About

About ULTIMATE Maldives Guide

ULTIMATE Maldives Guide is an independent guide for visitors to the Maldives, Indian Ocean. We publish 13 curated lists: restaurants, cafés, bars & lounges, nightlife & beach clubs, resorts & hotels, attractions & excursions, art galleries & museums, spas, gyms & wellness, hospitals & clinics, places to shop, luxury lifestyle, property and getting around. Together they cover Malé and Hulhumalé, North and South Malé atolls, Baa, Raa, Lhaviyani, Noonu, Ari, Dhaalu, Laamu, Fuvahmulah and Addu, with in-depth guides to the seasons, the food, the reefs and Malé’s history.

Our editor

ULTIMATE Maldives Guide is edited by Tara de la Motte, who oversees the guide’s articles and magazine features.

How we choose

Every place in our lists has been checked against its own website or an official source such as Visit Maldives, UNESCO or a government site. We don’t use review scores, and we leave out anything we can’t confirm.

Before you go

Resort transfers, seaplane times and opening hours change, so please check directly with each place before you travel. Resorts usually arrange your seaplane or speedboat when you book.

For venues

Run a venue in the Maldives and spotted something to update? We review our lists regularly and welcome corrections.

Photo credits

• Boats moored by a palm-lined shore in Addu Atoll, by Mark Hodson Photos, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Exhibits inside the National Museum in Malé, by Zairon, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A manta ray gliding over the reef in the Maldives, by Tchami, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Islands and reefs of Baa Atoll from the air, by Frédéric Ducarme, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The beach on Bandos, looking towards Kuda Bandos, by Dr. Peter Schmidt, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Baros island in North Malé Atoll, by anoldent, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A beach bar on a Maldives resort island, by Timo Newton-Syms from Helsinki, Finland and Chalfont St Giles, Bucks, UK, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A swing over the water on Hulhumalé beach, by Saaremees, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A white beach and turquoise lagoon in Dhaalu Atoll, by Ishan @seefromthesky seefromthesky, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Dhigurah, the long island in South Ari Atoll, by Syced, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A beach on Fuvahmulah, by Asaymirus, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The front of Gan International Airport in Addu, by Unilandofma, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A bowl of garudhiya, Maldivian fish broth, by LittleT889, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Malé from the air, by Ibrahim Asad, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• An aerial view of a small island ringed by reef in the Maldives, by Luka Peternel, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Water villas on stilts over a turquoise lagoon, by Martin Falbisoner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The beach at Hulhumalé, by Saaremees, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Grand Friday Mosque (Islamic Centre) in Malé, by Zairon, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Islands of Laamu Atoll from the air, by jfdebon, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Islands, lagoons and a sandbank in Lhaviyani Atoll from the air, by dronepicr, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Lighthouse restaurant at Baros lit up at night, by Aantolinn1970, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Overwater villas in a Maldives lagoon, by Martin Falbisoner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The harbour front on Maafushi, a local island in Kaafu Atoll, by Buiobuione, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Malé, the capital, filling its island, by steve_l, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Mas huni with roshi flatbread, a Maldivian breakfast, by Xavier Romero-Frias, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Hukuru Miskiy, the old Friday Mosque in Malé, by Zairon, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Acropolis of Athens by day, seen from Philopappos Hill, by A.Savin, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The old town of Belgrade above the Sava, with the spire of the Cathedral Church of St Michael, by Tatil Dükkanı, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Romanian Athenaeum in its garden, by Jorge Franganillo, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Hungarian Parliament lit up at night on the Danube, by Tom Ek, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Oia’s white houses and blue domes on the rim of the Santorini caldera, by Norbert Nagel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Blue Mosque at night, by Nan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Triple Bridge over the Ljubljanica, by Fred Romero from Paris, France, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower, by Domob, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• An aerial view of a small island ringed by reef in the Maldives, by Luka Peternel, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Yachts in Puerto Banús, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Monaco from above, Port Hercule and Monte-Carlo below the mountains, by Spike, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Sunset at the Naples Pier, by pmarkham, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Millennium Bridge over the Morača, by Desemeus, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Sebilj fountain and the square of Baščaršija, by Yukof, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Stone Bridge over the Vardar, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, by Julian Lupyan, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The ramparts of Galle Fort, by Daibo Taku, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Skanderbeg Square with the Et’hem Bey Mosque, by Andrew Milligan sumo, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The spires of Zagreb Cathedral above the rooftops, by Alex Sirac, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A moonlit beach in the Maldives, by Timo Newton-Syms from Helsinki, Finland and Chalfont St Giles, Bucks, UK, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Kudafari island in Noonu Atoll, ringed by reef, by Bloo man, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Kurumba island in North Malé Atoll, close to the capital, by ╚ DD╔ from Male, Maldives, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A green island edged with surf in Raa Atoll, by Samee Shafeeg, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Hulhumalé, the new city on reclaimed land beside the airport, by goldpicasa, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Reef sharks in the shallows of a Maldivian island, by Bapak Alex, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Komandoo island in Lhaviyani Atoll from the air, by eNil from Portsmouth, UK, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Inside Ithaa, the all-glass undersea restaurant at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, by Alexey Potov - Noblige, licensed CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A Trans Maldivian Airways Twin Otter seaplane at Velana International Airport, by Martin Falbisoner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The day’s catch at the Malé fish market, by Buiobuione, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A whale shark swimming near the surface, by Laika ac from UK, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Bolifushi, a resort island in Kaafu Atoll, from the air, by Giorgio Montersino from Milan, Italy, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A resort island and lagoon in North Malé Atoll, by Syd Sujuaan sydsujuaan, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A seaplane on the water in the Maldives, by Simon_sees, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A traditional Maldivian dhoni boat, by Ibrahim Asad, licensed CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A hawksbill turtle on a Maldivian reef, by flowcomm, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Ukulhas, a local island in North Ari Atoll, seen from the jetty, by Rappey, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Utheemu Ganduvaru, the historic residence on Utheemu island, by Andreas Faessler, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.