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 7 of 25 islands
Photo · Hussain Solah / Google Kaafu Atoll
Gulhi
Gulhi is a small island in southern Kaafu with fewer than a thousand residents, and its main advantage is position: it sits on…
976 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Anil Travel Logs / Google Haa Dhaalu Atoll
Hanimaadhoo
Hanimaadhoo is the gateway to the far north. It has the regional airport, around two and a half thousand residents, and roughly…
2,664 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Jadulla Hameed / Google Seenu Atoll
Hithadhoo
Hithadhoo is the largest island in Addu and, with nearly fourteen thousand residents, the second-largest population centre in the…
13,759 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Rune Tollefsen / Google Kaafu Atoll
Huraa
Huraa lies in northern Kaafu with around sixteen hundred residents, close enough to Malé that the transfer is short and far…
1,654 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Bilal Afzal Khan / Google Kaafu Atoll
Maafushi
Maafushi sits about 26 km south of Malé in Kaafu Atoll, and it is where local-island tourism in the Maldives first took hold at…
4,471 residentsBikini beach
Photo · Mohamed Naushad / Google Alif Dhaal Atoll
Mahibadhoo
Mahibadhoo is the administrative centre of Alif Dhaal and, with over two and a half thousand residents, by some distance the…
2,580 residents
Photo · Jenzy Ben / Google Kaafu Atoll
Thulusdhoo
Thulusdhoo is the surf island of Kaafu Atoll, and it wears that identity plainly. Two of the best-known breaks in the country sit…
1,801 residentsBikini beach