Dhigurah Island in the Maldives: everything about rest, prices, locations

Dhigurah Island is part of South Ari Atoll (also known as Alif Dhaal) and is considered one of the quietest and most beautiful inhabited islands in the Maldives. Its name, translated from the Maldivian language Dhivehi, meaning "long island", which very accurately characterizes this beautiful place. After all, the length of the island is about 3 kilometers, and the maximum width does not exceed 250 meters. Being on one side of it, you can admire the sunrise, and on the other side - the sunset. It is also home to the longest beach in the atoll, stretching on both sides of the island.

Characteristics of Dhigurah Island

• Population - about 600 people
• Length - 3 km
• Width - 250 m
• Atoll - South Ari
• Distance from Male - 97 km

The island has a population of about 600 people, and its infrastructure has everything you need to live, including a kindergarten, school, pharmacy, medical center, shops and souvenir shops, as well as a harbor.

The village occupies only a small part of the island, and the rest of its territory (which is not used for gardening, growing fruits and vegetables) is covered with equatorial forest.

Walking through the village will take about 15 minutes. The locals are quite welcoming. In addition to agriculture, they are engaged in fishing, masonry, woodworking and boat building, or work in nearby resorts.

Abdulla Abeedh

How to Get to Dhigurah island

Dhigurah Island is located 97 kilometers from Male. To get to it, you can use one of the following types of transport:

• public ferry;
• speed boat;
• domestic airlines aircraft.

The public ferry ride will be the most affordable, but since it is a stopover, it will take more time and effort on your part than the other two options.

From Male, take ferry 305 to Mahibadhoo where you will need to change to ferry 304. Route 304 runs between Mahibadhoo (capital of the atoll) and Fenfushi, crossing Dhigurah Island in both directions. You need to be careful not to miss your stop. The total travel time will be about 6 hours.

The ferry runs on certain days of the week, it is better to check the schedule with the owner of the hotel or guest house where you are going to stay.

If the trip seems too tiring, consider a speedboat transfer that takes you to Dhigurah Island. The cost of such a trip will be about US $ 80 per person one way, and its duration will be about 2 hours.

On request, the owners of many hotels and guesthouses can organize a private transfer for you, but the cost will be much more expensive.

However, if the sea is very rough, ferries and boats may not operate and the only transport option would be a domestic flight.

Currently, such flights are operated by Flyme.

To get to Dhigurah Island on your own by air, you need to fly from Velana International Airport to Maamigili Airport (also known as Villa Airport), then take a taxi from the airport to Maamigili Pier, where you will take a speedboat to Dhigurah.

The approximate duration of such a trip will be: 20 minutes by flight + 5 minutes by taxi + 20 minutes by boat.

If you want to avoid extra worries, be sure to contact your hotelier when planning your trip. In most cases, the owners of guesthouses are ready to take on all the organizational chores associated with the transfer of their guests, including assistance with buying tickets and meeting at the airport. In addition, with the help of the administration of the guesthouse, it is possible to get a transfer at a lower price. For example, Athiri Beach Guest House offers a speedboat ride from the airport to Dhigurah Island for US $ 60 per adult.

Depositphotos

Accommodation

A number of hotels and guesthouses operate on the island to accommodate tourists, including:

• Bliss Dhigurah is a wonderful guesthouse with a private beach, fitness center and sun deck ($ 95 with breakfast).
• Athiri Beach Maldives is a beachfront boutique guesthouse with 16 contemporary rooms. Facilities include a terrace, restaurant, water activities, excursions by pleasure boat, 5-star PADI dive center (from US $ 100).
• Boutique Beach All Inclusive Diving Hotel is a nice hotel with a private beach, created by divers for divers. Multiple TripAdvisor Awards. There are two options for the "all inclusive" package: a diving package and a snorkeling / excursion package (from USD 500 with meals and dives / excursions).
• ATOLLKEY Beach Villa - elegant villas by the sea. There is a good restaurant (from $ 120 with breakfast).
• TME Retreats Dhigurah is a good 3-star hotel a few meters from the beach, with a restaurant, spa, diving, excursion and water sports facilities (from $ 90 with breakfast).
• UFA Escape is a small boutique hotel with a restaurant and a family atmosphere. Movie and karaoke nights are held, massage and excursions can be booked (about US $ 90).
• White Sand Dhigurah is a beautiful guesthouse within walking distance of the beach. There is a nice restaurant. Activities include diving, fishing, sandbank picnics, and water activities (about US $ 110 with breakfast).
• Grand Beach Dhigurah is a hotel with modern rooms located next to the beach. There is a Maldivian restaurant. The roof is equipped with a terrace with a small pool. Various excursions are available.
• Dhigurah Beach Inn is a small front line guesthouse with quality service and interesting excursions (about US $ 95 with breakfast).

Bliss Dhigurah

Nutrition

Currently, there are more than a dozen restaurants and cafes on the island, where you can eat at reasonable prices. Many of them belong to hotels and guesthouses. One of these establishments is the Absolutely Thai restaurant (located on the territory of ATOLLKEY Beach Villa), which offers Thai, local, Chinese, European cuisine, as well as barbecue. For those wishing to have an easy bite, the restaurant has a wide selection of salads, sandwiches and fresh fruit juices.

Another popular place among tourists is Hermit's restaurant, located in the Bliss Dhigurah guesthouse. When preparing food, they try to use mainly local products. The menu includes traditional and European dishes, including seafood dishes, pizza and salads, tuna steaks and burgers, coffee and a variety of refreshing drinks. In addition, upon individual request, special meals can be prepared according to the dietary preferences of the guests.

Bliss Dhigurah

Things to do on the island

Island activities include spectacular diving and snorkeling, water sports, socializing with locals, fishing and barbecuing your catch, dolphin watching and swimming with whale sharks, and exploring the island and its surroundings.

There is a beautiful sandbank near the island, where romantic dinners and picnics are often held. At low tide, this sand spit leads to the neighboring LUX * Resort. However, visiting the resort is paid, and during a pandemic, there may be restrictions on such walks.

Jailam Rashad

Bikini Beach

In accordance with Islamic customs, guests are strongly advised to wear low-key clothing in the village. However, beyond its territory begins a long and beautiful bikini beach (3.5350758618092675, 72.92744831275625), which extends to the very shallow.

Water sports

In addition to snorkeling, guests of the island can enjoy water activities such as wakeboarding, banana rides, jet skis and water skiing, canoeing and SUP.

Some hotels offer guests free use of some water sports equipment during their stay.

Snorkeling and diving

Around the island, marine life is constantly boiling. The waters of South Ari Atoll are one of the few places in the world where you can see a huge number of whale sharks (350 individuals have been recorded in the area), rare sea turtles and giant manta rays, colorful fish and many colorful corals. More than a thousand species of fish and other sea creatures live here, including: needle fish and giant napoleons, parrot fish and clowns, moray eels and various mollusks.

Near the island, there is a beautiful lagoon and a good house reef, where whale sharks often swim. Therefore, you don't have to make long trips to meet them. Travelers looking to expand their horizons can take advantage of the services of one of the island dive centers, which offer good opportunities for divers of all skill levels:

• dive center Athiri Beach (located in the hotel of the same name)
• Dhigurah Divers
• Island Divers
• Dive Blue
• Oceanholic Dive Center
• Boutique Beach All Inclusive Diving Hotel

There are about 40 dive sites within an hour by boat from the island where you can swim with sharks, do drift dives or dive to the wrecks.

Among the most famous locations:

• Broken Rock;
• Seventh Heaven;
• Kuda Rah Thila;
• Dhigurah Thila;
• 5 Rocks;
• Manta Point;
• Maamigili Beru.

Qualified instructors will help you plan a route according to your experience, individual skills and requirements.

Estimated prices:

• one dive - $ 50;
• Discover Scuba Diver course - $ 145;
• PADI Scuba Diver - $ 555;
• PADI Open Water Diver - $ 740

Depositphotos

Excursions

Among the excursions available from the island, it is worth highlighting:

• whale shark safari;
• dolphin watching;
• trips to nearby reefs;
• sandbank picnics;
• fishing at sunset.

As for the cost of excursions, acquaintance with whale sharks or manta rays will cost $ 75, a snorkeling tour to the reefs will cost $ 50, and fishing - $ 35.

Naushad Mohamed

Resort day trip

Some guesthouses can organize day trips for their guests to nearby island resorts, such as:

• Vilamendhoo Island
• Centara grand island
• Conrad Maldives
• Vakarufalhi Island Resort
• LUX *
• Amaya Resort Kuda Rah

The cost of travel depends on the resort, as well as on the range of services and entertainment included in the package. For example, during a day visit to Amaya Resort Kuda Rah, guests can enjoy the beach, pool and showers, pool bar and restaurants. Pool towels are also provided.

By the way, such one-day visits to resorts are almost the only opportunity for tourists to taste alcoholic drinks while on vacation on Dhigurah Island. Indeed, due to the fact that the Maldives is a Muslim country, alcohol is not sold on the local islands.

Vilamendhoo Island Resort

Visiting local islands

In addition to visiting the resorts, the owners of the guesthouses can provide a private boat transfer from Dhigurah Island to other local islands, such as Mahibadhoo, Fenfushi, Maamigili and Dhangethi. The price of the trip depends on the guesthouse and the proximity of the island chosen for visiting; therefore, it must be specified in each specific case.

Alternatively, you can get to these islands by public ferry No. 304.

Ishan