Fulidhoo - Vaavu Atoll

After quarantine, this was our first trip to a local island, right after inter-island travel was allowed. It is so quiet as compared to other islands. A small school, a mosque, a dive center, fishermen and not much going on. 

Fulidhoo is the first island on Vaavu, and the first stop of the speedboat service in the atoll, an hour and 20 minutes from Male or the airport. There are a few guesthouses, some new, some with a bit more charm than others. Most offer decent accommodation, albeit on the pricey side as compared to other local islands. You come here for the diving, the beautiful reef, and the nice excursions.

Don't come here for the beach. The bikini beach is far from the guesthouses, in a corner right by a trash dump. Although you don't necessarily see the trash if you don't go look for it, the trash is burnt at least once a day and the smoke and smells will reach the beach...

The beach is of course accessible on multiple locations on the island, sometimes with a proper shore, but bear in mind you will need to wear conservative swimming outfits (men can manage without a t-shirt, but maldivian men do wear t-shirts or rashguards). 

Dive sites accessible from here are amazing, and the staff at the dive center are very helpful and accommodating. Many of the excursions offered here are more expensive than elsewhere is Vaavu, I would recommend the ones that are typical of this atoll: Swimming with nurse sharks - an incredible experience; and snorkeling/ freediving at the Keyodhoo shipwreck. Other excursions like whaleshark snorkeling are a hit or miss, and you will probably see dolphins on one of the boat trips. 

Tips:

We stayed at Seena Inn: A family room was around 150$, the food is ok but takes a long time, better put an order before. 

Fulidhoo dive offers reasonably priced dives and courses. Ali and his team are excellent and very kind and customer-oriented. @fulidhoo_dive_maldives

Excursions here are more expensive (about 50$ per trip) than in other islands like Maafushi or Thinadhoo, although closer to the action. 

For the speedboat transfer: The company is called Dreamspeed- phone number +960 7 948865. They depart everyday from the airport at 10am and from Fulidhoo around 1pm. The ride is around 30$ one way.