Maldives Gaafaru Explorer

Male - Gaafaru. Your tour leader meets you at Velana International Airport and walks you into the heart of Male. You take in the fish market and local market, pass the President's Palace and the Friday Mosque, and follow the capital's narrow roads as daily life plays out around you.

After a relaxed lunch, a speedboat carries you out to your guesthouse on the island of Gaafaru in North Male Atoll, about sixty minutes from Male, with a good chance of dolphins along the way. You settle in ahead of a sunset swim. Over coffee, your tour leader talks through the pressures on Maldivian marine life and what can be done to limit them.

Please note: Please ensure you arrive before 9 AM. The Maldives is a Muslim country, so alcohol is unavailable on local islands. Bikinis are not permitted on local beaches but can be worn in private guesthouse areas such as gardens, balconies, or designated tourist beaches. We strongly recommend you bring your own mask and snorkel on this tour, both for hygiene reasons and to ensure a proper fit.

This itinerary applies to departures from 01 November 2026 onwards. If you're travelling before this date, please contact us, as a different itinerary applies.

After breakfast you head out by boat to nearby reefs. Your tour leader gives a responsible snorkelling briefing and acts as your spotter, drawing your eye to turtles, sharks and rays you might otherwise miss, and helping less confident swimmers feel steady in the water.

As the afternoon cools, you explore Gaafaru on foot. You reach Kuda Miskiy, the small mosque dating to 1879, and pass the school, medical centre and police station at the centre of island life. There is time to watch rihakaru being made, learn to open a coconut, and stop at a café for hedhika. After dinner, your tour leader introduces the Olive Ridley Project and its turtle studies, ready for tomorrow's snorkel.

This morning a speedboat takes you out to snorkel in search of turtles, drawn to a reef whose soft corals keep them well fed. If you are lucky enough to find them, you follow the code of conduct for a calm, respectful encounter, capturing identification images to pass on to the Olive Ridley Project.

On the cruise back to Gaafaru, your tour leader and crew keep watch for dolphins, sharing what they know of the region's different species and the part they play in the ecosystem. Back on land, you plant a coconut palm, one for each guest and your tour leader.

Today is yours to shape. Spend it on the beach, or join your tour leader for a house reef snorkel with turtles and sharks in mind. Weather permitting, there is also an optional boat trip to Kaashidhoo, an agricultural island of banana plantations, coconut groves and home gardens that supplies much of Male's fresh produce.

You explore on foot with your tour leader, visiting farms and plant nurseries for a lesser seen side of the Maldives. Back on Gaafaru, the cooler afternoon brings a beach clean, rewarded with a kurumba, fresh coconut water, and a swim. Dinner is at a local family's home, eaten the traditional way without knife or fork.

Gulhi - Male. You will enjoy an early breakfast before taking a public ferry back to Male. Once you have arrived in Male, you will be transferred to Male International Airport at approximately 10 AM, where you will greet your guide and fellow travellers before departing. Safe travels!