7 Best Places to Visit in the Maldives

The Maldives is much more than overwater villas: its 26 natural atolls hold a busy island capital, local-island guesthouses that make it affordable, and some of the best places on Earth to swim with manta rays and whale sharks. These seven places span the whole country, from the capital to the far south.

1. Malé

The capital is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with apartment blocks packed right to the water's edge of a small island. It's worth a few hours between flights: the Old Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiy), built in 1658 from carved coral stone, the busy fish market along the waterfront, and the Sinamalé Bridge, which links the city to the airport island of Hulhulé.

2. Maafushi

An inhabited local island in Kaafu Atoll, a short speedboat or ferry ride from Malé, and one of the places that led the Maldives' boom in guesthouse tourism after the rules changed around 2010 to allow guesthouses on inhabited islands. It offers a far cheaper way to see the country than a resort, with excursions to sandbanks, snorkelling reefs and nearby resorts. As on all local islands, alcohol isn't served and visitors swim in modest dress outside the designated "bikini beach".

3. Thoddoo

A quiet local island in the north of Ari Atoll, known across the country for its farming, particularly its watermelons and papayas. Sandy lanes, small guesthouses and a pretty beach with a reef close to shore make it a relaxed alternative to busier islands like Maafushi.

4. Dhigurah

A long, narrow local island in South Ari Atoll, lined with a long beach that ends in a sweeping sandbank. It's best known as a base for the South Ari Marine Protected Area, one of the few places in the world where whale sharks can be seen year-round, often on snorkelling trips just off the reef.

5. Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll

A small bay in Baa Atoll, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2011, where manta rays gather in large numbers to feed on plankton, especially during the south-west monsoon season from roughly May to November. It's a strictly protected area: visits are by snorkelling only, in limited, regulated groups.

6. Fuvahmulah

A single-island atoll near the equator in the deep south, very different from the classic postcard: it has freshwater lakes and wetlands, pebble and sand beaches pounded by open-ocean swell, and its own airport. Divers know it for encounters with tiger sharks, which can be seen here year-round.

7. Addu Atoll

The southernmost atoll of the Maldives, lying just south of the equator. Its islands are connected by a long causeway road, and Gan still carries traces of the airbase the British operated there until the 1970s. The Addu Nature Park protects wetlands and mangroves, and the atoll's reefs include the wreck of the British Loyalty, a popular dive site.

Staying connected while you travel

The Maldives' two operators cover almost every inhabited island and resort with fast 4G, and 5G is available around Malé and Hulhumalé. Resort Wi-Fi can be slow or pricey, so an eSIM is the easiest way to stay online on boat trips and between islands.

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New to eSIMs? Read our beginner's guide on how they work, or see all Maldives eSIM plans compared side by side.