If you are looking for a straightforward, accessible way to experience the Maldives, starting with the local islands is a fantastic option. Dhiffushi Inn sits on a tiny, walkable island just a 45-minute speedboat ride from Male airport, making it incredibly easy to get to after a long flight. Between the private turtle snorkelling excursions, the customised food, and having an onsite beach club right on the sand, it turned out to be an amazing home base. Here is my full breakdown of what it is like to stay here, from the room layouts to the marine life.
Location and How To Get There
Dhiffushi Inn is located on a local island in the Maldives named Dhiffushi. The island is tiny, measuring less than 1 km long and 200 meters wide, and it is home to just 1,400 residents. It is one of the most easily accessible local islands to visit from Male, as it can be reached by a short 45 minute speedboat ride from the airport.
If you are arriving from abroad, you will fly into Velana International Airport (MLE) in Male. Thanks to its reputation as an award winning honeymoon destination, the airport is frequented by many major airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, and Qatar Airways.
The only way to reach Dhiffushi is by boat, and you have a couple of options. There is a public ferry that costs just a few dollars and departs from Male City. For that option, you would need to take a quick ferry from the airport to the city first, and the total journey takes about two and a half to three hours. Alternatively, you can take a 45 minute speedboat directly from the airport terminal. It costs just $35 per person each way, and there are multiple journeys a day.
When I was organising my trip, all I had to do was let the staff know ahead of time what time my flight was getting in and they booked the speedboat for me. They made it super simple and even added it to our room bill so we did not need to worry about paying for it at the terminal.
When you come through arrivals, there will be a hotel representative waiting with a sign. All you need to do is find them and they will direct you where to go next, which is down to Terminal 2. Just turn right and keep walking until you cannot anymore, and you will find another representative there.
It is quite a long walk to Terminal 2. When you arrive at the speedboat terminal, you will be directed to the correct counter where they will tell you what time the next boat leaves. Ours was not for another couple of hours, so we grabbed a seat and relaxed. The terminal gets pretty hot, so make sure you find a spot under some fans or head back to the airconditioned section. There are also a number of cafes and little restaurants in the terminal, so you can grab a drink and something to eat if you need it, along with an ATM and currency exchange.
Once the speedboat was ready for us, the representative led us out to the docks and loaded our luggage. This time it was a fairly small boat, and we had a pretty good breeze the whole journey over to Dhiffushi. We passed a number of fancy hotels, overwater bungalows, and some of the bluest water I have ever seen in my life. Before we knew it, we had arrived at the island and were met by the hotel staff, who were ready to whisk us away to check-in by golf cart buggy.
Check-in Process
As mentioned, the staff at Dhiffushi Inn made the transfers to the island completely seamless. We were warmly met at the dock in Dhiffushi and driven to the hotel by a golf cart buggy, a ride that took a little over five minutes.
When we arrived, the team scanned our passports and we walked down to the hotel’s onsite beach club for a welcome drink. They served us a delicious, freshly squeezed watermelon juice while giving us a quick orientation about the island and the hotel amenities. Afterward, we were shown straight to our room, where our luggage was already waiting for us.
Rooms
Dhiffushi Inn has two separate structures for its guest rooms, divided into standard and deluxe options, the latter of which offers sea and sunset views. We were lucky enough to stay on the deluxe side, and our room had a cute covered balcony that looked out over the local football field and the roads below.
We had a large king-size bed in the middle of the room with bedside tables and lamps. The bedside outlets were multi-country plugs, which was incredibly convenient since we did not even need to pull out an adapter. The room also came equipped with a mini-refrigerator, a kettle with coffee and tea, a flat-screen TV with Netflix installed, and a handy storage nook to hold our belongings.
Our ensuite bathroom, while compact, was clean and highly functional, featuring a great rain shower head. The air conditioning system worked incredibly well alongside the ceiling fan over the bed, so we never felt too warm. If anything, it got a little too cold one night.
The housekeeping system is very straightforward. If we wanted our room cleaned, all we had to do was drop our key off in the designated box by reception. The staff would clean the room during the day and return the key to the desk once they were finished.
Food and Drink
We had a breakfast plan included with our booking, and it was nothing short of extensive. On a couple of the days, we were the only ones having breakfast and were treated to a massive spread of eggs, chicken sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, bread, oatmeal, and fresh fruit. Upon learning that I keep to a gluten-free diet, the kitchen staff even made me my own gluten-free coconut pancakes. On the other mornings, they set up a breakfast buffet with even more choices, including the most exciting part, a chance to try a true Maldivian specialty called Mas Huni, which is a traditional breakfast staple consisting of tuna, coconut, onion and lime served with roshi.
Dhiffushi Inn also has its own onsite beach club that serves up a delectable menu of different dishes, ranging from curries to club sandwiches, alongside the most extensive juice and mocktail menu I have ever seen in my life. Because local islands in the Maldives are not permitted to serve alcohol, the staff has gotten incredibly inventive with their flavour combinations and juice specials. One day I even tried a Passion Presso, which is passionfruit mixed with espresso and served over ice. I was intrigued to try it and it was actually really good, though maybe not something that will completely replace my usual iced latte order, it was definitely worth a try. Best of all, any orders from the beach bar can be put straight onto your room bill and paid at checkout.
Facilities
In addition to the onsite beach club, which is ideally situated on one of Dhiffushi’s bikini beaches, Dhiffushi Inn also has its own watersports center with a number of kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and jetskis available for guests and the public to use. They also have a huge selection of masks and fins, which they kindly offered for us to use on our excursions.
A quick word on the bikini beaches. As the Maldives is an Islamic country, there are a few different guidelines that should be adhered to when visiting the local islands, with one of them being dressing modestly and covering from shoulders to knees when walking around the village. There are three bikini beaches on Dhiffushi which allow tourists to wear swimwear freely on the sand, but bear in mind that you should cover up on the walk back to your guesthouse. We saw a lot of people not adhering to these guidelines, which was really disheartening to see. When you visit someone else’s country, I believe you should always try and respect their local customs and culture.
Another difference that may be a bit unknown to many travellers is that local islands are not permitted to serve alcohol, as those rules are strictly reserved for the private island resorts. However, there is a floating bar anchored off the north of the island, which I hear is a great alternative if you really fancy a drink.
Activities
All activities and excursions are run through Dhiffushi Inn’s onsite beach club, and they have a huge list of different experiences you can book. They have a billboard outside at the entrance with a couple of group trips listed for the day, or you can simply book whatever you want in person at the beach club or through their handy WhatsApp number.
I was keen to see as much marine wildlife as possible during my stay, so on the day I arrived, I booked a turtle snorkelling trip for myself and my friend for the following morning. The trip cost a mere $40 each, which we later found out would be advertised at the luxury private island resorts for at least four times that price.
On the morning of our scheduled departure, it was absolutely pouring down. It had stormed all night and the rain had not let up one bit. We thought for sure it would be cancelled, but to our surprise, the staff were determined to get us out to see the turtles. Flippers and masks in hand, we set off, taking a buggy to the marina and then boarding a boat, a journey that made us wetter than our morning shower. It was a short 15 minute boat ride to the snorkel spot, albeit a very wet and bumpy one. Since we were the only guests in the group, it ended up being a private excursion, which is definitely nothing to complain about.
Naively, we thought that the water clarity and visibility would be diminished due to the poor weather conditions, but we were so wrong. The second we jumped out of the boat and put our faces in the water, I was blown away. I have never seen so much vibrant marine life in my entire life. The corals were bright, thriving, and teeming with all sorts of colorful tropical fish, making me feel like I had walked right onto the set of Finding Nemo. Our guide swam with us and navigated the waters, pointing out sharks, rays, and all sorts of fish. It was only a few minutes before we saw our first turtle, and much to our excitement, it was not the last. In the space of an hour, we saw about 10 to 12 turtles. They were totally unphased by our presence as they swam around, munched on reef snacks, and explored. It was a total bucket-list moment. Our guide was also equipped with an underwater GoPro and took many amazing videos of the marine life in addition to some great clips of us snorkeling. At the end of the tour, he transferred all the files to us at no additional cost.
Given our exceptional experience with the turtles, we booked onto a ray snorkelling experience the next day, and thankfully the weather had taken a turn for the better. Once again, we were the only guests on the trip, accompanied by about four staff members who I think wanted to get some content and practice some freediving. It was a longer boat ride this time, maybe 40 minutes, and there were already a lot of boats at the spot when we arrived. I was initially a little disheartened by this, given our experience the day before when we were the only boat in sight. However, as soon as we jumped in, all apprehension was washed away when no fewer than 12 huge rays swam in and around us. It was a magical experience, and for the entire hour, we were dancing between enormous stingrays and all sorts of exotic fish. The boats were feeding the rays, which explains why we were so inundated with them, but I have never been surrounded by that many all at once. I was truly living out my Little Mermaid dreams. Again, the staff used a GoPro to capture the footage, which was very much appreciated since there was no additional charge for the media files.
If you want to fill your itinerary even more, the beach club offers a ton of other adventures. On the marine life front, they host a nurse shark snorkelling trip to a nearby gathering spot where you can safely swim with gentle sharks, alongside multi-spot reef safaris designed to show you the best coral reefs in the area.
For boat cruises, you can book a sunset dolphin cruise to watch playful pods of spinner dolphins jumping next to the speedboat as the sun dips below the horizon. They also offer a deserted island trip to Asdhoo Island, which is a nearly uninhabited picnic island featuring a long, pristine sandbank and quiet beaches where local caretakers will cut fresh coconuts for you. Alternatively, you can book a dedicated sandbank picnic to enjoy secluded, tidal sandbars completely surrounded by turquoise water.
Finally, if you want to get out on the water for some fishing, they offer big game sport fishing daytime charters tailored for deeper water, as well as traditional night fishing. For the night trip, you head out at dusk to learn Maldivian hand-line fishing techniques using bait and a line, and if you happen to catch anything, the inn can often arrange a beach barbecue back on land to grill your catch for dinner.
Service
We received excellent service throughout our entire stay at Dhiffushi Inn. I really have to admire the excursions staff for their sheer determination to get us out to see the turtles during that horrendous rainstorm. I frequently messaged both the front desk and the excursions team through WhatsApp, and they were incredibly helpful and efficient every single time. This started even before I arrived on the island, as they seamlessly coordinated our boat transfers from Male and arranged for a representative to meet us right at the arrivals terminal so we always knew where to go.
No request was too much for them, and while there was occasionally a minor language barrier, every team member was genuinely keen to assist in any way they could. We were fortunate enough to be the only guests staying at the hotel for two of our nights, likely due to flight restrictions at the time, so we naturally felt like royalty. The customised, gluten-free breakfast was a particular highlight that really showed their attention to detail.
Closing Remarks
I would not hesitate to book Dhiffushi Inn again. I would revisit for the incredible excursions alone, but the onsite beach club right on the bikini beach, the friendly staff, and the clean, comfortable rooms make it a total no-brainer. Plus, being a short 45 minute speedboat ride from the Male airport makes it an incredibly easy and convenient stop on any trip to the Maldives.
Having stayed at both local islands and private island resorts now, I highly recommend mixing both experiences into your itinerary. Visiting a local island allows you to see what people often call the true Maldives, giving you a chance to see local residents milling around during their everyday life and offering a wonderful slice of culture from a country that has been named the world’s leading travel destination for multiple years in a row. Not to mention, you get to experience all of those bucket-list marine excursions at a fraction of the price offered by the larger luxury resorts.
Ready to book Dhiffushi Inn? Click here!
You can find out more about my stay on my “Maldives” Highlights on Instagram @chase.the.rainbows.
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