There are plenty of things to do at the picturesque island of Maafushi in Maldives for tourists.
From adventure activities to getting a taste of local life, Maafushi has it all.
You can easily spend a few days on the island. Best of all, unlike private resorts, staying in Maafushi would not break the bank and is perfect for all types of travellers.
While there are numerous activities on the island, these are some of the top, must-do activities when in Maafushi.
Page Contents
Shipwreck Snorkelling
You can go snorkelling in various parts of the world but in Maafushi, you can experience shipwreck snorkelling.
Not so far from the island, there is a wreckage of a small ship (or big boat). The tip of the ship is outside the water and rest is submerged inside and its almost vertical.
You can take boats right next to this wreckage and snorkel around it. You can even sit on the tip of the ship and marvel at the ocean all around you.
Shoal of fish have made this wreckage their habitat. If you can, go underwater till the bottom. Its not that deep but deep enough for a real thrilling and unique experience.
Sandbank Visit
There are a few sandbanks near Maafushi where you can spend a nice time under a cozy umbrella.
These sandbanks are small and are surrounded by water. You can go swimming, snorkelling, get back on the sandbank and have prepacked lunch.
Turtle Reef Snorkelling
The joy of swimming with turtles is something you must experience once in your lifetime.
When in Maafushi, you must go for the turtle reef snorkelling activity. There are various turtles swimming around in their habitat and these gentle creatures look sublime under water.
Although you can go touch these turtles, do take care not to disturb or frighten them. You are at their home and should treat them with respect.
Dolphin and Whale Watching
Maafushi offers incredible dolphin and whale watching activities.
Dolphins can be spotted from the boat itself and you may or may not want to go in the water.
However, for whale watching, it is advisable to go in as you can then experience the gorgeous whale shark that swims under the water.
Honestly, swimming next to a whale shark is simply breath-taking and must be in your to-do list.
Reef Shark Snorkelling
Are you daring enough to swim with sharks?
Don’t worry, it is not as scary as it sounds. This is because in Maafushi, you can go snorkelling with reef or nurse sharks.
These sharks are quite harmless and mind their own business. If you are lucky, you can experience tens if not hundreds of these sharks swimming around you during the trip.
Experiencing Local Culture
It is sad that a majority of tourists visit Maldives and stay on a private island resort the entire time. They do not actually experience “Maldives” at all.
Maafushi allows you to experience true Maldivian culture as it is a local inhabited island.
It will take you only 30 to 45 minutes to walk around the entire island. By doing this, you can look around and see what local Maldivian life is like.
The Maldivian prison is also on Maafushi and you can walk around here as well.
Just note that when you do walk around the island going past the designated tourist areas, you need to be respectful of local culture and must be dressed appropriately.
T-shirts, shirts, full length pants or jeans are all fine. Dresses covering knees are preferable. Just don’t wear anything too revealing and you cannot walk around in your bathing suits.
Go Island Hopping
This is something you can do in Maafushi quite easily unlike being stuck at a private island resort.
For a nominal charge, there are boats that will take you to other islands near by and you can spend a lovely afternoon or evening there. You can eat, swim, snorkel at different islands.
You can visit Gulhi island, Fulidhoo island or even nearby resorts for a fun time. It is easy to visit the capital Male as well since there are local ferries plying between the two islands.
Eat Seafood
I had written about the best seafood restaurants in Maafushi earlier and you must read that post if visiting the island.
Maafushi has a relaxed atmosphere and you can indulge in incredible seafood at various restaurants.
Unlike private resorts, there are no exorbitant rates for seafood and there is enough variety to keep all foodies happy.
Note, if you are a vegetarian, most restaurants serve good veggie options as well so its not all meat and fish all the time.
Scuba Diving and Water sports
You will find vendors offering various water sport activities as soon as you reach the island on your speedboat or ferry.
You get the usual scuba diving experience taking you to various reefs or you can simply take a kayak and explore the waters on your own.
The water sports activities in Maafushi is family friendly and you have something for everybody.
Laze around Bikini Beach
If you are tired of all the activities Maafushi has to offer, you can simply laze around the enjoy Bikini beach.
This is the main tourist beach of Maafushi and all hotels are near this area.
Bikini beach offers the typical azure waters of Maldives and you can choose to sit and admire the beach or walk around, swim and snorkel with the fishes nearby.
Sunset Cruise
You can watch the gorgeous sunset from the shores of bikini beach itself or better yet, opt for a sunset cruise.
Sunset cruises usually last an hour or so and many a times are combined with dolphin spotting since there are so many of them around the island.
Watching the tropical sunset from a boat is definitely an amazing sight and would be in my top things to do in Maafushi.
Maafushi Nightlife
Tourists often ask what is there to do in Maafushi at night. This is what nightlife in Maafushi can offer.
1) The Maafushi floating alcohol and nightclub boats.
Being an Islamic nation, Maldives does not allow alcohol in their main inhabited islands.
However, just few minutes from the Maafushi shoreline, there are couple of floating boats or yachts anchored which can be accessed by free boat transfers.
Tourists can visit these floating bars for drinks, food and in general have a good time. Its like going to a yacht party and enjoying the night away.
2) Going for night dives and night fishing.
This is quite a special experience. You can go scuba diving at night and get a different perspective of the coral reefs than what you would get during the day.
Even the fishes and other sea life that you see can be distinctive.
If scuba diving is not your thing, you can go night fishing and stay on the boat. Night fishing is a relaxing activity with the calm waters, moonlight and feeling of solitude. Of course if you catch a fish it can get thrilling quite quickly.
3) Go Stargazing
If you are lucky and the sky is clear, you can simply go to the beach and indulge is stargazing.
In complete darkness, you can see so many stars that simply cannot be seen in our cities.
4) Indulge in buffets
The big hotels of Maafushi always have a nice buffet spread for dinner including seafood barbecue, often setting up on the sands in front of the hotel. If you want, you can indulge in one of these and then opt for going for a nice walk on the beach or around the island.
Final thoughts
All hotels in Maafushi offer the above activities or have tie-ups with specific vendors.
You can either enquire at your hotel reception or check for vendors at the tourist area that starts from the dock where you arrive at Maafushi.
The other option is you can prebook your activities online and plan your budget and stay at Maafushi accordingly.
For most all-day activities, vendors offer prepacked lunch as well in the package cost.
Just enjoy and have a great time at the island.
