MALE

Malé is the entry point for almost all visitors to the Maldives. The Male International Airport is located on the neighbouring Hulhule Island. After landing on airport, you need to catch either a boat or seaplane to your actual destination. Seaplanes are often used as a quicker option by tourist resorts located atolls further from the airport. Flying over the islands at low heights you can see the shapes of reefs and colours of shallow waters around every island. To get Male, you can catch a ferry from the airport, that leaves every few minutes during daytime. It's just a short 10 minute journey.

The total number of islands in Maldives is 1190, 200 of which are inhabited. Only 99 have a variety of lodging facilities. Maldives resorts are known as some of the best holiday resorts in the world. Some of them: Gili Lankanfushi Maldives, Cocoa Island by COMO, Constance Moofushi, Baros Maldives, Soneva Fushi Resort, LUX* Maldives, Komandoo Maldive Island Resort, Constance Halaveli, Taj Exotica Resort & Spa, Kurumba Maldives and Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru. If you have enough time in Maldives, you can spend a day or two in one of the city hotels in the capital island, Male. Various luxurious, mid-range and budget hotels and guesthouses are available in Male.

Male, the capital city, is the largest and most populous residential area. Some of the “must see” places in Male are Grand Friday Mosque, Old Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiiy), Tsunami Monument, National Museum, Independence Square (Jumhooree Maidhaan), Fish Market and Beach Heaven. The best way to explore the daily life and culture of the Maldives is to tour the fisherman's villages which can be found on any of the inhabited islands. Although there are modern buildings on some of the islands, traditional wooden huts are essential to fisherman's villages. These village huts called “holhuashi” and usually made of coconut trees will immediately catch your eye on beaches.

You may head to the northern part of Male island in order to buy Maldivian souvenirs. Many items including local handcrafts and reflecting the traditional culture are sold in stores in this area. Fish Market is, without a doubt, another point of interest for shopping in Male Island. Generally, the market gets busy during the early hours of the afternoon; as fishermen return during that time, which means fresh fish. In the Maldives, fridays and saturdays are days off.

Laccadive Sea, surrounding the Maldives, is warm and clear year-round; making it very suitable for underwater sports. You can easily observe 50 meters underwater. Coral reefs, approximately 3 thousand in number, and monsoon currents are sufficient enough to make the region one of the richest diving locations in the world. More than a thousand species of sea creatures-from microscopic in size to larger- which are carried from the Indian Sea via monsoon currents, live in the area. Almost all holiday resorts have diving schools and required resources for diving. It takes a 15-60 minute trip with fully-equipped boats to get to the area where diving takes place. In the underwater resembling an aquarium, sites with sunken ships are perhaps the most interesting spots for diving. In a country which is made up of more water than land, fun in the water is endless. In the Maldives, you can try almost every type of watersport; especially swimming, windsurfing, and waterskiing. Waves caused by monsoon currents, which flow from June until the end of September, also determine surf season. Night fishing is one of the most significant symbols of the Maldivian culture. The local people, most of whom fish with traditional methods, state that it is easier to catch fish at late hours and continue the tradition. In many holiday resorts, touristic activities for nightfishing are organized and the fish that guests catch are cooked and served back to them. Even only sitting on the beach or watching the sunset are activities that are must-have experiences.