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Areas of Interest | Best Time to Travel | Climate | Currency | Electricity | Flights | Health | Information | Languages | Roads-Transport | Topography | What to Pack |
 The best time to travel is from 15th December to end April. This is the east monsoon, Sea conditions are usually calm and it rarely rains this period coincides in European winter and thus is our peak period. The rates are high compared to the period of May to November. It rains during west monsoon from May to November. It does not rain whole day continuously. Sometimes sea condition gets rough, choppy. The Annual average daily temperature is between 30.4 and 25.4 degrees Celsius. The average rainfall is below 2m per annum. The Maldives has a tropical climate with warm temperatures year round and a great deal of sunshine. During a 24-year period, 1967 - 1990, the hottest month on average was April, with a maximum monthly mean temperature of 31.5°C and a minimum of 26.5°C. The coolest month was December, with a maximum monthly mean temperature of 29.8°C and a minimum of 25.3°C. There is a considerable variation of climate between Northern and Southern atolls in the Maldives. In the south the rainfall is greater but so are the number of rain days. Showers are not as heavy as in the North. There are extremes of temperatures in the North also, as the seasons are more evident further away from the Equator.
The weather is determined to a large extent by the monsoon circulation. Each year there are two monsoons seasons, the northeast monsoon, iruvai and the southwest monsoon, hulhangu. The prevailing winds, which can become quite strong, are from the SW-W-WN during the southwest monsoon and N-NE-E during the northeast monsoon. The Northeast monsoon brings the driest period, the air having a comparatively short sea track compared with that during the reminder of the year. The relative humidity is only 5% lower than during the southwest monsoon. The hot season is in March and April. In April, calm, windless days are more likely to be experienced than any other time of the year. The transitional period between monsoons begins in April and by the end of May the winds are predominantly W-SW. A fortnight of strong winds and rain usually ushers in the change of seasons. The wet season is from June to September when the southwest monsoon is firmly set. Gales and moderate to rough seas are common during this season. Cloudy days are more frequent. November is again a transitional period. During October day of light winds are experienced more frequently and by the end of November, winds have shifted from W-NE to N-NE. The effects of cyclones from the Arabian Sea can be experienced during this period. The first month of the northeast monsoon, December, is typically rough with strong winds and rain. Because the Maldives is in the equatorial belt, severe tropical storms and cyclones are extremely rare events. But whenever cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal or Arabian Sea, the spiraling feeder band clouds appear over the Maldives and cause spells of rain and showers. The weather in the north may deteriorate considerably as a result, but there is little effect on the southern islands as it is almost impossible for low-pressure areas to develop within 5° of the Equator. Ocean water temperatures rarely vary beyond 27 - 30° C although thermo clines can sometimes be experienced at depths below 20 meters. During the hot periods, water temperatures inside the lagoons increases measurably, influencing water temperatures inside the atolls. During these periods divers are comfortable diving without a wetsuit, although those of slight build may shiver a little. During overcast periods with and rainsqualls, it is wise to carry extra clothing on the boat after a dive. Lycra and 3mm wetsuits are popular in tropical waters but some divers prefer a 5mm suit if doing more than one dive a day.
The Maldivian Rufiyaa (abbreviated as Rf. or MRf.) is made up of 100 larees. USD 1.00 = MRF 12.75. The resorts will accept all hard currencies at prevailing exchange rate. Foreign exchange facilities are available at all resorts and banks. Guests staying at resorts can settle their bills in foreign currency. It should be noted that the U.S. Dollar reigns supreme over all other currencies in Maldives, and it is likely that the exchange rate for other currencies is slightly worse. Normal banking hours are: 0900 to 1300 on Sundays to Thursdays, and 0900 to 1100 on Saturdays. Friday is a holiday. Government offices are open from 0730 to 1330 daily except on Fridays. Shops and private businesses often stay open till very late (around 2130). Most resorts accept major credit cards, but payment for a booking deposit by telephone is not generally accepted. In some cases, shops in Male' may try to add a surcharge to the purchase price if payment is made by card. Uniquely to this region, there are currently no exchange controls in force in the Maldives, and visitors are spared the trouble of filling in various forms and haggling with the bureaucracy. However, the laws of the market prevail, and it might sometimes be easy to convert Dollars to Rufiyaa but strangely difficult to do the opposite. The resorts generate their own power as the Islands are isolated from one another. It is usually 220 - 240 Volts. Weekly Charter flights are operated by European wholesale operators. The schedule flights are Emirates, Sri Lankan, Indian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Air Seychelles. Air Seychelles from Mahe and Emirates from Dubai are the only convenient connecting flights for the clients from South African. Passenger Service fee: A passenger service fee of US$ 10 is levied per person on departure. Visitors do not require any vaccinations or medication against Malaria before traveling to the Maldives unless they are coming from a yellow fever infected area. The most common problems for tourist are Sunburn and dehydration. The tropical Sun is very intense. So some form of Sun protection is necessary for even darker skin tones. Sun creams are available at the souvenir shop of the resorts.
Resorts in the Maldives woo tourists with promises of 'the last paradise on earth', and if your idea of paradise is a pristine tropical island with swaying palm trees, pure white beaches and brilliant turquoise lagoons, then the Maldives will not disappoint. It's also a major destination for scuba divers, who come for the fabulous coral reefs and the wealth of marine life. But it's not a place for low budget backpackers or amateur anthropologists who want to travel independently and live as the locals do. Tourism in the Maldives is carefully managed. The country's tourism master plan identifies both the underwater environment and 'the Robinson Crusoe factor' as major attractions, but these are not seen as compatible with large-scale, low budget, mass tourism. The lack of local resources makes it necessary to import virtually everything a visitor needs, from furniture to fresh vegetables, so the Maldives cannot really compete on price. The strategy has been to develop a limited number of quality resorts, each on its own uninhabited island, free from traffic, crime and crass commercialism. The Maldivian tourism strategy also aims to minimise the adverse effects of tourism on traditional Muslim communities. Tourists can make short-guided visits to local fishing villages, but must then return to their resort. Most are satisfied with this glimpse of local life and culture, but to stay longer or to travel to atolls outside the tourist zone requires a good reason, a special permit, and a local person to sponsor the visitor. Most tourists come to understand the restrictions after a short visit to an accessible island - it is difficult to imagine how isolated Maldivian communities would benefit from extended stays by an uncontrolled number of tourists. Like it or not, this highly regulated tourist industry has been enormously successful - there are more and better resorts, a steady increase in visitor numbers, and a minimal impact on the natural and social environment. The Maldives is internationally recognised as a model for sustainable, environment-friendly tourist development. Aside from the national language of Devehi, English is widespread on Male and the "Hotel-Islands". From the airport you continue by speedboat, hydroplane or Dhoni to your island of choice.
Of the 1,190 islands about 200 are inhabited, an additional 89 are listed as "Hotel-Islands". Male, the centrally situated and about 1.8 km˛ small main island, has about 56,000 inhabitants and is the seat of government and administration. Head of the government is the president. Classification of the islands is done by atoll, whereby a distinction is made between a geographic term and the description "Atolu" as the name of the individual administrative units. The individual atolls of the Maldives are divided into 19 administrative units. The main economic pillars of the island are fishing and tourism, which received a tremendous boost in 1973 when the first resort area was opened. The resort hotels can be found mostly in the south-, north, and the Ari atoll; further tourist development is already well under way. When you look at atolls from a geographic point of view, they are circular limestone mountains, partly above and partly below the surface of the water and usually surround a lagoon with small islands and sandbars. The largest atoll of the Maldives, the Huvadhoo atoll in the south, has a diameter of 70 km and is the largest atoll on earth. As with other atolls the majority lies under the ocean surface and only some islands that rise above the remaining ring of corals form arable land with vegetation. Sandbar-Island:
Half-Moon-Island:
Visas: A tourist visa of 30 days will be given to visitors. A tourist visa of 30days will be given to Visitors with valid travel documents on arrival. |
700 km southwest of the southern tip of India there is an under water mountain range. The highest peaks rise from a depth of 2000 meters to barely break the surface of the water. These mountain peaks are the base of the 14 large atolls and the 12 small atolls that form the Maldives as well as the Lakkadives to the north that are part of the Indian Territory. The most northerly of the 26 Maldivian atolls (Ihavandhippolhu ) lies at about the same altitude as the southern tip of India, the most southerly (Addoo) not quite one degree south of the equator. From north to south the Maldives extend for about 800 km, from east to west the broadest point measures 130 km. In between lie 1,190 islands with minimal vegetation. Innumerable sandbars without any vegetation are not counted as islands.
This type of island is situated on the outer rim of the atoll. This island is elongated and closes the calm inward part of the atoll against the open ocean. On their narrow ends these islands taper off gently and end in a channel of strong currents through which the water flows in during high tide and out during low tide. On the inner side looking toward the ocean you can usually find a reef close by that breaks the large waves from the ocean. On the inner side of the atoll lies a wide sandbar. Such an island can be many different sizes. Diving directly from the beach is usually not possible. But in the channels with strong currents at both narrow ends you will find exceptionally interesting diving sites with an abundance of fish.
This type of island also lies in the inner part of the atoll but in a channel of currents. The sandbar (the half-moon) where the first vegetation grew on the island is situated close to a coral colony near the water's surface, averted from the prevailing current. A half-moon island is about 200 to 300 meters long and 100 to 200 m wide. On the semicircular outer side, just as with the Fried-Egg-Island, a lagoon of about 100 meters width stretches out, locked in by a house reef. If you extend the ends of the half moon and let them flow into an oval, you will get the characteristic, protected lagoon so typical for this type of island, with a soft, white sandy bottom, ideal for swimming and windsurfing. This type of island offers a good compromise: There is a house reef, not as large as with the fried-egg-island, but the protected inside lagoon is larger and better suited for water sports.
