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Guraidhoo, an inhabited island in Kaafu Atoll, Maldives
Photo · Marc Perreault / Google

Kaafu Atoll · K

Guraidhoo

Guraidhoo sits in southern Kaafu with around seventeen hundred residents, which makes it a proper island community rather than a guesthouse cluster. It lies near the channel that separates North and South Malé Atoll, and that channel is what brings divers.

Being on the ferry route south from Malé makes it straightforward to reach, and the island has enough going on to fill a stay without a boat trip every day.

It is a reasonable middle ground: busier than Gulhi, quieter than Maafushi, and easier to get to than most.

Schematic cross-section of Kaafu atoll showing Guraidhoo on the reef rim, with the lagoon inside and open ocean outside.LAGOONOPEN OCEAN
  • Guraidhoo
  • Reef edge
  • Bikini beach
Population
1,743
Reachable by
Public ferry · Speedboat
Bikini beach
Yes
Alcohol
Not availableAs on all inhabited islands

Getting there

No departure we can source for Guraidhoo. Rather than print a time that might cost you a travel day, we leave it empty — why the schedules are missing and what to do instead.

Where to stay

The Ministry of Tourism lists 21 registered guesthouses, 1 home stay on Guraidhoo — 234 rooms, 468 beds. That is the island's licensed capacity in full.

Register of the Ministry of Tourism, checked 8 August 2026 · tourism.gov.mv

See guesthouses on Guraidhoo

When to go

Channel diving depends on current and is best judged locally on the day. Conditions are generally more settled during the drier northeast monsoon.

Beaches

  • Beach Area

  • Guraidhoo

  • Guraidhoo beach

  • Naanu Beach

  • Bikini Beach

    Bikini beach

On an inhabited island

Guraidhoo is a village, not a resort. Swimwear belongs on the island's bikini beach, not in the streets.

What that means day to day — dress, alcohol, Ramadan, Friday prayers — is set out once on local island rules, so it stays in one place and stays current.

Nearby islands

Islands in the same atoll usually share ferry routes, so they are the realistic alternatives if Guraidhoo is booked out.

Checked 1 August 2026. Ferry times, fares and opening hours change — if something here is out of date, it is worth confirming locally.