Rasdhoo island in the Maldives: everything about rest, prices, locations

Rasdhoo Island is one of the most popular tourist destinations. This is not surprising, because everything here is conducive to a good rest: the natural beauty of the island, a friendly atmosphere and good infrastructure, pleasant beaches and beautiful lagoons, cheerful ocean entertainment and calm romantic evenings, comfortable rooms and friendly staff of local guesthouses.

Characteristics of Rasdhoo Island:

• Population - about 1500 people
• Length - 600 m
• Width - 500 m
• Atoll - North Ari or Alif Alif
• Distance from Male - 56 km

The island is located on the Alif Alif Atoll, 56 kilometers from Male. The island is inhabited by about 1,500 people and its size is approximately 500 by 600 meters.

The island has grocery, hardware and souvenir shops, several cafes, dive centers and a water sports center, a national bank branch and ATM, a mobile operator branch, a hospital, a post office and a police station.

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How to get to Rasdhoo island

The following types of transfers are offered to guests:

• public ferry;
• public speed boat;
• private speed boat;
• seaplane.

The public ferry ride to Rasdhoo Island takes 3 hours and 10 minutes. The ferry departs from Male City on Monday and Thursday at 9 am and arrives at Rasdhoo at 12:10. The cost of the trip is about USD 5. Tickets can be purchased at Vilingili Ferry Terminal.

The public speedboat ride takes just over one hour. The boat departs from Male daily (except Friday) at 10:30 and 16:00. The cost of the trip is $ 40 per person. Speedboat transfers must be booked in advance. This can be done with the help of the administration of your guesthouse.

Private speedboat transfers also require prior booking at your guesthouse. The cost of the service depends on the guesthouse.

The seaplane flight to Rasdhoo takes 15 minutes. As with the previous options, advance booking is required.

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Hotels and guesthouses on Rasdhoo

According to the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives, about 20 guesthouses are currently registered on the island of Rasdhoo. Among the best:

• Quicksand Rasdhoo is a nice guesthouse with fresh rooms located next to the bikini beach. Facilities include a restaurant, shared lounge, garden and terrace (around $ 70 with breakfast).
• White Coral Rasdhoo is a clean guesthouse with friendly staff, consisting of 10 rooms, located 200 meters from the bikini beach (from $ 65 with breakfast).
• Acqua Blu Rasdhoo is a 3-star guesthouse next to bikini beach. There is a restaurant, a fitness center, bicycle rental, the possibility of organizing excursions (about $ 170).
• Club Gabbiano is a modern design hotel located just a few steps from the bikini beach. There is a restaurant, terrace, tour desk and currency exchange (from $ 60 without meals or $ 100 with breakfast and lunch).
• Palm Residence is a beachfront guesthouse with a restaurant, BBQ facilities and good free Wi-Fi (from $ 135 with breakfast).
• Tranquila Maldives is a cozy boutique hotel with a joint Italian-Maldivian management. Located on the coastline. There is a private beach area, a good restaurant and ample leisure facilities (about $ 120 excluding meals or about $ 230 with all-inclusive meals).
• Holiday Garden Rasdhoo is a budget, very clean guesthouse close to the beach. There are restaurants on site (from $ 60 without meals or from $ 70 with breakfast).
• Madivaru Kro is a guesthouse with a pleasant atmosphere near the bikini beach. There is a restaurant and the possibility of ordering excursions ($ 120 with breakfast).
• Shallow Lagoon Rasdhoo is an affordable guesthouse just minutes from bikini beach. On site there is a restaurant, an ATM, free snorkeling equipment, guided tours (from $ 65 with breakfast).
• Ras Village is a pleasant guesthouse next to the bikini beach. There is a restaurant, tour desk, currency exchange and laundry services ($ 95 with breakfast).

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Nutrition

There are a number of restaurants and cafes on the island. Among the most famous:

• Tranqui Ristorante Italiano is an oceanfront Italian restaurant serving not only Italian but also Maldivian cuisine. It is part of the Tranquila Maldives hotel.
• Lemon Drop is a two-story establishment with a pleasant unhurried atmosphere, which is popular with both tourists and locals. The menu includes a variety of seafood, rice, salads, pizza, vegetarian dishes are possible.
• Coffee Ole is a good cafe in the central part of the island. The menu includes seafood, European, Asian and Maldivian cuisine, burgers and sandwiches.

Guests can also enjoy the Shallow Lagoon's multicultural à la carte restaurant.

The restaurant menu includes:

• Indian and Maldivian dishes - $ 2-10;
• seafood - $ 10-75;
• spaghetti and pasta - $ 7-15;
• rice dishes - $ 6-12;
• fish and meat dishes - $ 3-20;
• pizza - $ 10-15;
• burgers and sandwiches - $ 6-9;
• salads - $ 5-7;
• soups - $ 6;
• desserts - $ 1-9;
• smoothies, juices and other drinks - $ 1-6.

In addition, the hotel has a Destination Dining concept that offers creative menus and entertainment both on and off the island.

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What to do on Rasdhoo

The island offers a variety of pastime options, including: diving, snorkeling safaris, various types of fishing, memorable visits to luxury resorts and local islands, meeting manta rays, turtles and whale sharks, cruises, visiting a traditional Maldivian show, romantic dinners, water activities sports and much more.

By the way, between the islands of Rasdhoo and Thoddoo have a place in the evenings going to a flock of dolphins. Do not miss your chance to take a short trip and observe these playful and intelligent marine life.

And less than a kilometer from Rasdhoo there is a miniature uninhabited island of Madivaru and the unspoiled sandbank of Madivaru Finolhu, where you can snorkel, sunbathe, watch the beautiful Maldivian sunsets and, of course, delicious food.

Here are the approximate prices for some of the entertainment:

• trips to the sandbank (half day, full day or overnight) - from $ 25;
• snorkeling safari with a visit to three locations - from $ 50;
• night fishing with barbecue - from $ 60;
• dolphin watching - $ 45-60;
• acquaintance and swimming with sea turtles - from $ 50;
• visiting island resorts - from $ 95.

Bikini Beach

The beach area intended for tourists is located near the village (GPS 4.260552919980374, 72.99209599751461). There are free sun loungers and trees to shelter from the hot tropical sun. The beach offers an enchanting view of the sunset over the Indian Ocean. The beach is being cleaned, but it can be difficult to enter the water at low tide due to dead corals, so it is better to bring special shoes with you.

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Water sports

The island has a Water Sports Center located next to Bikini Beach. The Shallow Lagoon also offers good water sports facilities. There are: jet skis, wakeboard, bananas, kayaks (for 1-3 people), surfboards and jet skis. For sailing enthusiasts, there is a catamaran and trimaran, as well as seven board sizes and 10 sail configurations for windsurfers of all experience levels.

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Diving and snorkeling

Rasdhoo Island offers one of the best diving spots in the Maldives. In addition to a huge number of fish, mantas and eagle rays, turtles, eels, sharks (including white-finned, gray reef, and also a hammerhead shark) live here. While on vacation in Rasdhoo, you can visit such popular locations as Hammerhead and Manta Point, dive to wrecks, swim with various types of sharks. Many divers visit these places in order to meet the hammerhead shark. The best time to meet with her is the period from January to April.

There are about 20 diving spots near the island, the most popular of which is Madivaru Corner, famous for its large number of reef sharks and eagle rays. Other notable dive sites near the island include:

• Rasdhoo Channel;
• Miyaru Faru;
• Three Palms;
• Madi Gaa;
• Veligandu North;
• Madivaru Reef;
• Racks Reef Explorer and Kuramathi Queen;
• Hammerhead Shark Point.

There are several permanent diving centers on the island (both PADI and SSI) offering a full range of courses for both beginners and professional divers and flexible training schedules. Among them:

• Drop dive maldives
• Jerrys Dive Club and Watersports
• Rasdhoo Dive Club
• Family divers maldives

Some of the dive centers (for example, the Jerrys Dive Club) offer other entertainment in addition to diving training: fishing and dolphin cruises, trips to Thoddoo and Ukulhas, picnics, underwater photo sessions, and drone photography.

Diving prices depend on the school and, per person, are roughly:

• PADI Discover course - $ 100;
• PADI Scuba Diving course - $ 395;
• PADI Open Water Diver course - $ 495;
• snorkeling lessons - from $ 20;
• snorkeling with manta rays at Manta Point - $ 35.

There is a house reef near the island, and many guest houses provide their guests with free snorkeling equipment. More interesting is the outer side of the reef, where, in addition to large schools of tropical fish, there are reef sharks, eagle rays, tuna and other underwater inhabitants.

At the same time, the island dive centers organize snorkeling tours to other interesting locations. Snorkeling on the Madivaru reef, where you can see beautiful corals and many fish, swimming with manta rays and turtles, as well as night snorkeling, is especially exciting for tourists.

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Island trips

From the island, you can easily get to the local islands of Thoddoo and Ukulhas, located at a distance of less than 20 kilometers from Rasdhoo. You can get to these islands by public ferry. However, it is more convenient to ask your hotelier for assistance in organizing such a trip, or book it at the Jerrys Dive Club for $ 10 per person.

Nika Island Resort & Spa