The 11 essential things to do in the Maldives

Are you going to visit the Maldives, a large archipelago off South India? Here are the essentials to do in the Maldives!

What to do in Maldives? Famous for the beauty of beaches and seabeds, the Maldives draws a paradise on the sea: calm lagoons with translucent and hot waters, multicolored fish, heavenly beaches, coral reefs, attracting almost 800,000 tourists each year. Maldives consists of 1,199 islands, including the capital – Malé – is 600 kilometres from India and 755 kilometres from Sri Lanka. In 2017, the Maldives was inhabited by 436,330 inhabitants for 298 km2. A true tropical eldorado, however, Maldives is regularly criticized for their low religious tolerance and for their human rights violations.

If you decide to visit the Maldives and ask you to do so in this island country, here are some of the ways we have developed: our 11 ideas of things to do and see to visit the Maldives.

1. Malé

Need an escape that is not tax? Despite a regression of often deplored social rights, the Maldives attracts a large number of Western travellers in search of beauty, idyllic beaches and tropical sunshine. The capital is the most populous city in the country, with 142,909 inhabitants (2017) distributed – or even crowded – 5.8 km2, with a population density of more than 17,884 hab./km2. Malé is located on a homonymous island in the Kaafu atoll and represents the political, cultural, economic and financial centre of the country. Located at a latitude of 4° north, the climate of the city is equatorial.

In the city of Malé, the National Museum , in the Sultan’s Park, is a must-see visit. It houses collections of the country's Buddhist and Islamic period, with clothing and jewelry, weapons and drums. The city includes many hotels where to sleep and is scattered, between mosques, green spaces where to stroll. For a commemorative visit, go southwest, to the Tsunami Monument (2004).

2. Mudhdhoo Island

There is a rare phenomenon, unique in the world, found in the Maldives, north of Malé, on the island Mudhdhoo : at nightfall, due to a bioluminescent organ activated as a defense strategy by thousands of tiny crustaceans present on the sand, the beach illuminates at dusk. So what do we do in Maldives? See the beaches of Mudhdhoo Island is an unmistakable activity of the Maldives, and quite unusual! It has become a major tourist attraction on the archipelago because of its unique character. At the edge of a swim, enjoy the exceptional marine fauna that promises a magical show.

3. The atoll of Véligandu

What to do in the Maldives, if not to be caught on the sublime beaches of the equatorial and tropical islands? Turquoise water, hot all year round, molding of fine sand and at the foot of lush tropical vegetation: Maldives is an invitation to travel. To enjoy the best beaches of Maldives, go to Véligandu , the iconic beach of Maldives, with bungalows built on pilots where to sleep feet in a peaceful blue lagoon.

4. Alimatha Island

Beautiful island if we appreciate the tranquility, beauty, bathing in warm waters and sunbathing on a very fine sand. We can scuba diving or just... stuffing. The hotels where they are staying in Alimatha will seduce all audiences: families, children, adults, couples, enjoying a delicious cuisine.

5. Ari’s atoll

L’ atoll d’Ari , consisting of 82 islets, is a huge lagoon of 2,271.75 km2. There are also 26 islands-hotels whose quiet and voluptuous luxury are the master words! If you've run all over the surface, go to Meerufenfushi , located 40 kilometers northeast of Malé: it is a sublime island-hotel uninhabited.

6. The island of Ukulhas

Located west of Rasdu and connected by boat to the latter, the island of Ukulhas offers several dozen hotels where to stay, restaurants and Bikini beach, where tourists and locals mix. It is also a very good spot to scuba diving, with tuba, mask and palms.

7. Kuramathi Island

A last atoll on the road? L’ island Kuramathi is located in the centre of the Maldives, west of Rasdu’s inhabited island. From beaches there still sublime in all points, some hotels where to sleep and the same credo: enjoy, in peace.

8. Scuba diving and snorkeling

Are diving and snorkeling not the essential activities of a country made up of blue atolls and lagoons? If you visit the Maldives, Try experience . To you, the beauty and clarity of water, lagoons protected from waves by coral barriers, and multicolored fish. Lhaviyani atoll or atoll de Baa – ranked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ideal for snorkeling – and Hanifaru Bay are among the most beautiful destinations in the Maldives. We can even rest on the pontoons in the sun or in the shade, in the wooden and chaume bungalows: be careful, it forces!

9. Night fishing

It is often the hotels and resorts that organize the night fishing parties. If you only know what to do in Maldives, fishing at nightfall will be a good idea of activity after a day of farniente on the beach. Why? Because the biggest fish are easier to ferrate in the evening, when they come out to feed, than during the day. Is a barbecue in paradise trying to get you?

10. Swimming with sharks

Visiting the Maldives without seeing the whale sharks and the manta rays would be a shame. In Maldives, diving with these marine animals is a widespread practice among tourist activities sold by beach resorts. An extraordinary aquatic universe awaits you, in an element that is not mastered: the ocean. There is an abundant population of raies-manta, multi-coloured tropical fish and between November and April, the impressive Baleine shark. Dive into the ocean 15-20 meters deep allows you to cross the corals, approach the reefs to be close to the walls, parrotfish, rays and merous: a gigantic aquarium except that here you are abroad...

11. Overflight atolls and islets

To those who ask to do in the Maldives, Wanderlix answers them: a seaplane ride! Why not overfly the atolls in seaplane and come back with an almost unique image in the world: from the top of the air, enjoy the transparency of the water and the colors of the lagoons, contrasting with the deep blue of the ocean, molding the almost desert islands!

How to get to Maldives?

To visit the Maldives, one solution: the plane. It is Malé Airport that will be your drop point to visit the Maldives! Many companies offer flights from Paris with stopover (the cheapest flights are to be found on our partner's website Ulysses ). It will be necessary to take a plane or a quick boat to rally the other islands, islets and atolls. It is quite unusual to take a boat after the plane, when you are accustomed to boarding a bus out of the airport!

Where to stay in the Maldives?

Rent accommodation in Maldives is not at all cheap: a low-cost hotel will be more expensive than a high-end hotel in Sri Lanka or India. Around the 110 hotel islands in the country, there are many hotels where to sleep but it will be very expensive, even for low-end hotels. We therefore recommend that you be expected in terms of the budget... For a hotel at the best price, do not hesitate to take a tour of this Compare hotels which will select the best offers. From the Addu atoll to the south to the northernmost Thuraakunu, nearly 2,000 islands await you!