ananea Madivaru Maldives
Half board that eats like a dine-around.
North Ari AtollSeaplane
A USD 45 daily dinner credit per adult, and nine restaurants across two islands to spend it in. Half board here does the work all-inclusive does elsewhere. Twenty minutes from Velana.
Kuda Villingili Resort Maldives
Land late and it costs you nothing.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
Reached by speedboat, so a late landing at Malé does not cost you a night. There is no house reef to speak of, and we would rather say so. What you get instead is a private-island feel much closer to the airport than that usually buys.
Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa
One of the more generous all-inclusive plans we sell.
Raa AtollSeaplane
A large private island, and a plan that covers more than most all-inclusive plans do. We put the exclusions in writing with your quote, so the final bill matches the number you agreed.
Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas
One of the better house reefs we sell.
Baa AtollSeaplane
Seaplanes fly in daylight only, so your landing time at Malé decides whether you lose a night. The underwater restaurant is worth booking before you land.
Malahini Kuda Bandos
Twelve minutes from the airport, at any hour.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
Any flight time works, so nobody loses a night in Malé. All-inclusive on a small island with a better reef than the price suggests. The trade-off is that there are no overwater villas.
Grand Park Kodhipparu
The drop-off is a few steps off your ladder.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
Twenty minutes from the airport at any hour. From a reef villa the coral starts almost at the waterline; from an ocean villa it is a swim. Tell us if the reef is the priority and we will get the villa category right.
Baros Maldives
A reef that suits a nervous swimmer.
North Malé AtollSpeedboat
A sea wall fifty feet out makes a calm coral zone you can potter about in, with the drop-off, turtles and reef sharks just beyond it. Twenty-five minutes from the airport, with no daylight cut-off. We tend to send couples here rather than families.
Canareef Resort Maldives
A WWII wreck you can swim inside.
Addu AtollDomestic flight + speedboat
The furthest south we sell, about an hour and three quarters from Malé in all. Addu has some of the healthiest coral in the country. The house reef itself is one good stretch by the beach bar and shallow sand elsewhere, so come for the diving rather than the lagoon.
LUX* South Ari Atoll
Whale sharks in the atoll, all year round.
South Ari AtollSeaplane
They are the reason to come. Snorkelling off the beach is poor: a sand lagoon, and dead coral in front of the water villas. A free guided boat runs out to the reef twice a day, about ten minutes away.
The Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort
Two ways in, so a late landing still works.
Baa AtollSeaplane
A 30-minute seaplane with a 15:00 cut-off, or a domestic flight to Dharavandhoo and a 15-minute boat. A strong house reef inside the UNESCO biosphere, and all-inclusive is available if you want the bill closed off.
Pullman Maldives Maamutaa
Land at 22:00 and still sleep on the island.
Gaafu Alifu AtollDomestic flight + speedboat
About seventy minutes from Malé in all. The coral is among the best we see, but it sits well off the sunset side and needs a twenty-minute swim, so take the boat if you are not a confident swimmer.
Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa
Two kilometres of reef around one island.
Gaafu Alifu AtollDomestic flight + speedboat
A continuous reef rings the island, starting a few steps off the beach, with two piers straight onto the wall and currents gentle enough for a nervous swimmer. Getting there takes about ninety minutes, on flights that run to 22:00.
Milaidhoo Maldives
A lagoon and a reef, which is rare.
Baa AtollSeaplane
Most islands make you choose between clear turquoise water and good coral; the reef here takes over an hour to swim around. A 35-minute seaplane with a 15:30 cut-off, or a domestic flight to Dharavandhoo and a 30-minute boat if you land late.
Soneva Jani
The largest lagoon in the Maldives.
Noonu AtollSeaplane
The villas are built over sand by design, which is what makes the water that colour and that safe to swim in. There is no reef off your steps. A complimentary boat runs daily to healthy coral, but if snorkelling is the point of the trip we will point you elsewhere.