Maldives

Currency

Resorts price and bill in US dollars and there is no need to hold rufiyaa unless you are staying on a local island, where small purchases are easier in cash. Resort bills carry a 10% service charge and 16% GST on top of the quoted rate, which is a bigger addition than people expect.

ATMs & cards

BML and MIB machines exist in Malé and on the larger local islands, and nowhere on private resort islands. Draw cash before transferring if you are staying on a guesthouse island.

Resorts bill in dollars to your room, so cash is only needed on local islands. Draw it in Malé before the transfer.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

One of the safest destinations anywhere — crime against visitors is close to non-existent. The risks are the sea and the isolation: currents around channel entrances are strong, and a serious medical problem means a boat or seaplane to Malé. On local islands, this is a conservative Muslim country: cover shoulders and knees away from designated bikini beaches, and alcohol is legal only on resort islands.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date

Getting treated

Resorts have a nurse or a visiting doctor and little else. ADK and Tree Top hospitals in Malé are decent, and there is a recompression chamber for diving injuries. Anything major means an evacuation flight to India or Sri Lanka. The distances between islands are the real problem, not the standard of care.

Divers should confirm their insurance covers the chamber and an air evacuation. Dengue occurs. Sun and dehydration cause more trouble than anything infectious.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Resort food is priced accordingly; a full-board plan usually beats paying per meal. On local islands, mas huni for breakfast and garudhiya fish soup are what people actually eat, for a few dollars.

Getting around

• Speedboat transfer — 30-90 min from Malé, arranged by your accommodation and often $100-200 return per person
• Seaplane — the only option for distant atolls, spectacular and expensive, daylight hours only
• Public ferry — a few dollars between local islands, slow and infrequent, but the real Maldives
• Domestic flight — to a regional airport, then a boat
• Airport: Velana (MLE), where every transfer starts and where a missed connection means a night in Malé

Must-see

Things to do

• Snorkel your house reef at slack tide
• Dive or snorkel with mantas at Hanifaru Bay from May to November
• Take a night snorkel to see the plankton light up
• Spend a couple of nights on a local island for a fraction of resort prices
• Watch the fish market in Malé in the late afternoon

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Dhivehi

• HelloAssalaamu alaikumas-sa-LAAM-u a-LAY-kum
• Thank youShukuriyyaashu-ku-REE-yaa
• Yes / NoAan / Noonaan / noon
• How are you?Kihineh?ki-hi-NEH
• How much is it?Kihaavarakah?ki-haa-va-ra-KAH
• GoodRangalhuRAN-ga-lu
• SorryMa-aafu kureyma-AA-fu KU-rey
• GoodbyeVakivelanva-ki-VE-lan

Resort staff work in English, but Dhivehi on a local island changes the temperature of every interaction.

Religion

Sunni Muslim

Islam is the state religion and the only one permitted — citizenship legally requires it. Bringing in religious material of other faiths, alcohol or pork is prohibited, and public observance of any other religion is not allowed.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Cover shoulders and knees on inhabited islands, and swim in a t-shirt and shorts outside the marked bikini beaches
• Ask before photographing anyone, particularly women
• Respect the call to prayer — shops and offices close briefly five times a day
• Take shoes off before entering a home or a mosque

Don't

• Do not bring alcohol into the country. It is confiscated at the airport and is only legal on resort islands
• Do not bring pork, religious material of other faiths, or anything that could be read as idolatry
• Do not sunbathe or wear swimwear away from a resort or a designated beach
• Do not touch or stand on coral — it is illegal as well as destructive