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Photo by Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit The Maldives
Maldives · South Asia
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in The Maldives
Tap a month for its page
- JanJThe Maldives in January: good, busy
- FebFThe Maldives in February: sweet spot
- MarMThe Maldives in March: sweet spot
- AprAThe Maldives in April: sweet spot
- MayMThe Maldives in May: avoid
- JunJThe Maldives in June: ok
- JulJThe Maldives in July: ok
- AugAThe Maldives in August: good
- SepSThe Maldives in September: ok
- OctOThe Maldives in October: ok
- NovNThe Maldives in November: ok
- DecDThe Maldives in December: ok
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Dry season: Jan–Mar, 6 or fewer rainy days a month.
- Prices thereCheap, about 51% of the US
- MoneyMaldivian rufiyaa
- PlugsType A and C and G and K and L, 230 V
- DrivingOn the left
Book your trip to The Maldives
Best in February 28°C · 3 rainy days quiet February in The Maldives ›
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Luxury
Things to do
Travel insurance
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Things to do in The Maldives
- Thoddoo An isolated inhabited island that administratively belongs to North Ari Atoll.
- Ukulhas Smallish 1 km long island of Alif Alif Atoll
- Ari Atoll Atoll in the Maldives
- Rasdhoo Smallish inhabited island and the capital of the North Ari Atoll
- Mathiveri Island belonging to North Ari Atoll
- Kuredu One of the inhabited islands of Lhaviyani Atoll
Tours and tickets in The Maldives
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Maldives), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
The Maldives in pictures
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Rappey, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Muammar1982, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Month by month
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28° | 5d | 76% | 10.5h | goodbusy | busier than usual |
| Feb | 28° | 3d | 76% | 11.1h | sweet spot | 28C max, 3 rainy days |
| Mar | 29° | 3d | 76% | 11.1h | sweet spot | 29C max, 3 rainy days |
| Apr | 29° | 8d | 76% | 11.2h | sweet spot | 29C max, 8 rainy days |
| May | 29° | 16d | 80% | 9.6h | avoid | monsoon: 16 rainy days, 271mm |
| Jun | 29° | 6d | 78% | 10.7h | ok | 29C max, 6 rainy days |
| Jul | 29° | 9d | 77% | 10.0h | ok | 29C max, 9 rainy days |
| Aug | 29° | 8d | 77% | 10.1h | good | 29C max, 8 rainy days |
| Sep | 29° | 11d | 78% | 10.2h | ok | 29C max, 11 rainy days |
| Oct | 28° | 13d | 78% | 10.0h | ok | 28C max, 13 rainy days |
| Nov | 28° | 14d | 78% | 9.7h | ok | 28C max, 14 rainy days |
| Dec | 28° | 11d | 78% | 10.1h | ok | 28C max, 11 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Velana airport, by Malé: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
The Maldives's September days now average 28.5°C, 1.1°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 27.1° | 27.4° | 28.0° | 28.5° | 28.4° | 27.9° | 27.8° | 27.6° | 27.4° | 27.4° | 27.2° | 27.2° |
| 2017–26 | 27.9° | 28.2° | 28.7° | 29.3° | 29.2° | 28.9° | 28.8° | 28.7° | 28.5° | 28.4° | 28.2° | 28.2° |
| Change | +0.8° | +0.8° | +0.7° | +0.8° | +0.8° | +1.0° | +1.1° | +1.1° | +1.1° | +1.0° | +1.0° | +1.1° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Busy and quiet times in The Maldives
The Maldives can have fluctuating weather patterns due to its tropical climate. Be aware of monsoon season which can affect travel plans.
| Busiest |
mid Dec to mid Apr — This period generally has the best weather and is popular for diving and resort stays.
|
|---|---|
| Quieter, still good |
mid Apr to late May — The weather starts to change, offering quieter experiences and better prices.
early Nov to mid Dec — Less crowded than peak months, providing a balance of good weather and lower prices.
|
| Wet or stormy |
early May to late Oct — monsoon, moderate
|
| Watch out for | tropical storms |
Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.
What The Maldives is like
The Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ Dhivehi Raajje) are a chain of low-lying coral islands in the Indian Ocean with picture-perfect beaches, strikingly blue water, and luxury resorts. There are 200 inhabited islands and 165 islands with tourist resorts. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Most visitors come to enjoy the countless plush resorts, excellent beaches and stunningly colourful underwater life. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Aside from making the water bungalow rock on your honeymoon, the primary activity on the Maldives is scuba diving. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- The Maldives have a remarkably easy visa policy: Everybody except citizens of Israel gets a free 30-day visa on arrival, provided that they have a passport valid for a minimum period of 1 month from the date of entry… More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Dial toll-free number 1478 or (+960) 9790070 to contact the tourist police at anytime for information or assistance. Most visitors to the Maldives stay in “resort hotels” where crime levels are relatively low. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying healthy
- Health facilities are established in each inhabited island with island level primary health centres, followed by a higher level of health facilities and speciality care hospitals at the atoll level… More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Maldives, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Getting there
How far The Maldives is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Kochi
- from Colombo
- from Bengaluru
- from Chennai
- from Hyderabad
- from Mumbai
- from Ahmedabad
- from Jaipur
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to The Maldives, flying or not.
Like a local in The Maldives
On arrival
- Paying — Resorts price everything in US dollars and take cards. Dollars are accepted almost everywhere, but carry some rufiyaa for Malé and local islands.
- UPI, for visitors from India — For sending money to India, not for paying in shops; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — A 10% service charge is added to almost every bill; tipping on top is optional, though resort staff often expect it.
Getting around The Maldives
Resorts arrange boat or seaplane transfers. In Malé and Hulhumalé, tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard or Amex card, or a TouchLink card, on MTCC buses.
- Apps — Maps: Google Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.
There are four main ways of getting around in the Maldives: domestic flight, boat, seaplane and private yacht (liveaboard). More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Maldives, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ferries from The Maldives
- Airport - Male
- Thoddoo - Airport - Male
Crossings within 60 km, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Times are typical where the map records them.
Help
- Emergency — police 119 · ambulance 102 · fire 118.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
- Hospitals near The Maldivesa search on Google Maps
- Pharmacies near The Maldivesa search on Google Maps
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Before you go
| Cost of living | cheap — prices run about 51% of the United States' (World Bank, 2025) |
|---|---|
| Currency | Maldivian rufiyaa |
| Languages | Maldivian |
| Plugs | Type A and C and G and K and L, 230 V |
| Driving | On the left |
| Calling code | +960 |
| Travel advice | No advice against travel — UK Foreign Office, updated 2026-08-12 Exercise a high degree of caution — Global Affairs Canada, updated 2026-10-09 Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution — US State Department, updated 2025-10-07 |
| Entry rules | UK Foreign Office, for British travellers Global Affairs Canada, for its own citizens US State Department, for its own citizens |
| Health | UK Foreign Office health advice |
Facts from Wikidata (CC0), the UK Foreign Office (Open Government Licence) and the World Bank, refreshed 2026-10-07. The advisory is written for British travellers; entry rules depend on your passport.Travel advice for American readers is the US State Department's (public domain), and for Canadian readers Global Affairs Canada's (Open Government Licence - Canada), each in its own words and written for its own citizens; entry rules depend on your passport.
A guide, not advice: entry rules change and depend on your passport and your trip, so check the official page before you book.
Around The Maldives
Nearby
- Thiruvananthapuram India · 604 km
- Kanyakumari India · 620 km
- Kochi India · 708 km
- Lakshadweep India · 757 km
Routes through here
Kind of place
The Maldives is in Maldives, South Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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