Lonely Planet Maldives

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• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781786571687
• eBook ISBN: 9781788681476

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet's Maldives is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Encounter hammerhead sharks on a dawn dive, find your perfect luxury beach resort or family-run guesthouse, and hop around by seaplane for a view of coral atolls, blue lagoons and tiny desert islands - all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Maldives and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet's Maldives: Colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights provide a richer, more rewarding travel experience - covering history, people, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, politics Covers Male, North & South Male Atolls, Ari & Rasdhoo Atoll, Northern Atolls, Southern Atolls The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Maldives is our most comprehensive guide to the country, and is perfect for discovering both popular and offbeat experiences. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia)eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

North & South Male Atolls

Around Male

Hulhumale

Hulhule

Villingili

North Male Atoll

Kaashidhoo

Gaafaru Falhu

South Male Atoll

Maafushi

North & South Male Atolls

Why Go?

North and South Male Atolls are home to many of the country’s most famous and best established resorts, and all the islands here are within easy reach of the capital city and Velana International Airport. South Male Atoll is also home to Maafushi, the biggest success story of Maldives’ opening up to independent tourism on inhabited islands, where there are now more than 50 guesthouses and multiple dive and water-sports centres, although concerns about overdevelopment abound.

Both atolls have a wealth of natural draws too: excellent dive sites pepper both sides of Vaadhoo Kandu, the channel that runs between North and South Male Atolls, while Gaafaru Falhu Atoll, north of North Male Atoll, has at least three diveable shipwrecks. Some of Maldives’ best surf breaks can be found in North Male Atoll, which is home to a small, seasonal surfer scene, and the beaches are superb almost everywhere.

When to Go

• Jan–Apr Divers will experience the best visibility in the water at these times.
• May–Nov The best months to surf North and South Male’s excellent breaks.
• Dec–Mar High season brings the best weather, with almost unbroken sunshine common for weeks at a time.

Best Resorts

A One & Only Reethi Rah

A Cocoa Island by COMO

A Gili Lankanfushi

A Jumeirah Vittaveli

A Rihiveli Beach Resort

Best Guesthouses

A Coke’s Beach

A Kaani Village & Spa

A Crystal Sands

A Arena Beach Hotel

A Canopus Retreats Thulusdhoo

Around Male

With Male bursting at the seams, several surrounding islands are being developed to relieve the housing pressure on the capital. The following islands are worth a visit from Male by local ferry.

Around Male

1Sights

1China-Maldives Friendship BridgeC3

2 Activities, Courses & Tours

2Banana ReefC2

3Hans Hass PlaceA3

4Honky’sD1

5JailbreaksD1

6Lion’s HeadA3

7Maldive VictoryC3

8Manta PointD1

9Okobe ThilaC1

10Sultan’sD1

4Sleeping

11Angsana IhuruA1

12Bandos Island ResortC1

13BarosA1

14Gili LankanfushiD1

15Hotel Ocean Grand at HulhumaleD3

16Hulhule Island HotelC3

17Kurumba MaldivesC2

18Le Vieux Nice InnD2

19Paradise Island Resort & SpaD1

20Planktons BeachD2

21Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & SpaD2

5Eating

Bombay Darbar(see 15)

Family Room Cafe(see 20)

22Ravin’sD3

8Information

23Elysian MaldivesB3

8Transport

FlyMe(see 25)

24Hulhumale-Male FerryC2

25Male FerryC3

Trans Maldivian Airways(see 25)

Hulhumale

Hulhumale is Maldives’ brave new world, an overflow island for Male’s population that has been planned in great detail and now measures several times its original size following land reclamation projects that have even swallowed up a second island.

Built 2m above sea level to protect against sea-level rises, this large island is mainly of interest to travellers as a place to overnight cheaply when transiting Male, though anyone interested in urban planni...

Table of contents

• Table of Contents
• Welcome to Maldives
• Maldives’ Top 10
• Need to Know
• What’s New
• If You Like…
• Choosing a Resort
• Diving, Snorkelling & Surfing
• Big Creatures of the Deep Gallery
• Eat & Drink Like a Local
• Local Life Gallery
• Independent Travel
• Regions at a Glance
• Male
• North & South Male Atolls
• Ari Atoll & Around
• Northern Atolls
• Southern Atolls
• Understand Maldives
• Maldives Today
• History
• Maldivian Way of Life
• Wildlife in Maldives
• Environmental Issues & Responsible Travel
• Arts, Crafts & Architecture
• Directory A–Z
• Transport
• Health
• Language
• Behind the Scenes
• Our Writer