Guraidhoo Island in the Maldives: all about vacation, prices, locations

A small local island is located on the South Malé Atoll (Kaafu) about 30 kilometers from Malé, the capital of the Maldives. Quiet Guraidhoo is an average island by Maldivian standards, not as popular with tourists as the neighboring Maafushi. It offers guests a more authentic holiday in a relaxed environment.

Currently, Guraidhoo has shops (including souvenir shops), a hospital and pharmacy, a police station, a school and a playground, restaurants, cafés and eateries, diving centers, and an ATM. For tourist accommodation, given the convenient transfer to the island, Guraidhoo is quite suitable.

WIOTTO offers a great selection of hotels in the Maldives.

General characteristics of the island:

Population - about 1,900 people
Length - 675 meters
Width - 500 meters
Atoll - South Malé, or Kaafu
Other names of the island: Guraidhoo, Guraidu, Guraydhu, Guraydho
Distance from Malé - 30 kilometers

Ithaa Beach Maldives

How to get to Guraidhoo

You can get to the island easily by using a public ferry or a speedboat.

Public ferry leaves Malé 5 days a week (except Monday and Friday) in the afternoon. There is a direct ferry - travel time 2 hours, and a ferry that makes stops on the islands of Gulhi and Maafushi - 2.5 hours. You can buy a ferry ticket on arrival in the Maldives at the ferry counter or contact the administration of your hotel or guest house with a request. The cost is about $6.

Also, remember that in bad weather the ferry can be canceled. Therefore, when choosing a trip on this type of transport, it is always worth having a "plan B" and considering alternative transfers or the possibility of an overnight stay in Malé.

All about ferry service in the Maldives.

Public speedboat departs from the airport daily (except Friday) at 12:00, 15:10, and 21:20, and on Friday at 9:00 and 21:20. The cost of the trip is $35-40, and the duration is about 40 minutes.

You can also get to the island by private speedboat. You can order a transfer on a public or private speedboat at the guest house where you book accommodation.

The best local islands of the Maldives for recreation

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Where to Stay in Guraidhoo

The island has a good selection of guest houses and mini-hotels, offering both budget and more comfortable accommodation for tourists. Among them:

Ocean Way Guraidhoo Maldives

A small hotel in a quiet location, a kilometer from the village center, 300 meters from bikini beach. Ocean Way Guraidhoo offers food in its café, comfortable rooms with a patio area in the fresh air, amenities on the beach, barbecue, transfer services. Nearby there are opportunities for diving, canoeing, fishing, windsurfing.

Ithaa Seaview

A cozy guest almost in the center of the island. The bikini beach is only 2 minutes from the room. Rooms with modern facilities and private bathrooms. Sea view. Accommodation includes English breakfasts.

La Isla Tropica

Mini hotel with 8 rooms, located near bikini beach. The rooms have a full range of amenities, including their own bathrooms. Guests are offered continental breakfasts, a restaurant of Asian cuisine a few minutes from the guest house. Free Wi-Fi. Direct access to the beach. Water activities including diving center, canoeing, fishing trips are available near the hotel.

Athens View Hotel

Budget 3-star hotel 100 meters from the beach. Cozy and modern design. It has its own restaurant and common lounge. A variety of breakfasts to choose from - buffet, continental, by menu. Excellent location near bikini beach, market, souvenir shop.

Rosy Villa Hotel

Clean and well-maintained 4-star hotel near the beach. Among the amenities: restaurant, swimming pool, billiards, communal lounge, children’s play area, free Wi-Fi throughout the territory. Rooms with air conditioning and a full range of modern facilities. Breakfast to choose from - buffet, continental, American. Near the hotel is a windsurfing club. Bicycle rentals are available for walking around the island.

Top 20 Maldives hotels for holiday on local islands.

IRIS Beach Residence

Bright and comfortable 3-star hotel located right on the beach. Only 11 rooms with modern design and comfortable living conditions. Continental and Asian breakfasts, conditions for self-cooking. Good location near a wide sandy beach. Guests of the hotel will be able to engage in various types of outdoor activities available on Guraidhoo - diving, windsurfing, snorkeling, fishing. IRIS Beach provides bicycle rental services.

Ithaa Beach Maldives

Guest house with caring staff and a private beach area. There is a private restaurant, plenty of natural shade, the opportunity to go fishing and cook a barbecue on the beach. There’s a children’s park nearby. Breakfast or all-inclusive packages are available.

Medhufaru Inn Guest House

A small guest house consisting of 6 rooms. There is a good restaurant and own boat for excursions and water sports, opportunities for surfing and diving, wedding ceremonies and romantic dinners on the beach.

Ocean Retreat and Spa

3-star hotel with 17 rooms in three different categories - standard, superior, and deluxe. There is a restaurant and a sun terrace with picturesque views of the lagoon. Close to the bikini beach. Spa services on request. All types of food are available.

Prices for accommodation on the island of Guraidhoo range from $50-150 per night, depending on the hotel’s location, service level, and season.

All about budget holidays in the Maldives.

IRIS Beach Residence

Where to eat in Guraidhoo

Among the popular places where you can diversify the food on the island, you should pay attention to the restaurant Amore, which offers local, Asian, and international cuisine, as well as vegetarian dishes at very affordable prices.

The café-bistro Good Bros is famous for its delicious food and relaxed atmosphere. Maldivian cuisine, excellent service, and reasonable prices.

Thun'di Café is another popular establishment on the island, which combines simple delicious food, including local and Indian dishes, as well as pizza and European dishes. Professional service, culinary masterpieces from the chef, a great location on the beach, which is ideal for romantic dinners.

Many guests residing in Guraidhoo prefer to visit establishments on Maafushi for a varied experience. The neighboring island is one of the most developed in terms of infrastructure among local islands of the Maldives for tourists.

What to try in the Maldives? Read all about local cuisine.

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What to do in Guraidhoo

All conditions are created on the island to make the leisure of guests rich and exciting. Entertainment includes:

Snorkeling and diving (half day, full day, or night swimming).
Night or morning fishing at dawn, followed by the preparation of your catch.
Watching dolphins during a sea safari.
Trips to sandbars, which may include dinner at sunset.
Swimming with turtles at Turtle Point and snorkeling with manta rays at Manta Point.
Trips to meet whale sharks.
Secluded picnics on deserted islands.
Travels and excursions to the villages on the neighboring atolls.
Active water entertainments (catamaran, windsurfing, canoeing, jet ski, water skiing, wakeboarding, and others).

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Beaches on Guraidhoo

The island has a clean and well-kept beach, which is located opposite the luxury resort hotel Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma, however, staying in a swimsuit on this beach is officially prohibited. For a beach holiday in a bikini, you need to take a minute’s walk along a small pedestrian bridge to the neighboring uninhabited island of Lhosfushi.

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma

Snorkeling and diving on Guraidhoo

The noteworthy reef is quite far from the island, so local hoteliers organize snorkeling safaris for their guests, during which you can appreciate the diversity of marine life around the island.

As for diving, diving in this region is possible throughout the year. In the area of the South Malé Atoll, there are large schools of fish, tuna and sharks, sea turtles and mantas, Napoleon wrasses and moray eels, as well as many corals, caves, and one sunken ship.

The island dive centers Dive Point Guraidhoo (SSI) and Manta Divers (PADI), equipped with high-quality equipment, offer their customers a full range of services, while paying great attention to safety standards:

Courses for all levels of training (for children 10+, beginners, and advanced divers).
Guided dives for certified divers.
Fascinating dives on an underwater scooter.

Indicative prices for Dive Point Guraidhoo:

1-5 dives for certified divers - from $70.
SSI Basic Diver - about $125.
SSI Scuba Diver - $390.
SSI Open Water Diver - $570.

All useful information about diving in the Maldives.

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Surfing on Guraidhoo

It is no secret that the Maldives is one of the most famous island countries in the surfing world. And near the island of Guraidhoo there are a number of famous spots suitable for athletes of any level - Foxy’s, Riptides, and Kates. Here you can hone your skills and get individual and group lessons.

When and where to surf in the Maldives? Find out in our article.

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Visiting the resorts - day use

Tourists who live on a budget in Guraidhoo, but at the same time want to plunge into the world of luxury in the Maldivian way, can treat themselves to impeccable service and stylish rest, visiting one of the resorts nearby via day use - resort for one day offers:

The cost of the trip, as a rule, includes: transfer fees and entrance to the resort, food and drinks (including alcoholic), a towel and a sunbed, the possibility of using infrastructure facilities. Detailed terms and cost of such a trip should be found in your guest house.

In addition, near Guraidhoo are the local islands of Maafushi and Gulhi, which can be reached by public ferry, or you can request such a trip from your hotelier.

Choose and book a hotel in the Maldives.

Adaaran Club Rannalhi