Our two favorite Atolls in the Maldives
Our two favorite Atolls in the Maldives
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We can simply say, that the Maldives are a paradise on earth! Before we travelled here, we were a little concerned, if it’s possible to experience a nice low budget version in this luxury destination. And yes, you truly can! We were blown away when we arrived, everything was even better than expected. The local islands with the nice little homestays are very affordable and you can easily combine it with an affordable resort island. Just keep in mind, that the Maldives are huge! There are so many different atolls far away from each other and different islands inside these atolls. You definitely have to plan this beforehand, if you want to visit several atolls. Otherwise you will have to invest a lot of money and time in transportation. Some local islands located closer to Malé, are reachable by cheaper speed boats. There are also inland propeller flights to further away islands. However, a lot of resorts are only reachable by expensive seaplane transfers. We chose two different atolls, known for an incredible underwater life. And we can highly recommend this combination of the two atolls!
Baa Atoll – Reethi Beach Resort
We spent 10 days in total on the Maldives, honestly you can stay here for a months without getting bored! We decided to experience both, a local island and a resort island, so we spend 5 days on a local island in South Ari Atoll (south-west of Male), and 5 days at Reethi Beach Resort in Baa Atoll (north-west of Male). To get to Reethi Beach Resort, it’s easiest to get a seaplane transfer. A combination of a short inland propeller flight and a speed boat ride is possible too, but almost as expensive as the seaplane transfer for 300 dollar per person back and forth. We had a wonderful time at Reethi Beach resort and 5 nights felt like the perfect amount of time.
1. The beautiful Reethi Beach Resort
Reethi Beach resort is located on a small island, you can easily walk around the island in a few minutes. Still, there is a lot to do. You can choose between beach villas a few meters from the shore or a water-villa. We stayed 4 nights in a beach villa and 1 night in a water-villa for my birthday. Compared to most other resorts in the Maldives both options are quite affordable. We are still dreaming of the beautiful white beaches on this island and the incredible sunsets. One huge advantage of this resort is the incredible house reef only a few meters from the beach. You can watch so many colorful fish, black tip reef sharks, sting rays and nurse sharks. Also, the famous Hanifaru Bay is only a few minutes away by boat, therefore it’s the perfect resort, if you want to see the huge manta ray population.
2. Stay in a water-villa
We highly recommend staying in a water-villa, at least for one night. It’s wonderful! The view at the ocean from your bed, the breakfast on the veranda, jumping into the clear water from the ladder. What a dream. We remember laying at the veranda in the night looking at the thousands of stars in the sky, while reading a book out loud.
3. Visit the Hanifaru Bay and be surrounded by manta rays
The Hanifaru Bay was a must-see for us, since we are freedivers and manta ray lovers. Every year between the end of May and November, a huge population of manta rays are coming into the bay to eat the plankton. When we arrived at Reethi Beach, there was still no single sighting of a manta in the bay. The next day we saw one manta while scuba diving, and the day after we actually saw more than 60 animals in the bay. We were so extremely lucky! It’s not allowed to scuba dive in the bay, only snorkeling and freediving is possible. We appreciate that the Hanifaru Bay is very well controlled by rangers, there are only 4 boats allowed at once and you have to swim the last 100 meters to the mantas. The rangers are watching everyone from their boats and some are also in the water. They are making sure no one touches the mantas. We can’t even describe the feeling being surrounded by so many manta rays, it’s such a special experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world. This tour has it’s price with around 180 dollar it is very expensive, however this high amount keeps a safe space for these animals.
4. Explore the House Reef
Despite all the incredible tours you can also just explore the house reef on your own. Grab some fins and a mask and snorkel to the edge of the reef, where the water gets deeper. There you will find so many colorful fish! Reethi Beach resort defined a safe area for snorkeling, where no boats are allowed!
5. Go scuba diving
If you have a scuba license or if you want to participate on a first test dive, there is a nice diving school called Ocean Fanatics directly on the island. Just ask them for the next planned dives, if you arrive on the island, and they will help you with everything. Again we were so lucky, since we saw a manta above a cleaning station swimming circles in front of us for almost half an hour. We booked two dives on one day, but you can also accomplish a license there.
6. Do a sandbank excursion
On my birthday Reethi Beach Resort brought us to a beautiful sandbank with one of their boats. We found ourselves in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by turquoise water. What a dream. I mean, look at this blue water.
7. Go on a dolphin cruise
For my (Jana’s) birthday evening, Reethi Beach planned something very special, a dolphin cruise for sunset. The first minutes we couldn’t find any dolphins, but then around 10 dolphins arrived and swam in front of our boat for around 30 minutes. It was wonderful. They jumped out of the water and tried to show us every trick they got. They seemed to really enjoy the company of us. We even heard the clicking sounds they made to communicate which each other.
8. Rent a Stand-Up Paddle Board or Kayak
At the jetty you can rent a stand-up paddle board or a kayak to explore the whole shore until you reach the beach bar at the end of the house reef. The water clarity is so amazing here! If you are lucky a nurse shark will come and say hi to you.
9. Celebrate sunset with a picnic
Well, this picnic Reethi Beach created, was so wonderful! For sunset they had prepared everything very nicely, so that we could enjoy the setting sun while drinking a cold wine. What a romantic evening!
10. Watch nurse sharks, sting rays and black tip reef sharks at the shore
The resort used to feed the nurse sharks and sting rays for sunset at the beach, fortunately they decided to not feed the animals anymore. However, a few animals still come in the evening looking for food. Just wait at the jetty or in the water. Sometimes they arrive after sunset, sometimes before sunset. We saw black tip reef sharks, sting rays and many nurse sharks!
11. Enjoy the beautiful white beaches
The beaches here are so white and clean, we didn’t find any rubbish. But also on the other local islands we almost find no plastic at the shore. All beaches around the island are beautiful, however the most beautiful pictures we got at the beach bar. If you stay in a beach villa, it will come with a private umbrella and two deckchairs.
12. Swing at sunrise
The swing at this island is perfectly located for golden hour! I mean, how beautiful is this! Turquoise water, warm golden sunlight, reflections on the water. Get up early to experience it!
13. Have breakfast over the water
If you are staying in a watervilla ask for a breakfast on the veranda. There is nothing better, than looking at the water while drinking your first coffee or smoothie. If you only stay in a beach villa, ask for a breakfast on the beach and they will prepare everything nicely.
Which season is the best for this Atoll?
You can simply visit the whole Maldives all year around, same applies for Baa Atoll. In the rainy season there is a chance of a short rainshowers for a few minutes or an hour, but everything is also cheaper in this season. We went in May in the rainy season and only had sunshine and blue sky at Baa Atoll. The view in the water is better in the dry season, but the huge animals like mantas and whale sharks will only be in this Atoll in the rainy season, when there is more plankton around. In contrast to Baa Atoll you have a chance to see whale sharks and mantas at South Ari Atoll the whole year.
October – April: dry season
May – October: rainy season (most rain in June and July)
Late May – November: Manta season in Hanifaru Bay with up to 200 animals
Late August – September: possible to see whale sharks
How to get here?
You can either take an inland propeller flight to the nearest local airport at Baa Atoll called Dharavandhoo, followed by a speed boat transfer to Reethi Beach island. Or you book a seaplane flight directly from Male International Airport to Reethi Beach island for 300 USD. You can book both directly with them. The seaplane transfer saves some time and is an adventure itself.
South Ari Atoll – Stay at the Local Island Dhigurah
Dhigurah is the perfect local island four your Maldives stay! It’s only a 1,5 hour speed boat ride away from the International Airport of Male and offers so many incredible things! Hotels and tours are also cheaper on the local islands than on resort islands. On this 3 km long island there are living around 600 inhabitants. From the central area with all the hotels you can walk to the sandbank at the end of the island in 45 minutes by foot or you rent a bike. We loved this small island a lot! Unfortunately, you can only book tours directly with the hotel you are staying at (it’s a rule in the Maldives), however the hotel Bliss Dhigurah works together with a very good diving school called Island Divers and offers a lot of different tours. Sadly, there weren’t enough people for the nurse shark tour, since it’s far away in another atoll. However, we went on an amazing whale shark tour and on a manta tour with them.
1. Stay at Bliss Dhigurah and eat at Hermit’s
We chose a very nice hotel for our stay called Bliss Dhigurah. It is located close to the beach and as close as possible to the sandbank. They will organize a pick-up from the jetty, where the speed boat will arrive. The nicest thing about this hotel is the extremely good restaurant at the ground floor. The food is not cheap, but it’s definitely the best restaurant on the island and breakfast is included when you stay there. The rooms are pretty small, but the atmosphere is amazing in this hotel, since there are a lot of travelers.
2. Join a wale shark tour
We highly recommend joining a whale shark tour! The whole tour is organized by your hotel. On two tours we saw several whale sharks, it was amazing. The clarity of the water is so good, that you can see the whole animal very clearly. Don’t be afraid, whale sharks are the biggest fish and easily measure up to 8 meters, but they are also the kindest and most peaceful animals I have seen! Just make sure you don’t touch the animal and don’t dive beneath them. The best way is to swim calmly next to them and don’t get in front of them, otherwise you can scare them. One animal swam with us for around 10 minutes directly under the surface. I love whale sharks!
3. Join a manta tour
We also recommend going on a manta tour. In South Ari Atoll you can see whale sharks and mantas all year around. On our tour we saw at least 6 manta rays, some swimming directly under the surface, some 6-8 meters under us. Aren’t these creatures beautiful?
4. Walk to the sandbank of Dhigurah Island
The greatest thing about this local island is the beautiful sandbank at the tip of the island! On other islands you have to buy an expensive sandbank excursion, here you can just walk to this beautiful sandbank and experience it the whole day! Depending on the tide the sandbank gets bigger and smaller, it’s so beautiful how the waves arrive from both sides. From the sandbank you can see LUX resort on the other side of the island, but you can’t walk there, since the water is too deep. We found the clearest water here at the sandbank.
5. Enjoy the incredible beaches
The beaches on this local island are really something else! Although they are not well groomed resort beaches, we found almost no rubbish or plastic. There are so many little bays where you have the whole beach all for yourself! It’s wonderful. Bring enough time to explore all the little coves. Look at these beautiful palm-trees. There are some bikini-beaches and some beaches where it isn’t allowed to wear a bikini, since the locals are muslims here. However, the beaches where so empty that no one of the locals cared. Still, show some respect to their culture, and don’t walk in a bikini around your hotel or at the streets.
6. Chill in a hammock
We brought a hammock, and there are several palm trees perfectly shaped to fix a hammock. Just bring some bug spray, since there are a lot of mosquitoes in the shadow.
7. Enjoy the beautiful sunsets
After a wonderful day diving with whale sharks and mantas, the best way to end this day is by watching a beautiful sunset at the beach. Although we had some clouds and short rainshowers the first days, the light was amazing at golden hour!
8. Ride the bike around the island through the beautiful palmtree roads
The main area with all the hotels is located at one side of the island. To get to the sandbank on the other side of the island you can walk a beautiful path under palm trees in the middle of the island. After around 45 minutes you reach the sandbank. You are even faster if you rent a bike at your hotel. I loved this palm tree clearing a few minutes before arriving at the sandbank, there we also found the most beautiful beaches. The whole 5 days on this local island we went barefoot.
9. Go Scuba diving
Our hotel was working together with Island Divers. So we went on two scuba dives with them and saw a white tip reef shark, a nurse shark, turtles and sting rays. The current can get very strong here in the Maldives, a lot of dives feel like a drift dive. It was lovely to experience scuba diving here!
10. Go freediving
In the middle of the island there is also a turtle point with a lot of corals. Unfortunately, the view wasn’t that clear here, because of the rainy season. We guess in the dry season the view is a lot better.
11. Cool down in the water
Temperatures can get up to 33 degree here, and in the sun it feels even hotter. There is nothing better than to refresh in the also very warm (28 degree) ocean. We found the clearest water at the sandbank. The most beautiful little beach coves we found at the bikini beach at the east side of the island.
Which season is the best?
Same as for the rest of the Maldives, you can visit this Atoll the whole year around. Everywhere prices are cheaper in the rainy season. However, since you can find whale sharks and mantas all year around in this atoll, the view might be better in the dry season. Nevertheless, we went in the rainy season in May and had a lot of luck with the underwater animals.
October – April: dry season
May – October: rainy season (most rain in June and July, mosquitoes)
All year: Mantas and whale sharks
How to get here?
It’s very easy to get to Dhigurah Island. From the International Airport it’s only a few meters to the jetty with all the speed boats. The easiest way is to ask your hotel on Dhigurah island to organize the speed boat transfer for you, so someone will wait for you at the airport with a sign. After a 1.5 hour speed boat ride for around 60 USD per person you will arrive at the local island. Sometimes they will add a few more stops at other local islands. On our way to the island we had a very calm ride with a boat with open windows. On the way back it was bumpy and some people got seasick. We highly recommend to bring some seasickness tablets.
Vaavu Atoll – Local Island Fulidhoo
Fulidhoo is another great local island, not far from Male. If we had more time, we would have loved to visit this Atoll! Next time we will definitely do! Fulidhoo is only 1h away from Male by speed boat, and counts 200 inhabitants. There are a lot of shops and restaurants and a dive center. You will find cheap homestay and bikini beaches.
- Dive with nurse sharks at a cleaning station
- Dive at a shipwreck (there is a bicycle underwater)
- take a photo with sting rays in the water directly at the beach
North-Male Atoll – Thulusdoo
Another great local island not far from Male is Thulusdoo. Compared to the other islands, this place is mostly known for surfing. There are waves for every level here. Also visit the incredible restaurant Indulge Maldives.
- go surfing
- eat at Indulge Maldives
- go on a sandbank excursion
South Male Atoll – Thodoo Maldives
Another local island is Thodoo in South Male Atoll. It has beautiful swings in the water and it’s located close to Vaavu Atoll. This means you can also visit the shipwreck and the nurse shark point from here.
Other Resort-Islands
- @villapark.maldives (South Ari Atoll)
- @milaidhoo (Baa Atoll, Good house reef, Ocean Stories dive center)
- @coco_resorts (Baa Atoll, visit Embudhoo Island)
- @discoversoneva (Baa Atoll, Soneva Fushi, incredible views)
- @kuramathiisland (Rasdhoo Atoll)
We visited the Maldives in May 2023.
Anzeige / ad: We worked together with some of the hotels / restaurants / companies mentioned above. However, all our recommendations are always based on our own opinion.
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