A long green island with a white beach down its length and the reef shelf pale beyond.

Experiences

Four reasons to leave the room.

We run all of these ourselves, with people who grew up on this atoll.

Scroll

A snorkeler drifting above a coral head in bright, clear water.

You are in the water eleven minutes after deciding to go.

Snorkeling at the House Reef

Half a day on the reef at the end of our street, with someone who knows where the turtles sit and which channel to stay out of when the current turns. Groups stay small enough that nobody gets left behind.

Masks, snorkels and fins come from the house. If you have never done it before, say so and you will get the shallow route and a slower start.

How long: Half day
Group: Six people at most
Included: Guide, gear, water
Starts: From the beach, no boat

$35per person

Charged with your room, not now. Drop it any time before you arrive.

A bare spit of white sand curving out into turquoise water, seen from above.

An island that is only there for part of the day.

Sandbank Picnic

A twenty minute boat ride to a bank of sand that sits above the water for a few hours and then goes under again. Lunch is packed at the house and comes with us. There is no shade out there beyond what we bring, which is part of the appeal and also worth knowing.

We go when the tide suits, so the time moves around by a couple of hours from week to week. You will know the evening before.

How long: Full afternoon
Getting there: About 20 minutes by boat
Included: Set picnic lunch, water, shade
Bring: A hat and more sunscreen than you think

$60per person

Charged with your room, not now. Drop it any time before you arrive.

A wooden boat sitting on flat orange water as the sun goes down.

They usually turn up. Some evenings they do not.

Dolphin Sunset Cruise

We leave Maafushi around five and head for the channel where the spinner pods usually run. Most evenings they show, sometimes in the hundreds. Now and then they do not, and you get an hour on flat water while the sky does what it does here.

If we see nothing at all, the trip is on us. That has happened four times in three years.

How long: About two hours
Leaves: Around 5pm, back before dark
Included: Boat, skipper, tea and short eats
Good for: Children, it is a calm run

$45per person

Charged with your room, not now. Drop it any time before you arrive.

Two bicycles leaning against palms on a sandy path between houses.

The part of Maafushi that has nothing to do with you.

Local Island Walk

An hour on foot through the village side, past the harbour where the day boats come in, the school, the mosque, and the streets where people are getting on with a Tuesday. It ends at a tea shop with a plate of short eats and a glass of very sweet tea.

Cover your shoulders and knees away from the beach, and ask before you photograph anyone. That is the whole etiquette, and it matters here.

How long: About an hour
Leaves: Late afternoon, when it cools
Included: Guide, tea and short eats
Distance: Flat, roughly two kilometres

$20per person

Charged with your room, not now. Drop it any time before you arrive.

Ribbed sand under shallow, completely clear water.

Anything you add here shows up on your quote before you pay anything.

Check Availability