GEOGRAPHY

The Maldives consists of 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of twenty-seven atolls situated in the Indian Ocean. Most atolls consist of a large, ring-shaped coral reef supporting numerous small islands.

The country covers an area approximately 90,000 square kilometres, of which only 298 square kilometres is dry land. The islands are of average one to two square kilometres in area, and no individual island is longer than eight kilometres. The Maldives lies between 1-1.5 meters above sea level, with the highest island situated at 3 meters above sea level.

Maldives is largely flat and has no land features such as hills or rivers, but some islands have dunes such as that found in Hithadhoo island of Addu Atoll, and wetlands and marshes such as those found in the Fuvahmulah island of Gnaviyani Atoll.

The Maldives is renowned for its white sandy beaches, pristine turquoise waters and unique underwater marine life.

In 2011, Baa Atoll, which is home to a globally significant biodiversity among its numerous reefs in the Indian Ocean, became a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

The people of the Maldives islands are widely dispersed across the atolls, with about 200 inhabited islands. About 164 islands are developed as tourist resorts and the remaining islands are uninhabited or used for agriculture & other livelihood purposes.

The capital of the Maldives is Male’.

Climate

climate of Maldives – Maldives climate – Weather has played an important role in governing the lives of Maldivians from time immemorial. This is not surprising of a nation with less than one percent land and over 99 percent sea. Since ancient times, Maldivians have organized their lives based on a system on periods referred to as ‘nakaiy’, each of which is 13 or 14 days long and is divided into two seasons; the ‘Iruvai’ (north-east monsoon) and ‘hulhangu’ (south-west monsoon). The nakaiy calendar was and is still used to determine such things as the best time for fishing, travel or planting crops. The Maldives has a tropical climate with the weather mainly determined by the monsoons.

Best Time to Visit

Maldives tourism peaks according to the seasons.

• December to March (Peak Season)
• November and April (Shoulder Season)
• May to October (Off-Season)

Official Language

• Dhivehi

Popular Places to Visit

• Male
• Maafushi
• Hulhumale
• Vaadhoo Island

The Maldives Currency

The national currency of the Republic of Maldives is Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR).

Official Language

Dhivehi is the official language of the Maldives. Arabic is standard, English is commonly spoken, and German, French, Italian, and Chinese are picking pace in resorts. Communication will not be a barrier during your Maldives trip!

Best Places to Eat in the Maldives

The Maldives offers a variety of cuisines. Here are a few restaurants that you should visit during your Maldives holidays!

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant: The restaurant specialises in fine dining, European dishes, and flavourful seafood, like imperial caviar and yellowtail kingfish. Diners can enjoy delectable meals with the opportunity to watch beautiful marine life all around them! An experience of your Maldives holidays that you will cherish forever.

Iberry Café: This popular spot in Hulhumale, with friendly service and a lively ambience, whips up many local delicacies, starting from shrimp-fried rice to fish curries. If you want to enjoy some local food and make the most of your Maldives trip, this is the place for great food.

Muraka: Muraka is a great spot to enjoy sunsets. One should look to include this in the Maldives tour package for couples. This rustic-style restaurant has an open floor plan, making it easy for you to spot marine life passing by. They specialise in seafood paired with exotic flavours.

Sala Thai: Sala Thai ensures only fresh and healthy ingredients are used for their authentic Siamese dishes. Located in Sala Boutique Hotel, this is a great place to enjoy a cosy meal with its excellent outdoor seating. Do try the Panang curry and shrimp in spicy fish sauce!

Travel Info

How to go to Maldives – When to go to Maldives and Best time to go to Maldives.

Getting Here

Although geographically isolated, the Maldives is easily accessible by air from anywhere in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Europe, hence is served by all major scheduled airlines in the region in addition to several charter flights from Europe and Scandinavian countries.
The Maldives is forty five minutes from Colombo, three hours from Dubai, four hours from Singapore and nine to eleven hours from London.

Velana International Airport.
Velana International Airport is located on a geographically separate island named Hulhulé – Hulule Island is 2km (1.2 miles) from Malé (travel time by boat – 15 minutes). Boats from the various island resorts meet each arriving plane to take visitors to their accommodation.
There is no scheduled transfer from Hulule Island to the other islands. . Transfers to resorts would be arranged prior to arrival by your resorts/tour operators via speedboat, sea plane. or domestic flight.
Airport facilities include left luggage, first aid, bank, duty free shops, snack bar, post office and restaurant

Tourist Visa
No prior visa is required to enter the Maldives and a free 30-day visa is granted to all visitors who meet immigration requirements upon arrival.
However an entry permit does not permit visitors to take up employment set up any business or conduct any professional activities (paid or unpaid) except with the consent of the government and in compliance with pertinent laws and regulations of the Maldives

CUSTOMS

Prohibited Items
Pornographic literature, idols of worship, pork products and certain other animal products, explosives and weapons, alcoholic beverages and drugs are strictly prohibited. The penalty for importing drugs for personal or other use is life imprisonment. Animals require a veterinary certificate (dogs not allowed).

The following may not be exported in any form: tortoise and turtle shells and products made of turtle shell (the Government has banned the killing of turtles), and black coral in whole form.

Duty-Free
The following goods may be imported into the Maldives Republic without incurring customs duty:
A reasonable amount of cigarettes, cigars and tobacco; a reasonable number of gifts.

Entry requirements

Visitors of all nationalities in possession of the following would be granted entry into the Maldives:

• a valid international travel document issued by a sovereign state’s government
• a valid return air ticket and necessary visas to a destination where the passenger has permission to enter
• a valid minimum of US$30.00 per person per day or confirmed hotel reservation for the intended period of stay in the Maldives

Health Requirements
An international certificate of inoculation against yellow fever and cholera is required by visitors arriving from infected countries.

Resort Transfer
If you have a booking with a resort, transfer is usually arranged prior to your arrival. The options of speedboat, seaplane or domestic transfer where available is for you to choose from. For transfer to the resorts close to the airport, speedboat transfer is quite convenient.

There is no fixed flight times for domestic flight and seaplane, as the flight times depend on other arriving/departing guests and other arriving/departing international flights.
We get the ticket confirmations one day before (arrival and departure) up 07:00 pm.

Seaplanes operate only during daylight hours and flights are subject to weather conditions.

Guests arriving on an international flight which cannot connect to the last seaplane of the day to the resort (usually departs no later than about 16h00) may choose to overnight stay in the hotel nearby the airport. Haifatrips Maldives will be of assistance in such instances.

Baggage allowance

Seaplane baggage allowance is 20kg check-in luggage and 5kg hand luggage. Any excess baggage is chargeable at a cost
of $ 5.00 per kg and payable at the airport.

Domestic baggage allowance 20kg check in luggage and 5kg hand luggage. Any excess baggage is charged a cost of $ 1.00 per kg and is payable at the airport.

Time Differences
The Maldives is 5 hours ahead of the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). To offer holiday makers the optimum use of the tropical sun most resorts have their clocks put forward one hour to GMT+

Social Conventions
Dress is informal, but locals who are Muslim will be offended by nudity or scanty clothing in public places, and the Government rigidly enforces these standards. Bikinis and other scanty beachwear are not acceptable in Malé or on any other inhabited island. When entering a mosque, the legs and the body, but not the neck and the face, should be covered. Handshaking is the most common form of greeting. The indigenous population not involved in the tourist trade lives in isolated island communities maintaining almost total privacy. A large number of locals smoke, but smoking and eating during Ramadan is discouraged.