Three days on Maafushi is the perfect amount of time to explore this small Maldivian island fully.
Located in the South Male Atoll, it has what you’re looking for in paradise – nice sandy beaches, warm breeze, tons of snorkeling adventures, various accommodations, and plenty of restaurants. It’s also one of the Maldives’s cheapest local islands to visit.
We loved our stay in Maafushi and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a combination of relaxing and adventurous activities.
So, what did we do? Continue reading this 3-day Maafushi itinerary on recommended activities to do on each day and other helpful travel tips.
You’re welcome to stay longer on the island, yet, we felt slight island fever towards the end of our stay.
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Day 1: Explore Maafushi Island Leisurely
The first day in Maafushi will depend on when you arrive on the island. You’ll need to adjust the itinerary as needed.
We recommend reading our post on things to do on Maafushi Island to get an idea of the attractions here, and then you can plan out your day.
Here is a brief summary of what you can do:
Watch the sunrise.
Head to the local beaches northeast of the island to see the sunrise. It occurs a few minutes before 6:00am, but you can check the timing on Google.
We encountered some amazing sunrises of purple and pink skies and the gorgeous reflections in the ocean.
Maafushi’s sunrise is gorgeous on a clear morning.
**For the local beaches, please remember to cover the body. These are “No Bikini Beaches.” Wearing shorts and T-shirts will be fine.
Walk around the island at your own pace.
The entire island is 1.275 kilometers (.89 miles) in length and .26 kilometers (.162 miles) in width and takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk around. It’s an easy walk since the island is pancake flat.
Here is a suggestion for a walking path:
Stop by the Maafushi sign at the pier and the Holding Hands sculpture. These are next to each other.
Make your way to the Maafushi prison and mosque. Unfortunately, you can’t stop by these places.
Head to the beach area and then wander through the small streets. Pass by souvenir shops, restaurants, and a soccer field. You may see a game happening.
We saw this beautiful cat when walking around Maafushi Island
Lounge at Bikini Beach, such as Arena Beach.
The Bikini Beach is where most tourists hang out and relax.
The Arena Beach, located in front of the Arena Beach Hotel, has lawn chairs for rent. You can order beverages (non-alcoholic) and enjoy them on the beach.
If you need a break from the relaxing, you can snorkel or walk in the ocean. During low tide, there is a shallow section. It’s a cool experience to stand in knee to mid-thigh-level turquoise waters and see the coast of the island from there.
The ocean near Bikini Beach area is shallow during low tide
The rocks along the shores have tons of rock crabs. They’re fun to observe as the water hits the rocks and then they scurry into the cracks.
Water activities galore!
Another fun thing to do is to do a water activity. Head to the beach area near the pier and choose what to do – parasailing, riding a jet ski, riding a banana boat, and much more.
We didn’t have a chance to do these activities but saw people having a blast.
Visit tour agencies in the late afternoon/evening.
If you want to go on a snorkeling day trip, it’s highly recommended to visit the tour agencies near the port.
Agencies list their offerings for the next day on a chalkboard, so you can inquire for more information. We stopped by Shadowpalm Tours, Velaa Trips, and iCom Tours.
It’s best to visit between 5:00pm to 7:00pm as the tour agencies have a better idea of the water and weather conditions for the next day.
Consider taking either a half-day or full-day snorkeling tour. Half-day tours do not include lunch, while full-day tour has lunch.
All the tours include marine animals sightings such as dolphins, nurse sharks, and fish.
Here are some tours to take:
- Whale shark & manta rays tour (We took this one)
- Shipwreck tour (We also took this tour)
- Fish Tank tour
- Night fishing
- Fishing tours
The tour agencies also offer day trips to nearby 5-star resorts. You can still enjoy the fancy resort life for the day! The iCom Tours agency visits Centara Rasfushi, Adaaran Prestige Vadoo, Sun Siyam Olhuveli, and Fihalhohi Resort. A buffet lunch, alcoholic drinks, and pool access are included.
The pricing is competitive so all agencies have the same tour prices. It just depends on the availability and whether they’ve met the minimum number of people.
You’ll need to decide whether you want to take the tour before the agency’s closing time. Booking on the morning of is not possible.
Watch the sunset.
The sunset occurs on the west side of the island. Grab a spot on the local beach and watch the sunset (around 6:20pm, but you can verify with a quick Google search).
Day 2: Take a Day Trip from Maafushi
If you missed any of the attractions and things above, then add them to your second day.
This day will be spent away from Maafushi. Since it’ll require some planning, you need to think about what to do on the first day.
Here are 3 options to consider:
Snorkeling Excursion
Hooray! You have a snorkeling tour scheduled.
On the morning of the tour, give yourself extra time to eat breakfast, pack a few things such as a hat and sunscreen, and head to your agency for check in.
Check in is usually 30 minutes before the tour departure. You’ll receive your snorkel, fins, life jacket (optional), and bath towel during this time.
We took the Whale Shark Tour with Shadowpalm Tours on our second day and the Shipwreck Tour with iCom Tours on the third day.
We highly recommend them to see the marine animals in their natural habitat and snorkel in the crystal blue waters. Since these are full day tours, there is lunch on a beach or a sandbank.
This is the Shipwreck & Nurse Shark Tour. Photo credit: iCom Tours
Resort Excursion
It’s your time to relax and enjoy the pampered life at the 5-star resorts!
We didn’t get a chance to visit a resort, yet it’s on the bucket list. The infinity pools look amazing.
Visit Gulhi Island
Want to visit another local island? Head to Gulhi Island.
It’s a small island with swoonworthy beaches and a Gulhi swing in the waters. It’s located only 20 minutes away from Maafushi by ferry, so it’s close by.
The public ferry goes to Gulhi every day except Friday. Pick up from Maafushi Port is at 7:25am and departure from Gulhi Port is at 4:15pm. You can spend a full day relaxing and wandering around the island.
Click here for the ferry schedule and change the departure island to Maafushi or Gulhi.
**Note: Several snorkeling excursions stop by Gulhi for lunch. So, you can still enjoy another island and the beaches.
We didn’t have a chance to visit Gulhi, but it’s on our travel bucket list for our next visit.
Day 3: Day Trip or Free Day
On your last day in Maafushi, you can spend it however you’d like. Whether you want to relax on the island or go on another snorkeling excursion, it’s up to you!
If you’re heading to another island, such as the nearby Gulhi or Fulidhoo, have an amazing time. We went to Fulidhoo Island for several days and would highly recommend it for its pristine beaches and pure quietness.
Want to know more about Fulidhoo? Check out this post exploring whether Maafushi or Fulidhoo is better to visit.
Check out our post on transportation options from Maafushi to Fulidhoo here.
For those heading to the Velana International Airport or stopping by Malé before the Airport, have a safe journey either back home or to your next destination.
You can take the public ferry from Maafushi to Male City or take a speedboat directly from Maafushi to the Airport.
Read this post on the transportation options from Fulidhoo to the Airport.
How to Get to Maafushi
It’ll depend on your departing island. Many tourists arrive directly from the Airport or Male City. There are speedboats and public ferries available.
Read our post which breaks down the difference between the speedboat and public ferry transportation to Maafushi.
The public ferry goes to Maafushi from South Vaavu Atoll islands (Fulidhoo, Thinadhoo, Felidhoo, Keyodhoo, and Rakeedhoo.)
Fulidhoo is the closest island to Maafushi. The ferry departs Fulidhoo on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:45am and arrives in Maafushi at 12:25pm.
How to Travel Around
The island isn’t large, so walking is the main form of transportation. It’ll take 15-20 minutes to walk around it. You can easily cut across the island and get somewhere in 5-10 minutes.
There are motorbikes, bicycles, and small trucks, but locals use these for transporting goods to/from the port. If you need to use any of these, ask your accommodation if they can arrange it.
Where to Stay
What we love about this island is how affordable the accommodations are. You can find guesthouses or boutique hotels with a private bathroom and include breakfast starting at $80 per night.
Click here for pricing and availability on Booking.com.
Our Recommendation: Island Ambience
We stayed at Island Ambience for 3 nights and loved our stay.
We stayed at Island Ambience for a few days
This 3-level guesthouse is located on the northern side of the island. It’s quiet and next to the local beaches. Restaurants and local grocery stores are accessible within a 5 to 10-minute walk.
The Island Ambience team made our stay comfortable. From the welcome drink to serving the daily breakfast, they always smiled and assisted us. They even prepared breakfast for us earlier than the 7:00am breakfast time as we had two snorkeling excursions with check in times from 7:15am to 7:30am.
Our family room was on the second level and it was a huge size and super clean.
We appreciated the amenities such as drinkable water in glass bottles, beach towels, water boiler, tea and coffee, and air conditioning.
We paid $96/night and it was worth the price.
Click here to see availability for Island Ambience on Booking
Where to Eat
The island has many food options such as local Maldivian cuisine to Western food and grilled seafood. We used Google Maps to figure out where to eat.
To help make things easier, check out our Maafushi restaurant guide to see which places we ate at.
Final Thoughts
The 3 days in Maafushi will go by quickly. From the relaxation opportunities to the water adventures, we hope this itinerary has inspired you to book your Maldives trip here.
We can’t wait to return and try more excursions!
If you need help with planning your Maldives trip, check out the posts we’ve written:
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