Maldives

Travel to the Maldives

The main airport in the Maldives is in Male, the capital, and most international flights arrive here. There is a direct service from London Gatwick to Male three times a week, which is the easiest way to get there from the UK. Alternative routes with stopovers in Dubai or Singapore are also available, meaning you catch flights to the Maldives from London Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow as well. Direct flight times are around 10 hours, with indirect flights taking upwards of 12 hours.

On arrival in the Maldives

All the destinations in the Maldives are pretty close to Male and air taxis are the usual way of reaching your hotel. A word of advice though, these tend not to run after dark so you may have to stay the night in a Male hotel, or you can pay for a private transfer if you prefer. Boats are also a great way of getting to your hotel if you're staying somewhere within the North or South Male atolls. In all cases it's worth checking if your hotel offers free transfers.

Getting around the Maldives

Organised island-hopping tours are the easiest way to get around the Maldive atolls. These can be a combination of air taxi and boat travel. Independent travel is possible using the same methods but to do this you'll need an inter-atoll travel permit which requires you to have an invitation from a resident of the island you are visiting. This is because only some of the islands are open to tourists and so they are worried about lone travellers.