Maldives
Maldives
A country of more than a thousand coral islands scattered across twenty-six atolls, almost none of which rises more than a couple of metres above the sea. Geography is the whole product here.
A short history
The islands have been a waypoint in the Indian Ocean for more than 2,500 years, sitting on the routes between Arabia, East Africa and Southeast Asia. They converted to Islam in 1153, and the sultanate that followed shaped Maldivian culture for the next eight hundred years. The modern country turned its geography into an export: the private-island overwater villa resort was effectively invented here in the 1970s and has been copied everywhere warm ever since.
Why travellers love it
The water is the whole point, and it is as clear as the photographs suggest. It is also a majority-Muslim country, which is worth knowing for dress and customs on the inhabited islands, and the resort-island model gives families and couples a level of privacy that is hard to buy elsewhere.
Before you go
A free thirty-day visa is issued on arrival to most nationalities, provided you have a confirmed booking. Come between November and April for the dry season. The detail that catches people out is the transfer: resorts sit on their own islands, and reaching one is a speedboat or a seaplane that can add several hundred dollars and half a day each way. Check that cost and that schedule before you commit to a resort, not after.
Highlights
- An overwater villa stay
- Snorkelling the house reef
- A sandbank picnic
- A sunset dolphin cruise
Complete your trip
Two things worth sorting before you fly.
- Mobile data in MaldivesAn eSIM you set up before you fly, so you are online the moment you land. Via Airalo.(opens in a new tab)
- Things to do in MaldivesTours, attraction tickets and airport transfers, booked ahead. Via Klook, in English.(opens in a new tab)
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Flights to Maldives
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