The Maldives: Private Islands, Underwater Dining & the Last True Escape

The Maldives — 1,192 coral islands spread across 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean — are the most specialised luxury travel destination on earth. There is one reason people come: the water. The lagoons surrounding these low-lying coral atolls display a range of blues and greens — from the palest aquamarine over white sand to the deep indigo of the open ocean — that photographs with unerring consistency and delivers on arrival with the same stunning effect every time.

The Maldives has been developing luxury resorts on private islands since the 1970s. The category has since become the benchmark for Indian Ocean hospitality, and competition among the top properties is fierce enough that the overall standard is extraordinary. Choosing between them is genuinely difficult — each of the properties below offers something the others do not.

Where to Stay: The Premier Properties

Soneva Fushi (soneva.com/soneva-fushi) in Baa Atoll — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — is the original Maldives luxury resort and still the most philosophically coherent. The 67 villas, spread across 1.4km of jungle island, range from the original castaway-style crushed coral floor structures to newer three-bedroom pool villas of extraordinary scale. There are no room keys — shoes are deposited at the jetty on arrival and not retrieved until departure. The resort's environmental programme is the most advanced in the archipelago. Villas from $2,500/night.

Cheval Blanc Randheli (chevalblanc.com/randheli) in Noonu Atoll brings the Parisian luxury standards of the LVMH-owned Cheval Blanc hotel brand to a purpose-built private island — the Maison, the overwater bar, and the Diptyque spa are the most architecturally refined spaces in the Maldives. Villas from $4,500/night.

Six Senses Laamu (sixsenses.com/laamu) in Laamu Atoll — one of the southernmost and most remote of the inhabited atolls — offers the finest house reef in the Maldives, with regular tiger shark and hammerhead sightings from the resort's own jetty. The sustainability programme (resident marine biologist, coral restoration programme, turtle rehabilitation) and the quality of the food programme are the best in the archipelago. Villas from $1,800/night.

The Underwater World: Diving & Snorkelling

The Maldives sits in the Indian Ocean at the convergence of major current systems, which makes it one of the world's premier dive destinations. Hammerhead sharks congregate at Rasdhoo Atoll (accessible as a day trip from Ari Atoll resorts); manta rays are resident year-round at the cleaning stations of South Malé Atoll and Baa Atoll; whale sharks visit the lagoons of South Ari Atoll from December to March.

The PADI dive centres at most major resorts operate to the highest global standards — Soneva Fushi's Six Senses dive centre (now independent) is among the best-managed in the Indian Ocean. Night dives reveal nurse sharks, bioluminescent plankton, and octopus hunting on the reef in conditions impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Underwater Dining: Ithaa & Subsix

Ithaa Undersea Restaurant at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (conradmaldives.com) was the world's first all-glass undersea restaurant when it opened in 2004 — positioned 5 metres below the lagoon surface with panoramic views of the surrounding reef and its fish. The six-course tasting menu (approximately $350/person) is less about the food than the experience, but the setting is genuinely extraordinary. Subsix at Niyama Private Islands is positioned 6 metres below sea level and hosts Friday sunset DJ sessions watched by passing reef sharks.

Getting There

Velana International Airport (MLE) in Malé is served by direct flights from Dubai (Emirates), Doha (Qatar Airways), Singapore (Singapore Airlines), London (British Airways), and Zurich (Edelweiss). From Malé, resorts are reached by seaplane (the most spectacular 20-minute flight in travel), speedboat, or domestic flight depending on atoll location.

Reference Links:

- Soneva Fushi: soneva.com/soneva-fushi

- Six Senses Laamu: sixsenses.com/laamu

- Cheval Blanc Randheli: chevalblanc.com/randheli

- Maldives Tourism: visitmaldives.com

- PADI dive site finder: padi.com