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Everything you should know about visiting the Maldives
You already know about the sunshine, the palm trees and the icing sugar beaches. However, regular Maldives holidaymakers share an even better story. Their biggest takeaway is that pretty much every holiday attraction and activity you can imagine can be found on this beautiful coral archipelago. Just for starters there’s paddleboarding, world-class diving, blissful spas, gourmet dining and the romance of waking up alongside a tropical ocean. Visiting the Maldives is the nearest thing to Eden.
All of these activities are connected by wooden boardwalks and sandy paths. Families can cycle and couples can stroll. The sole traffic is white-breasted waterhens skitting across the route. Guests need not carry a wallet or a watch.
Best of all, a Maldives holiday starts the moment you land. At the jetty outside Malé’s freshly renovated Velana International airport, speedboats and seaplanes wait to transport travellers to their resort, where staff are lined up in welcome. The holiday of a lifetime starts now.
When is the best time of year to visit the Maldives?
The best time for great weather
The Maldives basks in some 3,000 sunshine hours each year – that’s about twice as many as the UK. Daytime temperatures bounce between 28C and 32C every single month. Put simply, every day is beautiful.
The best months for sun-filled skies are from November to April. For diners, every meal can be alfresco. For transfers, the Indian Ocean is at its calmest, allowing tranquil access to your resort. Humidity is low, mornings are fresh, and afternoons usher in a sea breeze that cools the hottest hours of the day.
The Maldives in low season: best time for lower prices and fewer visitors
The best time to find a quiet corner of the Maldives is from May to October. Known as the “green season”, moderately cooler days means fewer guests and lower rates. If there ever was a time to make a wellness break or gourmet escape, it’s now.
Note that during this season the archipelago welcomes short tropical showers that cool the resorts, but seldom long rainy days like Britain. Tropical vegetation such as sea almonds and banyan trees are their most abundant, while farm-to-table restaurants happily harvest their crops of Thai basil and chilli peppers.
The best time for diving, snorkelling and nature
For diving and cetacean spotting in the Maldives, the dry season from November to April offers the best visibility. Blacktip sharks and green turtles glide through the crystalline waters.
From May to October, visibility is lower but still excellent. It’s also the peak time for whale shark sightings and manta ray parades, as plankton blooms attract larger species.
For birders, migrators include lime green bee-eaters, which zip past in spring and autumn. Other avian species such as electric blue kingfishers are island-hopping locals and can be seen whenever you visit, making the Maldives a year-round natural paradise.
Where to stay in the Maldives: the best hotels and resorts
Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa
The newest Hilton in the archipelago is a 20-minute speedboat transfer from Velana International airport. On arrival, guests will see traditional wooden architecture that harmoniously reflects the sandy, sunny setting while recalling Maldivian heritage.
Yet the Hilton Maldives Amingiri is excitingly modern. Accommodation revolves around 109 waterside villas, each with a private pool, with rope swings that sway alongside the Indian Ocean. And the resort hosts the Maldives’ first cocktail mixology lab to boot – at the Aura pool bar.
Hilton Maldives Amingiri ranks among the most family-friendly resorts in the entire archipelago. Teenagers can chill in the rooftop Re:Fuel Lounge. If you’re lucky, they may even converse without screens during milkshake workshops and movie nights under the stars. The kids’ club, one of the largest in the Maldives, is entirely complimentary. Fun activities run non-stop daily from 9am to 6pm, and range from pizza making to pottery painting, with a kids-only splash park alongside.
Parents and couples can escape with gin flights at Eden Champagne & Gin Bar, an elegant adults-only retreat. Dining can be enjoyed in your private residence or paired with in-villa floating sunset cocktails in your pool. Guests of all ages can take part in memory-making activities as diverse as water polo and aerial yoga. Finally, the wellness space and 24-hour fitness centre makes Amingiri the perfect resort for everyone.
SAii Lagoon Maldives, Curio Collection by Hilton
SAii Lagoon Maldives is the opposite of island isolation. Just 15 minutes by speedboat transfer from the international airport, this is a lifestyle-led social space with endless activities. Try an interactive cooking lesson using locally sourced produce, or a padel tennis tournament on the two new courts.
In a truly unique twist, SAii grants access to two resorts, not just one. A marina and boardwalk connect to the Hard Rock Hotel island, where guests can jog, shimmy to live music or dine at more than 14 restaurants and bars between both resorts and the marina.
Find cool pool bars at the SAii Beach Club and see-and-be-seen fusion dining on the sand at Miss Olive Oyl. A notable restaurant is Mr Tomyam, a Thai trattoria with a twist that uses locally caught seafood. It’s easy to fuel up for another thrilling day of windsurfing or a sunset dolphin-watching trip on a traditional Maldivian dhoni boat.
Seclusion comes in the form of 170 contemporary villas and rooms, some of which are keenly priced to bring a rare accessibility to the Maldives.
The kids’ club for children aged four to 15 calls on two figures from Maldivian folklore, turtle prince Koimala and mystical marlin Maalimi. Both characters weave stories into children’s activities that include coral propagation and henna tattooing. Parents can leave little ones in the experienced hands of multilingual staff who watch over three indoor zones, three outdoor areas and a private beach. This Curio Collection hotel has something for everyone.
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island boasts an iconic location. Access to the coral island is via seaplane from the international airport, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Your destination is South Ari atoll, a globally renowned diving spot with year-round colonies of manta rays and whale sharks. The upshot? Conrad Maldives Rangali Island carries barefoot luxury to the next level.
Every restaurant is unique; every experience bespoke. Descend into Ithaa, the world’s first undersea restaurant, or book into the Muraka, the world’s first subaquatic residence. Stroll a private sandbank, where guests can take a picnic or snorkel into the tropical sea. There are 12 distinctive dining locations (a huge number for a single Maldivian resort), including a Chinese restaurant by Jereme Leung, one of Asia’s most creative culinary innovators. Immersive wine tastings take place in the underground wine cellar.
Aside from dining, diving and luxurious experiences for couples and families (thanks to a wonderful kids’ club), Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is a spa sanctuary. After forest bathing, sound healing and coconut oil massages, guests can depart feeling more youthful than when they arrived.
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi is a world-class resort with a clutch of awards for its spa and service. Guests can be whisked from the international airport direct to the action via luxury yacht, with champagne served on ice. Every villa – whether overwater, reef-facing or beachside – hosts a large private pool. In short, the Waldorf Astoria is second to none.
Service levels have been perfected since the original Waldorf Hotel opened in New York in 1893. In this Maldives iteration, each guest’s experience is individually managed by a private concierge. A single text message will deliver any bespoke experience to a luxury villa, from a personalised cocktail to your own snorkelling equipment. The combination of 11 standout dining venues, including Japanese izakaya restaurant Zuma and the Ledge by Michelin-starred chef Dave Pynt, cannot be found anywhere else.
Most importantly, every attraction is a bike ride or electric buggy hop from the seaside villas. Highlights include a vibrant house reef, painting experiences for arty guests and the Maldives’ best spa – as recognised by the World Spa awards. From complimentary sports, like padel and kayaking, to romantic experiences such as treetop dining venue Terra with its seven bamboo nests, the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi has it all.
What to do in the Maldives: from romantic date night ideas to historic culture
Culture
Dhonis are timeless boat designs used to fish and transport people within the 1,200 island archipelago. Guests can spot these wooden craft at the jetty neighbouring the airport, or being used for fishing while en route to their resort. Local fishers bring Maldivian lobsters and fresh tuna to resorts such as Waldorf Astoria, ensuring the freshest catch.
Wellness
Some of the best spas in Asia are found at the Hilton resorts in the Maldives. Try the Starlight Ocean Wave ritual under a candlelit pavilion at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi or chakra energy balancing at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. At every resort, enjoy complimentary access to the fitness centres, steam rooms and resort pools. Beyond the spa, find aerial yoga, dawn hikes and sunset meditation.
Nature
Nature in the Maldives centres around sea life and birdwatching. Every day offers the chance to see a spellbinding species, from reef mantas a short distance from shore to Indian flying foxes that feast in mango trees in the resorts. Resort guides can organise cetacean-spotting cruises to see spinner dolphins or dive trips to see green turtles and parrotfish. Grab a pair of binoculars for a peek at resident avians such as lesser frigatebirds, with their bright red beards, and black-naped terns, that appear to be wearing designer black shades.
Romance
Family travellers will fall in love with the Maldives’ multigenerational activities. Single travellers will fall in love with diving and sports. And couples will fall in love with each other, as papaya sunsets cast them in a glowing light. At Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort, a chef can pair a curated couples tasting menu with a table in the sand. At SAii Lagoon, partners can take a couples spa ritual. With no washing up or laundry to argue over, the stage is set for a new romance.
Food
The theme across the best Maldives island resorts is constant variety – all in one place. Guests are always just a few minutes away from pioneering flavours using local seafood, island-grown herbs and Maldivian flavours, such as curry leaves, coconut milk and fresh tuna. The most eye-popping of Maldives dining experiences include undersea Ithaa at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and Terra at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, a gourmet restaurant built into the treetop canopy.
Practical travel tips for the Maldives: getting around and import rules
Hilton transfer desks are clearly visible at Malé’s recently upgraded airport although guests are generally met in person as they emerge from baggage pickup. But note that importing alcohol into the country is prohibited. Alcoholic drinks are available in all the resorts. The islands are exceptionally safe, with little traffic aside from bicycles and electric buggies. For guests on evening flights home, it’s a chance to have extra time to relax in their resort.
If you know, you know: the perfect souvenir of the Maldives
Maldivians have always had a no-waste policy towards the humble coconut. Husks are used to make ropes, while flesh is pressed to extract oil for cooking and massages. Polished coconut shells have been used as bowls and containers for centuries. Look out for souvenir coconut shells, exquisitely carved with sunshine or maritime motifs, but don’t be tempted to take seashells or coral home as that’s prohibited in the Maldives.
To book your ultimate trip to the Maldives with Hilton, visit here
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