price before comparing: on the outer atolls it can equal several nights' accommodation.

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