Memories From Maldives
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LOCAL ISLAND THULUSDHOO
When you hear ‘Maldives’ your mind instantly takes you to luxury resorts, honeymoon heaven, pristine blue waters, and white sandy beaches. Whilst boasting all those things staying at a luxury resort isn’t the only way to experience this beautiful part of the world.
Local islands in the Maldives opened for tourism in 2009 making it a relatively fresh concept with lots of passionate and creative tourism operators. There are plenty of beautiful islands to choose from all offering a unique array of activities, landscapes and beaches.
When selecting a local island I opted for Thulusdhoo. Located only 25 minutes by speed boat from the Male international airport this convinient little island has everything you need. Surf, amazing diving, great cafe and restaurant options, welcoming locals and a range of cute guest house accomodations!
If you’re travelling alone you can find a guesthouse for as little as $30-50USD per night or $40-80USD per night as a couple. Your guesthouse can usually help you organise a speed boat transfer from Male to Thulusdhoo; speed boats usually run 4 times a day and cost $25USDpp. Another economical alternative is to catch the local ferry that departs once daily (around 2-3pm) from the Male Fishermans Wharf ferry terminal that will cost roughly $3USDpp. Make sure to ask a local for the exact timing to confirm and note that the Fishermans wharf can easily be reached from the airport via a ferry shuttle that departs every 15 minutes (around $1USD).
The local currency is Maldivian Rufiyaa but most tourism operators will also accept and list prices in USD. Thulusdhoo only has one ATM that often runs out of cash so make sure you get money out at the airport as you will need this to pay for daily activities and at some local shops. Many places accept card, but charge an additional 2/3% which adds up if you’re staying a while.
One important thing to note is that the main religion of the Maldives local islands is Muslim. When visiting any country it’s important to respect local culture and adapt according. In the Maldives this means making sure you are wearing modest clothing, covering your shoulders and knees and taking extra consideration when visiting during religious holidays like Ramadan. All local islands are dry zones and have specific tourist beaches where bikinis are permitted.
Thulusdhoo is filled with a mix of tourists including surfers, young travellers and backpackers. It’s a small island and a really easy place to make friends! The same people you sit next to at the cafe will likely be with you that afternoon in the surf so be confident and get chatting. Many of the people we met travelling in march had connected or met In Sri Lanka like us.
I’d feel comfortable to return as a solo female traveller and can’t wait to get back to this island paradise!
Our first few nights we stayed at the Akiri surf retreat and loved the laid back homely vibe of this stay. Akiri offer a range of fantastic all inclusive surf and excursion packages or you can opt to book individual tours day by day through their partner company Hydra Maldives.
We chose the second option as we wanted to be on the island a couple weeks and didn’t need to do multiple activities each day. If you were only staying a couple days and wanted to make the most of your time I would highly recommend the package option but it also depends how you like to travel.
Akiri surf retreats offers a kitchen which we were so excited to use.
We cooked porridge or chia pudding with papaya and peanuts most mornings, ate lots of veggie omelettes that we served with the local ‘roshi’ bread or pimped two minute noodles with in season veg. Our snack each day was mountains of fresh coconut, peanut butter, dates and chocolate! Natures answer to a bounty bar.
Being located on an island fresh food and veg can be hard to source. It needs to be imported, making healthy recipes a creative endeavour.
While travelling for long periods of time I find that cooking my own meals is a really consistent way to create routine and feel grounded. The kitchen was a big tick in the box!
When planning my travels I originally cast Maldives aside believing it was a destination reserved for couples and honeymooners. I had always wanted to visit but didn’t think it was appropriate alone.
I voiced this over a coffee in Sri Lanka with a new friend and fellow spontaneous adventure lover; Aluna. We were discussing our plans for the next month and looking at destinations we both wanted to visit. At this point we weren’t planning on going together but I put the idea out there and within the hour of chit chat and getting along like a house on fire the two of us energetic soul sisters decided to make it happen! The next day we booked flights from Sri Lanka to Male for $180AUD ($117USD) and we were ready to go.
Aluna is one of the most incredible women that I am blessed to have met. Her kindness, her patience and vibrant fun loving energy truely make her shine! The month we spent travelling with one another was like one big sleepover of adventure, deep chats and ‘girls being girls’! She healed things inside of me that I did not realise were broken and taught me so much about confidence and living with authenticity.
This is my favourite thing about travel; the opportunity to meet and connect with like minded, inspiring people. The longer we spent together the more we came to find just how similar we both were and although we live on opposite sides of the world I know she is a soul sister I will cherish forever.
BEACHES
Thulusdhoo is approximately 1.58km long and 680m wide surrounded entirely by pristine turquoise sea. There are two bikini beaches located on thulusdhoo; ‘Dream Beach’ located to the left of the harbour and ‘Bikini Beach’ located near the main area of town and many popular restaurants.
‘Dream Beach’ really did live up to its name! equipped with small seaside shade shacks it is the perfect place to spend the day relaxing. just remember to pack water and snacks as there’s no shops in the area.
Further west of ‘dream beach’ is a non bikini section of beach and sand spit lagoon that is the perfect place to watch the sun and moon set .
‘Bikini Beach’ is scattered with comfy day beds and cute decorations installed by the surrounding hotels and resorts. Most don’t mind you using them but its always polite to purchase a drink or meal from the respective venue when doing so.
One of my favourite moments in Thulusdhoo was an evening that I took my watercolours to a beach cabana to drink coffee with a friend while we painted the memories of our days on the island.
To the east of ‘Bikini Beach’ you will find a little mangrove like island and bridge to ‘Coke’s view point’. It has a wooden platform overlooking the house surf break, an array of beautiful corals and shady bench seats. Near the entrance to the foot bridge is a small swim hole that’s a great place for a peaceful dip anytime of day.
SURFING
We originally chose Thulusdhoo as our destination as it is one of the only local islands that offers beach access to a house reef break known as ‘Cokes’. Unfortunately neither of our surfing skills were up for the fast and fierce, short ride this wave offers so we did not surf here. We did however enjoy the laid back vibe of the little island town and loved watching the surf from the above mentioned viewing deck.
Across the channel a $10USD boat will transfer you to a break called ‘Chicken’s’. This slightly deeper left offers a longer peeling wave that’s perfect for intermediate surfers.
With enough interested people you can get a $15-20USD boat transfer to Sultan’s (right) and Honkey’s (left) which is another fun set of breaks on a neighbouring island that are really fun to visit and surf. Watch what times you go out and ask the local guides about tides. The drift and current can be really strong and will tire you out if you go at the wrong time.
The legends at Akiri offer surf transfers as well as the boys at Randhaa surf where you can also rent a decent board for $15USD per day.
SNORKELING
Some of the most popular tours on the island are swimming with nurse sharks, snorkelling with stingrays and reef sharks, a trip to the coral gardens and turtle point, a sandbank excursion or a full day trip down south that combines the draw cards of the above mentioned activities!
Ranging from $25USD-$65USD for the half day trips and $140USD for the full day trip (lunch included) to a neighbouring atoll; these jaw dropping adventures create memorable moments that are priceless. It’s so worth it to try each trip and see as much as you can underwater with a local, knowledgable guide.
The day trip we went on with Hydra Maldives was to Vaavu Atoll where we had the chance to swim with nurse sharks AKA the shark ‘puppies’ of the sea, explore a coral reef and ship wreck, have delicious lunch on a local island, visit a sandbank and enjoy sunset from the boat on the way home! On the way south we saw pods of dolphins and pilot whales. It was the most diverse and exciting day on the water.
If you are a competent swimmer and have experience reading the ocean tides and currents you can take yourself snorkelling off the back of ‘Bikini Beach’. Make sure you are being safe, and making yourself known to oncoming boats by swimming on the surface and using bright coloured equipment or swimwear.
I also spent much of my time getting the surf transfers out to the reef breaks and snorkelling under the surfers! I’ve done this all over the world and it’s a feeling unmatched.
The house reefs are teeming with life offering the chance to spot reef sharks, eagle rays, sting rays, moray eels, clown fish, angel fish and more! One of my favourite dive days was when we took paddle boards to the outer reef at ‘Dream Beach’ to go spear fishing!
The clarity of the water is phenomenal making this destination a divers dream.
FOOD
Besides cooking many of my own meals I tried a bunch of food from the local restaurants including Maldivian fish curry and kottu roshi. If you love tuna you will love the local Maldivian cuisine!
My favourite affordable restaurant was ‘Bandaha Cafe’ offering delicious curries and western meals for as little as $4USD per serve. Their paratha bread was a staple in our diet this month eating them as a beach snack topped with peanut better and banana or alongside our morning eggs!
We visited Maldives during Ramadan which is an important factor to consider when travelling to the country; This meant that many restaurants did not open till the afternoon and were only open to tourists during the day.
Another local restaurant we favoured was named Byonni however this was closed towards the end of our trip (maybe for renovations).
For tropical vibes and a beautiful place to chill Indulge Thulusdhoo offer great coffee, sandwiches, burgers and smoothie bows for very reasonable prices near the bikini beach. This aesthetic hotspot was a great place for us ‘back packing bums’ to treat ourselves and quite literally indulge in the delicious healthy food options! ;)
As well as thanking all of the beautiful humans we met on this island for sharing their time and energy I’d like to make a special mention to Federico Repetto for capturing the incredible drone images featured in this blog and Mesci Razi for capturing the underwater magic.
In summary this trip was incredible and Maldives may very well be one of my favourite tropical destinations to date! The locals are super friendly, the nature is unmatched and the overall scene is breathtaking. be back soon!
with love and light,
Asta xx
