Fulidhoo is one of the local islands in the Maldives that you must visit as soon as possible!
Located in the Vaavu Atoll, it’s close to Malé and Male International Airport, so it’s easy to get to.
Fulidhoo is a super quiet island with affordable accommodations. It has some of the most beautiful turquoise waters and white sandy beaches that we’ve been to. This island is perfect for those who want a completely relaxing vacation.
Before visiting Fulidhoo, we stayed on Maafushi Island for 3 days. After 3 days on Fulidhoo Island, we preferred this island’s calmer lifestyle and easy-going pace. Yet, there are still some fun things to do here.
This island is still under the radar, so here are the reasons why we love Fulidhoo and would recommend you visit for your Maldivian trip.
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It’s a very laid-back island life experience.
This tiny island has 400 people living here.
We enjoyed the friendly locals and hospitality. We received a warm welcome from our hotel host, Luau Beach Inn, as they met us on the pier. The team continuously contacted us over WhatsApp and in person if we had any questions or concerns.
We loved the warm, soft sandy beaches and clear turquoise waters surrounding the island. Hanging out by the beach is an acceptable way to spend the day.
On the north side of the island, there are hammocks to nap at any time of the day.
So, enjoy the slower and more relaxing pace.
It’s super peaceful on Fulidhoo
It’s an affordable island to visit.
Compared to the high prices at Maldives’s private resorts, Fulidhoo is a budget-friendly destination.
Accommodations are guesthouses and boutique hotels, so the cost is lower than a private villa at a resort. Guesthouses start at $85 USD/night and up. Most places include breakfast in the price.
Check out Fulidhoo accommodations on Booking.com here.
But if you want lunch and dinner included, there will be an additional cost.
Where did we stay?
We stayed at Luau Beach Inn. Located on the beach and only a 2-minute walk from the Fulidhoo pier, it was a beautiful place to stay. We loved the view of the ocean from our room.
We stayed here in this room for 3 nights and it was fabulous!
They had a half board (breakfast and dinner) or full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) meal plan. We chose the half board option, just in case we went on a snorkeling excursion where lunch is usually included.
Breakfast with an ocean view from Luau Beach Inn dining area
Check out pricing for Luau Beach Inn here on Booking.com.
Check pricing and availability on Agoda here.
If you’re eyeing a snorkeling or diving excursion, the cost is lower than the resort prices. But they are slightly higher than what we saw on Maafushi Island. This is due to the smaller group size and more private.
As for the restaurant prices, we did research and noticed that many of the restaurants on the beach have a starting cost of $10 to $15/person. We didn’t try any restaurants as very few places were open for lunchtime and we already had dinner covered at our hotel.
Fulidhoo has beautiful sand and clean waters.
The Bikini Beach is on the east side of the island and it has some of the cleanest and finest white sand. The powdery sand felt luxurious on my feet.
Fulidhoo’s Bikini Beach
The sand is also home to sand crabs and hermit crabs, and we saw many scurrying across the sand.
Note: The north and south sides of the island are local beaches but are more traveled and have some garbage in the area. Maybe there will be a beach clean up for the north side in the future.
The turquoise waters are also perfect for snorkeling and swimming.
We borrowed a snorkel from our hotel and swam around the Bikini Beach waters. We didn’t need to go far from the shore as we saw colorful corals and fish swimming.
See sting rays, nurse sharks, and other marine animals off the pier.
One of the highlights of staying overnight in Fulidhoo is seeing the abundance of marine life in the water.
The sting rays are a popular sight and can be easily seen from the waters near the pier. Many tour companies visit Fulidhoo between 8:30am – 9:00am to see the sting rays.
You can see sting rays easily on Fulidhoo!
We took a Shipwreck tour with iCom Tours from Maafushi, and this island was the second stop of the tour.
Note: The tour companies bring buckets of fish pieces to chum the water and to encourage the sting rays to arrive. That’s why there is a huge concentration of sting rays.
But you can see them gliding in the water in the same area throughout the day.
We’ve also seen nurse sharks and a black tip shark swimming near the pier. They come out at night as fishermen clean the fish and dump the leftover fish pieces in the water.
Otherwise, there are plenty of colorful fish in the water if you decide to go snorkeling.
It’s not crowded.
Most people visit Fulidhoo as a stopover in their snorkeling excursion to see the sting rays.
Each tour group has around 25 people plus the crew members so there could be 30 people per tour group at one time. If there are 3 tour groups, 90 people are on the beach.
But once the tour groups leave, the beach and island are much quieter.
Since there are a handful of guesthouses on the island, it’s not overdeveloped and still maintains the local island tranquility.
After coming from the larger Maafushi island, Fulidhoo is ideal for travelers who want pure bliss and quietness and maybe avoid people.
Check out our side by side comparison between Fulidhoo and Maafushi.
The island is extremely walkable.
According to our Luau Beach Inn host, the island is 750 meters by 250 meters, so you can walk across the island in 5 minutes.
The island is completely flat too. You don’t need to worry about renting bicycles or motorbikes to travel around.
The middle of the island has one major road that has a small grocery store, souvenir shop, and some coffee shops and restaurants.
You can easily walk to the beach to see the sunrise or sunset.
Fulidhoo has amazing sunrises
It’s easy to get here by public ferry, speedboat, or tour.
Which one should you take? It’ll depend on your time constraints, budget, departure island, and comfort. Most visitors go to Fulidhoo from the Airport or Maafushi Island.
If coming from the Airport to Fulidhoo, taking a 1-hour speedboat ride will be the more direct route. It’ll cost $40 per person. The departure times are 10:00am and 4:00pm. Your accommodation can arrange.
But if you’re coming from Maafushi, we have a post that covers the different transportation options from Maafushi to Fulidhoo – public ferry, speedboat, or excursion.
We recommend the public ferry route as it’s the cheapest option at 53 Maldivian Ruffiya ($3.50 USD). It’s a comfortable ride to take a nap.
If you’re coming from other southern islands such as Thinadhoo, Felidhoo, Keyodhoo, and Rakeedhoo, the public ferry will stop by Fulidhoo on the way to Male. Check out the public ferry schedule here.
For those who need to go to the Airport, read our post on transportation options from Fulidhoo to the Airport.
You can do many water activities here!
Depending on your interest, you can do many water activities. You can do a half-day snorkeling excursion, multi-day diving, or practice diving skills.
Ask your accommodation if they provide the activities. Or, you can stop by Luau Beach Inn and inquire with the staff about upcoming tours.
Or, if you want to stay on the island, grab a kayak or go snorkeling from the beach. We kayaked every day and loved our time in the water. Snorkeling is also worth doing as there are live corals in the water!
It’s snorkeling time!
Final Thoughts
Fulidhoo is worth the visit for the small island vibe in the Maldives.
We love the quietness and peaceful environment, gorgeous waters, soft sandy beaches, and majestic marine creatures. We would come back immediately if we needed a peaceful getaway.
If this is the type of vacation that you want to experience, do not hesitate to plan a trip to Fulidhoo Island!
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