Ari Atoll

Ari is one of the best-known and most varied atolls in the Maldives. It lies west of Malé, with standout resorts and exceptional dive sites, and it is famous for its whale sharks, which here are close to a certainty.

In the south of the atoll the government declared a marine protected area in 2009, running along the reef edge from Rangali in the west to Dhigurah in the east and covering 42 square kilometres. It is one of the few places in the world where whale sharks are resident all year. Hawksbill turtles and whitetip reef sharks live here too, and we send you out with a guide who keeps to the rules for approaching them.

At Rangali, on the edge of the protected area, is Ithaa: the first all-glass restaurant beneath the sea, opened in 2005 five metres down, which takes guests from outside the resort for lunch and dinner by reservation. Our resort here is LUX* South Ari Atoll, on a remote island where it built one of the largest floating solar installations in the world.

You reach Ari by seaplane, or by domestic flight and then boat. We choose between them by your arrival time, because seaplanes fly only in daylight.