Where to next
All destinations
Coral islands in the heart of the Indian Ocean, where privacy is the starting point
An island of calm, made for unhurried days
The land of smiles and golden temples
Temples, rice terraces and the Indian Ocean
A city in a garden, just north of the equator
From towering skylines to desert sands
Land of the tsars, white winters and long summer light
Photo: Frédéric Ducarme (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Coral islands in the heart of the Indian Ocean, where privacy is the starting point
In the heart of the Indian Ocean, where nature meets boundless privacy.
The destination
In the heart of the Indian Ocean, where nature meets boundless privacy, lie the Maldives: 1,192 coral islands in a double chain of 26 atolls, stretching some 871 km from north to south. All the land together comes to 298 square kilometres, and its average height above the sea is 1.5 metres. It is the lowest-lying country in the world, and the ocean is part of every view.
The Maldives is not simply a trip. It is a story written to your taste, beginning with you and ending with your satisfaction. From villas set over the lagoon to the coral reefs thriving beneath them, each resort occupies an island of its own, so seclusion is part of the design rather than an extra.
It is also a Muslim country. Sunni Islam is the state religion, Dhivehi the language, and English is spoken in every resort. The clocks run two hours ahead of Riyadh, the temperature stays close to 30°C all year, and direct flights from Riyadh take about five hours.
We choose the atoll before the resort: Baa, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, for its manta rays; Ari for the whale sharks that live there all year; the Fari Islands and the Malé atolls when you would rather arrive by speedboat in under an hour; Laamu and the far atolls when you want real quiet. Then we arrange every detail, from the seaplane to dinner on the sand.
Ideal for
Regions
01 · Atoll
The capital, Malé, and Velana International Airport are here, with resorts you reach by speedboat by day or night, among them the Fari Islands of Patina and The Ritz-Carlton.
02 · Atoll
About 75 islands, 30 to 40 minutes by seaplane, with Hanifaru Bay, where mantas gather between June and November.
03 · Atoll
Some 90 islands, 40 to 45 minutes by seaplane, home to JOALI, JOALI BEING and InterContinental Maamunagau.
04 · Atoll
West of Malé, with exceptional dive sites, a marine protected area in the south where whale sharks live year-round, and Ithaa, the undersea restaurant.
05 · Atoll
A remote atoll in the south shared by just two resorts, reached by domestic flight to Kadhdhoo and a short boat ride, home to Six Senses Laamu.
06 · Region
Distant atolls to the south and north, home to Niyama, Raffles Meradhoo and JW Marriott, with channels full of life and seas few boats cross.
Experiences
Overwater Villa Stays
A villa set over the ocean, with steps from your own deck straight into turquoise water. The questions we answer with you: which lagoon, which side, which resort.Discover
Swimming with the Mantas of Hanifaru Bay
Baa Atoll
In a small bay inside the Baa Atoll reserve, manta rays gather to feed between June and November. You snorkel among them with a guide, watched over by the reserve's rangers.Discover
Whale Sharks of South Ari
Ari Atoll
The largest fish in the sea, gentle and feeding only on plankton. In the protected area of South Ari it lives all year, and you swim alongside it with a guide.Discover
Private Boat Trips and Dinner on the Sand
A private boat to an uninhabited island or a sandbank in the lagoon, then dinner on white sand under the stars, served for you alone.Discover
Where to stay
Taste and addresses
Maldivian cooking comes from the sea and the coconut palm: skipjack tuna, fresh or smoked and dried, coconut grated, pressed into milk or used as oil, with rice and roshi, a thin flatbread. The heat is gentle, and it is the cooking of a Muslim country, with fish at its heart. Ask, and we will arrange a Maldivian breakfast or a cooking class at your resort.
Restaurant · Ari Atoll
Ithaa Undersea Restaurant
The first all-glass restaurant beneath the sea, five metres down in South Ari, open to guests from outside the resort.
Read more
Restaurant · Baa Atoll
SEA at Anantara Kihavah
An underwater restaurant and cellar six metres down in Baa Atoll, with only eight tables beside a deep channel.
Read more
Landmark · North and South Malé Atolls
Old Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiy)
Malé's oldest standing mosque, completed in 1658 from carved coral stone, on UNESCO's World Heritage tentative list since 2008.
Read more
Landmark · North and South Malé Atolls
King Salman Mosque
The largest mosque in the Maldives, holding 10,000 worshippers, with five minarets for the five pillars of Islam.
Read more
Shopping · North and South Malé Atolls
Malé Fish Market and Local Market
On the waterfront west of Republic Square, where the boats bring in tuna in the afternoon, with the fruit and spice market opposite.
Read more
Journeys
Itineraries drawn up by our consultants, to adapt to you day by day.
The Maldives · 7 nights
Three nights close to Malé, then four in the heart of a UNESCO reserve
Begin at The Ritz-Carlton Fari Islands, a short boat ride from the airport, then fly by seaplane to Anantara Kihavah in Baa Atoll, for dinners beneath the sea and on the sand.
The Maldives · 8 nights
A Maldivian village near Malé, then the manta island in Baa
Four nights at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa, with its kids' club and surf lessons, then four at Landaa Giraavaru with the manta and turtle scientists.
The Maldives · 8 nights
Whale sharks in the west, turtles and seagrass in the south
Four nights at LUX* South Ari Atoll on the edge of the whale shark area, then four at Six Senses Laamu with its marine biologists.
Questions
