Fulhadhoo: The Maldives Hidden Gem

From Dharavandhoo, we were due to take public ferries over to Fulhadhoo. I found a timetable on the MTCC website which showed a public dhoni from Dharavandhoo to Eydhafushi at 9.05am and then Eydhafushi to Fulhadhoo at 2:15pm. However, the night before we were trying to confirm the boat times and found contradictory information. The hotel manager tried to call the ferry captain, but couldn’t get through. We were sure the boat to Eydhafushi was going, but we weren’t sure about the onward journey to Fulhadhoo… So we had to accept defeat, and the hotel manager said he could take us on a direct speed boat for $150 for both of us.

I was a little disappointed really, as if you’ve read my other blog posts you’ll know that I LOVE to organise things myself and use public transport where possible, as it feels more ‘real’ and you learn more about the country. And, just something about “doing it yourself” as opposed to letting someone else do all the hard work of planning the travel logistics for you. I’m not very good at asking for help at the best of times… For anything… But as we are learning, island time here is different, and so far, I don’t think a single boat has left at the time it was advertised online (Malé > Dharavandhoo said 1pm online and was actually 11am, Malé > Dhigurah said 11am and was 10:30am), so maybe asking a local for help isn’t such a bad idea.

Plus, it meant not having to wait at Eydhafushi for a few hours with our bags, and we got to Fulhadhoo a little earlier too, so had more time here.

As we approached the island, the colour of the sea changed, from a deep ocean blue to bright turquoise. The colour was like nothing we’ve seen before and we were both in awe.

We were picked up at the harbour by our hotel again (a recurring theme). We’d booked Three Hearts Guesthouse, and I couldn’t recommend them more. A very friendly couple owned and managed the guesthouse and were always on hand to make our stay more comfortable. The location was great too, right on the edge of the town closest to the beach, and the food was fantastic. We had the best breakfasts here, something different every day.

That first day after we arrived, we walked down the jungle path to the beach. It’s about a 1km walk, mostly in the shade of the jungle, but it was swelteringly humid, and we arrived drenched in sweat. But it was worth it, as we both gasped the first time we walked through the trees and saw the beach. Possibly the most beautiful beach we’ve ever visited. It was stunning. The colour of the water, the powdery white, even slightly pinkish, sand. And the sandbar, which extended away from the jungle merging the 2 beaches.

It looked like the clouds were starting to catch up on us, and dark storm clouds were on the horizon, so we decided to head back to the town. We walked back to the harbour, where we watched rays and (more) baby (or perhaps adolescent) sharks in the shallows.

The next day, or the first full day on the island, we planned to spend completely at the beach, so we stocked up on snacks and packed a big bag to walk over and hopefully stay at the beach all day snorkelling etc.

We were in and out of the sea, the coral reef is on the north beach. It’s a nice reef, mostly red corals (which we had guessed from the pinkish sand), but the current is quite strong east to west here, and the fish was also quite sparse compared to Dharavandhoo. So our tactic was to get out and walk east along the beach, and get back in and let the current carry us along the reef!!

Then, almost from nowhere, a storm was brewing in the distance. We decided to stay at the beach and ride it out since the monsoon rains here are usually quite quick and over in a few minutes. We prepared everything, like packing up our stuff in wet bags, stacked them under a table, and hunkered down ready. The rain lasted about 15 minutes, and at one point got quite cold with the wind, but we just got in the sea – which was like getting in the bath, and it did eventually pass, and the sun came out again.

That evening, we went back to the harbour for sunset. The sharks and rays were there every night and were the best evening entertainment. This evening, there was also a little lovebird sitting on the railings. It seems on the local islands here there is a culture of keeping exotic birds as pets, but letting them roam. So we saw many parakeets, cockatoos, parrots/macaws and lovebirds. This one even let me give it a little stroke haha!!

The next day we thought we would try one of the trips arranged by the guesthouse, they had quite a wide variety advertised, and one was manta snorkelling. Since we’d had such bad luck in Dharavandhoo, we thought it was worth a try. The owners told us that mantas can be seen in Fulhadhoo year-round!! Just not in the quantities of Hanifaru, but still, at this rate any manta was worth it.

We went out at 7am, and just 5 min from the jetty the guys spotted 5 mantas feeding in the water. We got straight in. And wow, yes, we saw all 5. They are so inquisitive and gentle and stayed feeding in the area, allowing us to watch them in peace for well over an hour. It was just incredible.

It was well worth every penny. And speaking of pennies, it was also much cheaper here. At Dharavandhoo the going rate to see mantas at Hanifaru was $60pp, but this manta snorkelling trip was a private tour for starters and was only $85 for the 2 of us together. I would definitely recommend Fulhadhoo over Dharavandhoo. Plus the beach is phenomenal and it’s much quieter and laid back.

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That evening, after watching the sharks again, of course, we tried something outside our comfort zone (well, my comfort zone anyway) and went on a night snorkelling trip. I’m always a little wary of the sea, despite being OBSESSED with snorkelling and loving being in the sea, when I can’t see under the water, I get a bit freaked out like there might be a deadly jellyfish or something…. It’s irrational, but I am kinda scared of the ocean, despite wanting to be in it every day 🤣 So night snorkelling seemed a bit spooky, but apparently, the corals are amazing under UV light and essentially glow in the dark, so it sounded worth it!

And it was! Although I was a little freaked out by the little critters and shrimpies in the water all around us, the coral WAS amazing. Unfortunately, I had the GoPro on the wrong setting, but still managed to get a few good pics…

But, Dave seemed more keep to look up, out of the water… Out here in the ocean, there was literally no light pollution, and the sky was actually clear tonight, so when we got back on land (and after tea and a shower) we headed out to look at the stars.

We went down to the pier on the south side of the island, and Dave got some amazing pics.

We had been speaking to the owner, Simbe, who had joined us on the other tours, he recommended we take a trip out to “fish point”, and we are so glad we did, as the next day, we went on a 2 point snorkelling trip with them, first to coral garden, then to fish point, where we fed some HUGE batfish with bread, and saw the most INSANE coral ever!

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The snorkel spot was near Innafushi Island, which on its own was a spectacle to see, but the underwater landscape here was amazing. Water clarity was good (relatively for monsoon season), and the variety and abundance of fish were great.

We even saw an octopus and a moray eel on this trip, AND to top it all off, another manta, who gracefully glided towards us, clearly checking us out, and even came around for a second pass!

Then we left the reef and started swimming what felt like back towards the boat… But it wasn’t, the guide was showing us the last part of the trip, a giant coral (and I mean, GIANT), which just appeared out of nowhere and was the size of a two-storey house!! I’ve never seen anything like it…. Plus it was TEEMING with fish.

I don’t think the pictures or the videos really capture how ginormous it was, but I tried!

The trip was early again, before breakfast, so we spent the whole rest of the day at the west bikini beach again, just nipping back for food, but then heading back for sunset and watching the stars.

Fulhadhoo really does seem like a hidden paradise in the Maldives. When researching the trip, it only came up once, when I read an article about it having a beach in “the top 10 beaches in the world”. And after a little bit more research, I came across some amazing reviews on booking.com and other people’s blogs. So I booked to come here, for exactly that reason – because it felt like it might be a little more remote and unknown, and potentially a hidden gem… And it was. But what we didn’t expect at all, was how much better the underwater world was compared to Dharavandhoo. Yes, the house reef here was great, but we went there for Mantas in Hanifaru, but nearly half the price, you can get a private tour in Fulhadhoo, with an almost guarantee of mantas, year round! Plus all the other amazing things to do here… The only downside, was that it was a little more expensive to stay here, in terms of accommodation and food, but balanced out with the cost of trips, it was about the same overall…

I hope we can come back one day ☺️

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Watch our video guide on Fulhadhoo here: