The islands where people actually live
Around a thousand islands make up the Maldives; fewer than two hundred are inhabited, and only some of those have guesthouses. These are the ones worth knowing about — each with its own character, its own way in, and its own reason to go.
Narrow it down
Showing 3 of 25 islands
Photo · Ilija Jevtic / Google Alif Alif Atoll
Bodufolhudhoo
Bodufolhudhoo has just over seven hundred residents, which puts it among the smaller guesthouse islands in Alif Alif. That size…
704 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Richard Newman / Google Alif Alif Atoll
Mathiveri
Mathiveri sits at the northern end of Alif Alif with fewer than nine hundred residents — small enough to walk end to end, large…
878 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Carlos Alberto do Amaral / Google Alif Alif Atoll
Ukulhas
Ukulhas made its name doing something unglamorous: it sorts and manages its waste. On an archipelago where rubbish disposal is a…
1,284 residentsBikini beach