Alcohol in the Maldives: rules on local islands and resorts

• Local (inhabited) islands: no alcohol. Not in cafés, shops or guesthouses, and you should not bring your own.
• Resorts: alcohol is served to guests under a tourism licence. Resorts are private islands with their own rules and prices.
• Airport island hotel and liveaboards: licensed, so alcohol is available to guests on board or on site.
• Arriving by air: importing alcohol without prior approval is prohibited. Bottles bought in duty free or on the plane are taken by customs at Velana International Airport.
• Pork: the same thinking applies. It is a prohibited import and is not served on local islands.

The Maldives is a Muslim country, and Islam shapes daily life, the law and the rhythm of the week. Alcohol is not part of Maldivian culture, and drinking in public on inhabited islands is against the law. The tourism industry grew up on separate, uninhabited islands, and that split is still how things work today: resorts sit on their own islands with tourism licences, while the 187 inhabited islands (Census 2022, Maldives Bureau of Statistics) keep to local law and custom.

When local islands began to welcome guesthouses, the rules on alcohol did not change. Proposals to allow sales in hotels on inhabited islands have been debated at times, but none has changed the position for local islands. The guesthouse model, which now hosts about 22% of visitors (around 500,000 in 2025, according to Ministry of Tourism figures as reported), works without alcohol.

For more on the faith and customs behind this, see our guide to Maldivian culture, people and language.

This is the rule that catches people out most often.

• Velana International Airport’s own arrival guide advises travellers not to buy liquor on board or in duty-free shops on the way, because importing alcohol without prior approval is prohibited.
• Customs will take any alcohol found in your luggage on arrival. The safest plan is simply not to buy any.
• Other prohibited imports include pork and pork products, narcotics, pornography and idols for worship. Bags are screened, so don’t try to hide anything.
• Before you fly, complete the free IMUGA Traveller Declaration within 96 hours of arrival.

Our guides to visa and entry requirements and arriving at Velana International Airport cover the arrival process step by step.

Resorts

Resorts hold tourism licences that allow them to serve alcohol to their guests. Each resort sets its own menu, prices and opening hours, and these are often high because everything is imported and taxed. Remember that Tourism GST of 17% (since 1 July 2025, per MIRA) and a common 10% service charge are usually added to the bill.

Some resorts sell day passes to visitors from other islands. Rules and prices vary, so ask before you go, and expect to pay for the boat transfer too.

The airport island

Hulhulé, the island that holds Velana International Airport, has a licensed hotel. It is the one place close to Malé where travellers can usually find a drink, which some people use on a long layover or the night before an early flight.

Liveaboards and safari boats

Licensed liveaboard boats can serve alcohol to guests on board. If you are diving or surfing from a liveaboard, ask the operator about their drinks policy when you book.

Floating bars and day trips

Some operators run licensed boats anchored near local islands, sometimes called floating bars, and some guesthouses arrange day trips to resorts or licensed boats. These exist in several atolls. If you join one:

• Go with a licensed operator, and ask how you will get back.
• Don’t carry any alcohol back onto the local island, opened or not.
• Don’t return noticeably drunk. You are walking back into a village where families live.
• Never swim, snorkel or drive a boat after drinking. Currents in channels are strong.

Not drinking can be one of the nicest surprises of a local-island trip. Cafés and guesthouses make a lot of effort with alcohol-free drinks:

• Fresh juices: watermelon, papaya, lime, passion fruit and mango, depending on what has arrived by boat.
• Mocktails: many cafés have a full list, often served on the beach at sunset.
• Kurumba: fresh green coconut water, straight from the nut. Few drinks suit a hot afternoon better.
• Tea: Maldivians drink a lot of sweet black tea, often with *hedhikaa* (short eats) in the late afternoon.
• Soft drinks and bottled water: sold in every island shop, usually priced in rufiyaa.

Evenings on a local island tend to be about sunset, a good meal, a walk along the beach and, on clear nights, the stars. On Dhiffushi, for example, the food and drink pages show the range of cafés, and a sunset dolphin cruise is a popular way to spend the golden hour without a glass in hand.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset. On local islands, visitors should not eat, drink or smoke in public during daylight hours. Guesthouses still feed their guests, often indoors or in a screened area, and the evening meal to break the fast is a lively, sociable time.

Resorts carry on serving food and drinks, including alcohol, to their guests during Ramadan, though some may adjust what they offer. If you visit a resort or a licensed boat during the holy month, be extra careful about how you come back to a local island.

On Fridays, shops and cafés on local islands close for a while around the midday prayer. Plan your lunch around it.

Read more in visiting Dhiffushi during Ramadan and our guide to Maldives festivals and public holidays.

Alcohol is only one part of local-island etiquette, but it is the one most likely to cause real offence or trouble. A few plain rules:

• Don’t bring alcohol to a local island, even for your room.
• Don’t ask guesthouse staff or shopkeepers to find you a drink. It puts them in a difficult position, legally and socially.
• Don’t drink on the beach, even a bikini beach. Bikini beaches allow swimwear; they don’t change the rules on alcohol.
• If you come back from a resort or boat trip, keep it low key.
• Cover shoulders and knees away from the bikini beach, and never sunbathe nude or topless anywhere in the country.

Our guides to what to wear in the Maldives and local island etiquette go into more detail.

For some travellers, a drink at sunset is part of a holiday, and that is fine. The question is how much it matters to you.

Many visitors split their stay: a few nights on a local island for the reef, the people and the prices, and a night or two at a resort at the end. Our comparison of a local island vs a resort and the Maldives local islands guide help you weigh it up.