Island Hopping Adventure in the Real Maldives

Marta Marinelli, raised in Italy’s serene Prosecco Hills, dreamed of global adventures, inspired by her father's travel stories. Her passion evolved into a career, backed by a decade of studies including degrees in international tourism and destination management. She’s worked in the adventure travel sector since 2012, living in Italy, the UK, and now sunny Portugal.

Over twenty years, Marta has explored over 55 countries, visiting remote areas like Ghana, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Haiti and Nepal’s Upper Mustang region. As a Senior Adventure Expansion Manager at Much Better Adventures, she focuses on creating life-changing experiences, ranging from multi-activity adventures, challenging treks to ultimate adventures in iconic places. She loves the challenge of finding the best local adventure hosts around the world, collaborating on adventures that offer genuine immersion, pushing beyond the beaten path and working on exclusive itineraries that challenge your comfort zone.

What makes her tick? Enabling people to live adventure-rich lives while positively impacting and empowering local communities around the world, generating sustainable opportunities for both the host, guides, community, and the environment.

The tap water in the Maldives is not always friendly on the stomach and therefore it's not safe to drink, especially on the smaller islands where infrastructure is lacking. Filtered water refill stations are available in Male and Dhangethi, but access to these is not always guaranteed. For this reason, we recommend that you bring your own refillable water bottle and a water purification system (tablets or a UV handheld device, such as a Steripen). Please find more info here. Alternatively, your guide may recommend that 5-liter bottles of water are purchased and used to fill reusable water bottles. In this case, these bottles will all be returned to Male and handed over to a trusted local recycling project run by Parley.

Your local host will do their best to operate the itinerary as communicated; however, for your safety and comfort, some changes may be required based on the weather and/or sea conditions. All boat transfers are operated by independent companies, and although they operate at scheduled times, services can occasionally get delayed or canceled at short notice due to weather conditions, public holidays, or mechanical failure. In the event of a cancelation, your guide will make alternative arrangements and reschedule any of the inclusions whenever possible.

In the unlikely event of significant itinerary changes that involve substantial extra costs (such as extra nights in hotels, etc.), this would need to be borne by the customer to be claimed back via your travel insurance.

Ramadan will take place from February 17 to March 18, 2026. Ramadan is an Islamic festival where all Maldivians do not eat or drink during daylight hours. While this is a really interesting time to travel, you can expect some business hours will be shortened, and local cafes or restaurants will generally not open during daylight hours. It's possible that the timings of local ferry and speedboat transfer services will change too. Activities for local people tend to be limited during the day and the nights are very active with family gatherings and lots of different foods being sold and consumed. However, in hotel restaurants and tourist areas food and drink are served as normal and Ramadan will not affect the inclusions on your trip. Your guide will adjust the timings of your itinerary if necessary. Although there are no restrictions for non-Muslims during Ramadan, it is respectful to refrain from eating, drinking or smoking in public areas during daylight hours.

High temperatures and constant sunshine mean that locals and visitors alike prefer dressing in lightweight materials. Cotton t-shirts, skirts, and shorts with sandals or flip-flops are the best options for staying cool.

Please note that the Maldives is a Muslim nation, so care needs to be taken regarding dress on small islands and in local communities. While it is acceptable for men to wear t-shirts and shorts/swim shorts, women should avoid causing offense by maintaining a more conservative approach. T-shirts with sleeves that cover the shoulders, loose shorts that cover the thighs, or sundresses with a sarong around the shoulders are advised. While the islands you'll visit are more tolerant of guests wearing traditional beachwear, women should NOT wear swimwear unless on an uninhabited island, sandbank, private tourist bikini beach (available on all islands you'll stay on) or snorkeling/dive boats. Your guide will advise when and where this is possible. It is common practice for both local women and female visitors to swim from local public beaches wearing a t-shirt or rash guard with shorts or leggings.

When visiting the home of a local family or where you may have access to mosques, shoulders and legs should be fully covered by both men and women out of respect for local customs.

Maldivians, as Muslims, are prohibited by law from consuming alcohol. This means that there is a restriction on the availability of alcohol, even in Male. Please do not bring alcohol through the airport, as it will be confiscated and returned to you when you depart. Visits to private resorts to purchase alcohol can be arranged, however, this is subject to authorisation, based on occupancy at the resort, and an entrance fee and transfer charge will apply.

While snorkeling equipment is included on this trip, we advise bringing your own mask and snorkel if possible. Not only will you be assured the mask fits your face properly (making it more comfortable and less likely to leak), it's also more hygienic. A mask and snorkel are small and light, so they should take up very little space in your suitcase.

Due to the ocean current and wind conditions in the Maldives, the use of fins is essential for almost all snorkeling, and these are included in all snorkeling activities. However, if you want to ensure a perfect fit, you are always welcome to bring your own.

It's advisable to exchange a small amount (around $50) at the exchange desk in the airport. Please note that it is not possible to exchange currency to USD, only to MVR. MVR can only be exchanged back to the original currency prior to your departure if you have a receipt for an arrival exchange from the Bank of Maldives exchange counter in the airport.

The US Dollar is generally accepted as legal tender. All major credit cards can be used (and are preferred) at resorts, hotels and shops. On smaller islands, it is usually only hotels, guesthouses, shops and larger restaurants which accept credit cards, and cash is generally preferred. Small restaurants, cafes and activity providers will generally request payment in cash. Most restaurants and shops will accept USD in payment, but will provide change in local currency.

It is impossible to say exactly what you will need during your island visits as this varies depending on personal preference, the number of extra optional activities you choose and any souvenirs you may like to purchase. However, please find some guidelines* for costs below.

While on the islands, approximate prices are as follows:

• Snack lunch: $5–$10
• Evening meal in guesthouse or local restaurant: $10–$25
• Tea/coffee: $1 for Nescafe, up to $5 for barista-style coffee
• Soft drinks: $1.50
• Water 1.5L: $0.50
• General excursions: from $25–$100 per person
• Watersports: from $10 per person for 60-minute non-motorized rentals

Optional activities in Dhangethi:

• Discover scuba dive: $85 per person, including equipment
• Certified dive: $70 per person, including equipment and tax
• Night snorkeling: $60 per person, including equipment

Optional activities in Dhigurah:

• Discover scuba dive – two dives: $180 per person, including equipment
• Certified dive: $100 per person, including equipment
• Two-hour guided snorkel: $60 per person, including equipment

*rates for services provided locally and payable direct to the provider remain subject to change.

Yes, free WiFi is available at all the guesthouses. However, this is an island nation where cabling is laid along the sea bed and there is only one antenna per island, so you should not expect the signal strength and speed of the internet to be at the level you are used to back home. Weather can also impact the quality of the connection at times.

Your guide will provide a full briefing on responsible snorkeling prior to your trip. As a general rule, fish, ray, or shark feeding should be avoided. It is harmful to marine life, the ecosystem, and potentially to people in the water (whether it be snorkelers, swimmers, or divers). Hand-feeding marine life promotes a behavior called conditioning, where the animals learn to associate humans with food. When fish start to anticipate meal times with humans, it interferes with their natural feeding cycles. As a result of behavioral conditioning through fish feeding, unprovoked marine animals may attack (bite) humans, thinking they will receive food or mistaking fingers and other body parts for food.

Please also make sure you do not touch corals or marine life. Simply touching animals or coral can be as damaging in the long run as intentionally killing or catching them. Many animals, including turtles, rays, and many species of sharks, can become vulnerable to harmful bacteria through human contact, leaving them susceptible to disease.

Unfortunately, like many coral reefs around the world, the Maldives reefs have been impacted by bleaching. However, there is still an abundance of marine life, and in areas not subject to high levels of reclamation and development (which adds stress to the reef's rejuvenation), there is positive evidence of coral rehabilitation. The impact of bleaching varies from atoll to atoll, therefore you may observe great corals in one location but poor ones in another. Your local host is involved in a number of coral reef projects with NGOs, including Coral Doctors, Save the Beach, and Maafushi Eco Dive, who support coral planting in areas where the reefs have been significantly impacted.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).

If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.

For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates daily, so prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

• 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
• 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
• 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

With a tropical climate, plenty of sunshine, and temperatures around 86°F throughout the year, there is never a really bad time to visit the Maldives. There are two distinct seasons: the dry season (northeast monsoon) from January to March and the wet season (southwest monsoon) from mid-May to November. 'Wet season' doesn't mean it rains all the time, but during this period there is more rain than during the dry season. This may be a daily heavy shower, but it's very rare to have days and days of rain in succession or even for a full 24 hours. There is usually more wind during this season, but this helps keep the temperatures at a nice level and you can still expect plenty of blue skies and sunshine.

Like many places in the world today, the climate and weather patterns are changing, and historical data is becoming less reliable as an indication of what to expect. As the islands are situated so close to the equator, it is possible to get sunburn even on a cloudy day, so sunscreen should be applied as a matter of course.