South Malé Atoll guide: local islands, reefs and channels

Kaafu is the administrative atoll that surrounds Malé. It takes in two natural atolls, North Malé and South Malé, plus a few outlying islands. A deep channel, the Vaadhoo Kandu, separates the two rings, with Malé and the airport sitting near the southern edge of North Malé.

South Malé Atoll is the smaller, quieter ring to the south. Its outer reef is broken by channels (*kandu*) where the ocean flows in and out of the lagoon with the tide. Those channels shape where the fish gather and where the water gets rough.

Many islands here are resorts, which are private islands with their own rules and transfers. This guide is about the local side: the inhabited islands where people live, fish and run small guesthouses. Note that Malé City (Malé, Villimalé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé) is a separate administrative area and not part of Kaafu.

For the northern half of the atoll, see our North Malé Atoll (Kaafu) guide.

The three islands below are listed alphabetically, not ranked. Transfer times are rough guides from the airport or Malé and change with weather, sea state and boat. We don’t quote fares or timetables, as they change often.

Gulhi

• Getting there: short shared speedboat ride; public ferry from Malé (not on most Fridays).
• Feel: small, walkable and quiet, with a strong village character.

Gulhi is handy for a first or last night near Malé. Life moves slowly, and evenings are about the harbour, the tea shops and the sunset. Not every small island has an ATM, so check with your guesthouse and bring some rufiyaa.

Guraidhoo

• Getting there: shared speedboat; public ferry from Malé (not on most Fridays).
• Feel: a working island with a growing guesthouse community, close to the channels at the southern end of the atoll.

Guraidhoo sits right beside one of the atoll’s protected channels, which is why divers and snorkellers like it. Much of the guesthouse building has been done by young islanders, and it feels lived-in rather than built for visitors.

Maafushi

• Getting there: shared speedboat, about 30–45 minutes; public ferry from Malé (not on most Fridays).
• Feel: one of the busiest guesthouse islands in the Maldives, with plenty of excursions on offer.

Maafushi was among the first islands to open guesthouses after the rules changed around 2010 and allowed tourist accommodation on inhabited islands. Today it has more choice of rooms, cafés and trips than most local islands, and a busier bikini beach. If you want a lively base with lots going on, it fits. If you want quiet, a smaller island may suit you better.

To compare Maafushi with two of the busiest islands in North Malé, read Dhiffushi vs Maafushi vs Thulusdhoo. For the full list of local islands around the capital, see local islands near Malé.

Whichever island you pick, national norms apply:

• No alcohol on inhabited islands. See alcohol in the Maldives.
• Bikini beaches. Swimwear only on the designated tourist beach; elsewhere, cover shoulders and knees. See what to wear.
• Friday prayers. Shops and cafés close for a while around midday on Fridays, and most public ferries don’t run that day.
• Ramadan. Don’t eat, drink or smoke in public in daylight.

South Malé Atoll is a channel atoll. Twice a day the tide pushes ocean water through gaps in the outer reef, carrying food into the lagoon. Reef sharks, eagle rays, schools of jacks and snapper, and turtles follow the current.

Protected channels

Two South Malé channels appear on the government’s list of protected areas (Statistics Maldives yearbook, list as of 2005):

• Guraidhoo Kandu. On the south-east side of the atoll, close to Guraidhoo. It is known for grey reef and whitetip reef sharks along steep walls and the channel corners.
• Embudhoo Kandu. On the eastern side of the atoll. A long drift with overhangs and coral along the walls, and reef sharks out in the blue.

In a protected area, fishing, anchoring on the reef, and taking coral or shells are not allowed. Our guide to protected areas of the Maldives explains the rules.

Other dive sites

The atoll has many more sites, including thilas (underwater pinnacles), caves and a wreck sunk as an artificial reef. Dive centres choose sites on the day by current and experience. Strong currents are normal here, so channel dives suit divers who are comfortable with drift diving and using a reef hook. Newer divers usually start inside the lagoon or on the sheltered side of a channel.

A few things worth knowing:

• The recreational depth limit is 30 m under the Recreational Diving Regulation.
• Feeding sharks is illegal, and feeding rays and whale sharks is banned too.
• Touch nothing. Don’t stand on coral or pick anything up.

See diving in the Maldives for courses, safety and seasons.

Snorkelling and sandbanks

You don’t need to dive to enjoy the atoll. Guesthouses on all three islands arrange snorkelling trips to nearby reefs, dolphin trips in the late afternoon, and picnics on sandbanks. Mantas visit cleaning stations in the atoll at some times of year, but sightings vary with the season and the current, so treat them as a bonus, not a promise. Always snorkel with a guide near channels, where currents can pick up quickly.

All three islands are reached by sea from Malé or the airport.

• Shared speedboat. The quickest and most popular option. Scheduled transfers run from the airport and from Malé. Your guesthouse will usually book it with your room and tell you where to meet.
• Public ferry. The state-owned operator, MTCC, runs public ferries from Malé to the South Malé islands. They are slow, cheap, take cash in rufiyaa, and most routes don’t run on Fridays. Check the current schedule with MTCC before you plan around it.

Crossings in South Malé cross open water between the reefs, so they can be bumpy in the southwest monsoon (mid-May to November). Boats are sometimes delayed or cancelled when the weather turns. Leave some slack before your international flight. Our guide to getting around the Maldives covers speedboats, ferries and domestic flights.

The weather is warm all year, around 30–31°C in the air and 28–29°C in the sea (Maldives Meteorological Service).

• January to March is usually the driest, calmest stretch, with the clearest water on many sites.
• April and December are transition months.
• Mid-May to November, the southwest monsoon, brings more rain, wind and swell. November is often the wettest month.

Channel diving changes with the monsoon as the current shifts; a local dive centre will know which side of a channel is “on”.

• Complete IMUGA before you fly. The free online Traveller Declaration is due within 96 hours before arrival.
• Carry rufiyaa. US dollars are widely accepted, but ferries and small shops prefer rufiyaa.
• Know the tax lines. Guesthouse bills usually show a 10% service charge, 17% Tourism GST (since 1 July 2025) and a green tax of USD 6 per guest per night at smaller guesthouses. See money, costs and taxes.
• Never buy coral, shells or turtle products.

Both halves of Kaafu are close to the airport, so you can link them through Malé in a day. A common pattern is a livelier island such as Maafushi for excursions, then a quieter island in North Malé for slow mornings. Dhiffushi, on the eastern rim of North Malé Atoll, is the easternmost inhabited island in the Maldives; see how to get to Dhiffushi.