- How to get to Guraidhoo
- What to do in Guraidhoo
- Enjoy Guraidhoo’s Bikini Beach
- Try or practice scuba diving
- Snorkeling tour
- Local island tour
- Day tour to a resort
- Sandbank excursion
- Other things to do in Guraidhoo
- How many days to stay?
- Where to sleep in Guraidhoo
- Where to eat in Guraidhoo
- Tips for visiting the island
- Money in Guraidhoo
- Map with points of interest on the island
When you think of the typical idea of the Maldives, it has nothing to do with Guraidhoo, a small local island that gives you the opportunity to enjoy the best of the Maldives in a local environment that is suitable for all budgets. In this post we tell you how to get there from Male, what to do on the island, how many days to stay, where to sleep, where to eat and we give you some tips.
The island is 700 meters long by 500 meters wide and can be walked around in about 30 minutes. The charming island of Guraidhoo, located in the Kaafu atoll, south of Male, is an ideal option to spend a few days enjoying the spectacular beaches of the Maldives surrounded by a local and not very touristy atmosphere. The local people on the island are super nice and friendly with tourists. We felt super comfortable and welcomed during our stay of 4 nights and 3 full days here.
Guraidhoo has a bikini beach that, although it is artificial, is ideal for swimming, almost as much as a swimming pool. Here you can enjoy an idyllic day at the beach, visit a spectacular sandbar almost on foot or book a snorkeling tour to enjoy the marine fauna. But without a doubt, the strong point of this island is its good spots for diving.
How to get to Guraidhoo
Located south of Male, Guraidhoo is easily accessible from the capital and is well connected by public ferry. So it is an ideal island if you don’t have many days to enjoy the local islands of the Maldives.
If you are on a tight budget, you will surely be pleased to know that there is a public ferry line, number 309, which connects Male to Guraidhoo in about 2 hours, stopping at Gulhi and Maafushi. The ferry leaves Male at 15:00 and arrives in Guraidhoo at 17:00. The best thing is the price, it will cost you about 22 MVR (1.44 US$) per person. However, you should keep in mind that this line does not operate every day, neither Monday nor Friday, so we recommend that you adjust your travel itinerary to the Maldives to take advantage of the savings that taking this ferry line entails.
There is another direct public ferry that makes the Male-Guraidhoo route without making any stops. The journey takes 1 hour and a half. The price of the journey is a bit more expensive, around 75 MVR (4.90 US $) per person. We know that this ferry only operates 3 days a week but we don’t have more information (it doesn’t appear on the public ferry website) so we recommend that if you are interested, ask your accommodation about it.
If the schedules or days of public transport don’t suit you or you want to save time, there is also a shared speed boat that you can take for around US $ 40 per person per journey. The journey takes around 40 minutes. You can book it through your accommodation or just contact with our expert team.
If you are travelling in a group, one option may be to take the journey on a private speed boat. The price shoots up and is around US $ 200. To organise this, the best and easiest way is to do it through your accommodation.
If your next stop is the neighbouring island of Maafushi (or you arrive to Guraidhoo from there) you should know that there is a shared speed boat that makes this journey. From Guraidhoo to Maafushi there is a daily departure at 17:00 and the price of the journey is $5 per person. Ask your accommodation for the reverse schedule in case you need it.
What to do in Guraidhoo
You probably think that there isn’t much to do on such a small island, but I assure you that you are very wrong. Guraidhoo has a spectacular bikini beach, a strip of sand and super top options for diving and snorkelling. Keep reading as we give you more details on what to do during your days on the island.
Enjoying Guraidhoo’s bikini beach
Although the bikini beach on this island is made of cement, the truth is that the beach is great for spending a day of absolute relaxation. It has hammocks and about 14 free bamboo swings -we are Andalusians and this seems like pure fantasy to us 😂-. It also has several swings hanging from palm trees that are super fun and photogenic. The sand, although in some areas it stings a little because it has pieces of shells and some dead coral, is quite comfortable along most of the shore.
The colour of the water is crazy, with a thousand shades of turquoise and blue that will leave you speechless for a long time. Swimming is super comfortable as it has just the right depth to cover you and super nice fine sand.
But the strong point of the bikini beach is its sandy strip. About 50 metres from the shore in the western part of the sea, there is a small sandy strip where you can feel like you are in the middle of the sea for a while (it’s amazing), you can almost walk there. There are hardly any stones or dead coral but if you want to be completely safe we recommend wearing water shoes. However, be very careful in the area where the coral begins and don’t step on it.
If you don’t know what a bikini beach is, we’ll explain it to you. The Maldives is a Muslim country, so on its public beaches – the so-called “local beach” or “public beach” – the use of bikinis is not permitted. With the recent opening to tourism of the local islands, the so-called bikini beaches have been created. On these beaches it is possible to wear a bikini without any restrictions. Almost every local island usually has at least one, as is the case with Guraidhoo.
Try or practice diving
Without a doubt, one of the strong points of Guraidhoo is that it has one of the best seabeds in the Maldives for diving. Therefore, if you like this sport or want to try it during your trip to the Maldives, do not hesitate to add Guraidhoo to your travel itinerary.
During the dives around Guraidhoo you can enjoy swimming among nurse sharks, manta rays, sea turtles, tuna, napoleon fish, unicorn fish and an endless number of colorful coral gardens.
Snorkeling tours
The island also has some diving schools and companies that offer typical snorkeling tours. You can see turtles, manta rays, unicorn fish, nurse sharks or baby sharks, as well as thousands of fish of hundreds of different colors just with a pair of goggles and a snorkel.
We did a half-day tour for about $30 per person that we organized from the accommodation itself, although we know that you can get them much cheaper in some places. One of the places we recommend the most is Bubbles Excursion Guraidhoo. The price for the full-day tour is around $50 per person and usually includes lunch at a picnic island.
We did about 2 hours of snorkeling in which we visited three different spots. We visited manta point, where we were able to see several giant manta rays that left us speechless; turtle point, where we didn’t see any turtles, and in the reef garden where we had a great time seeing the colorful corals, endless fish of a thousand colors, sizes and shapes and, in addition, here we did see some turtles.
Local island tour
If you have few days in the area or you only plan to visit this island in the Kaafu atoll, then a day trip visiting local islands can be a good activity. One of the most popular visits here is to spend a day on islands such as Gulhi or Fulidhoo that have good beaches perfect for spending the day. The price is usually around $60 per person.
One-day tour to a resort
This tour is offered from all the local islands that we visited during our 18-day trip to the Maldives. It consists of visiting a luxury resort for a day and the price includes entry to the pools, buffet lunch and transfer. The price usually ranges between $150 and $220 depending on the type of resort chosen.
Excursion to a sandbank
One of the characteristics of Guraidhoo is that it has several sandbanks around it that can be visited by hiring an excursion (beyond the one at Bikini Beach). You can visit them as part of a day snorkeling excursion or organize an exclusive excursion to a sandbank where they will leave you there for a few hours with an umbrella… The idea is to feel isolated in paradise for a few hours and take advantage of the opportunity to relax and enjoy the color of the water, which in these sandbanks is usually absolutely spectacular. Get ready to see a thousand shades of turquoise and blue.
The prices of the excursions to the sandbanks are usually quite high and can be around $90, although they usually include lunch.
Other things to do in Guraidhoo
- See nurse sharks and rays in the port area in the afternoons. Fishermen often throw some waste into the sea, so sharks often come looking for food. Although we are not a fan of this idea, we went one afternoon and saw a lot of nurse sharks and rays. The best time to see them is between 5:30 and 6:00 pm, just before the light goes out.
- Visit and take a dip (with clothes on) at the public beach. In addition to the bikini beach, Guraidhoo also has a public beach that is not bad at all. If you have several days on the island, you can visit it, take a dip and see how the locals enjoy its wonderful beaches. However, bikinis are not allowed here, so be respectful of the dress code.
- And, like its neighbour Gulhi, Guraidhoo has the legendary sunken swing on the shore of its bikini beach. So now you know, please don’t leave the island if your photo is up!
How many days to stay?
If you’ve read this far, then you already know that this small local island has a lot to offer. It’s an ideal island to alternate relaxation with excursions and water activities such as snorkelling or diving.
Based on our experience, we think that enough time to relax and enjoy this island is at least 2 full days, with 3 full days being ideal, although if you have more days, even better. By full days we mean days without transfers in between.
Although, as with its neighbours Maafushi and Gulhi, there is the possibility of visiting it if you are sleeping on another island with a day trip. We are not very fans of this because we think it doesn’t give you enough time to discover an island, but if you have little time, it is a good option to enjoy, at least, its bikini beach.
Where to sleep in Guraidhoo
The island has accommodation options, although there are not too many, so it is very important to book in advance, especially in high season.
Moodhumaa Inn
This small guesthouse run by a very friendly local man is located about 5 minutes walk from Bikini Beach and is one of the cheapest options on the island. The port is about 3 minutes walk away. The best thing is the treatment of the owner who is always attentive to make you feel at home. Let him know your arrival time at the port and he will be waiting to accompany you to the hotel.
It only has 3 double rooms with air conditioning, refrigerator and private bathroom, so it is important to book well in advance. Breakfast is served in an open-air dining room where you can have breakfast with your feet in the sand. We recommend that you try the Maldivian breakfast. It also offers free filtered water. The price of the room is about €38/40 per night with breakfast included. The rooms are brand new, super well maintained and with a super top level of cleanliness. Without a doubt, this was one of the best stays of our almost 8-month trip through Southeast Asia.
Hiraeth Island Home
This may be a good option for you if you are traveling with children. This hotel is located right on the port of Guraidhoo. Bikini Beach, although it may seem very far away, is about a 7-minute walk away. It offers double and family rooms with air conditioning and a private bathroom, although it also has deluxe rooms with a terrace and sea views. The hotel itself has one of the best restaurants on the island, which we will talk about later, and where you can have all your meals of the day. The price of double rooms is around €60 with breakfast included.
Chambao Maldives
If budget is not a problem for you, then you can consider staying at this new hotel that is just a 2-minute walk from Bikini Beach. Furthermore, the same business is the best restaurant on the island, as far as we know (we didn’t try it because it was too expensive for backpackers). They speak good English, it’s a plus. They offer quadruple rooms with air conditioning, private bathroom and TV. The price is a bit high, around €150 per night with breakfast included. They pick you up from the port upon arrival.
Where to eat in Guraidhoo
Although Guraidhoo is quite small, it has enough restaurant options to be able to eat a variety of meals during your stay.
Amore – The Island Cafe
Perhaps the most popular restaurant on the island. It has a sandy beach patio where you can eat super cool, especially at night. They have local and western food options. We went several times and tried the seafood noodles, the kotu roshi, the chicken tandori shawarma and the BBQ pizza. It is quite well priced and the quality is not bad at all. However, don’t order pizza, instead opt for the chicken tandori shawarma which is amazing or the kotu roshi with valhomas (about €3), a classic in the Maldives.
Flat Bread Guraidhoo
If you are looking for a break from all that rice, noodles and kotu, then this pizzeria is your place. Here you will find homemade pizzas and pretty decent burgers at a very good price. We ordered a tandori chicken pizza (6.7€) and a beef burger with fries (4.8€). Everything is very good but the pizza is especially delicious, considering that we are on an island. It is about 7 minutes walk from Bikini Beach.
Hiraeth Island Home
One of the best restaurants to eat on the island. It is in the port and, although it appears closed on Google Maps, it is open. We ate the best grilled tuna of our entire trip to the Maldives here. We also ordered a chili chicken curry that was delicious. All this plus a portion of rice to accompany it, cost us about 15€, not bad for the quality of what we ate. They have tables on the sand itself, so it is very pleasant to dine here. The service is good.
Tips for visiting the island
- Tell your accommodation your arrival time, they usually include free pick-up and transfer to the port.
- Guraidhoo has a small picnic island that you can access without having to hire a boat, although the truth is that we read very bad reviews about its current condition and we did not visit it.
- If you want to ensure a job and a couple of hammocks on Bikini Beach, we recommend that you arrive around 9 in the morning so that you do not run out of yours.
- The island has a small pharmacy in case you need something to cover any small unforeseen events.
- In the port area there are several souvenir shops and local crafts that are ideal for taking home a good memory of the Maldives.
- There are several small convenience stores spread throughout the main streets of the island, so you will have no problem buying water, fruit or some snacks.
Money in Guraidhoo
- There is only one ATM on the island, it is in the port, you will see it as soon as you get off the ferry or boat.
- Bring enough cash for the duration of your stay on the island, as although there is an ATM, it is quite common for it not to work and you may not even be able to pay by card for hours or days (the system fails).
- As with other islands, pay in local currency in restaurants and accommodation and in US dollars if you are going on excursions. Be careful because if you pay for excursions in rupees they will give you an exchange rate where you will be paying more.
We hope that this post helps you to organize your days in Guraidhoo and that you enjoy your days in this paradise as much as we do. If you have any questions or concerns you can leave them in the comments and we will be happy to try to resolve them.
