Day Trip to Guraidhoo

On our trip to the Maldives, we explored this tiny inhabited island to get a taste of the local Maldivian culture and lifestyle. What we found was a very different look to the glitzy, glamorous vibe the Maldives is usually known for. This is our day trip experience to the island of Guraidhoo, in the Maldives.

Blue water surrounding Guraidhoo

We stayed just over a week at the awesome Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort, which we’ve reviewed here. As great as being surrounded by white, sandy beaches and bright turquoise water is, we wanted to mix it up by going on a series of day trips. After almost exhausting Kandooma resort’s options by going turtle point snorkelling, dolphin cruising, visiting the local island of Maafushi and an adjacent sandbar, we decided to visit the nearby island of Guraidhoo.

We visited Guraidhoo on a day trip from the Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort, which was right next door

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What’s Guraidhoo like?

View of Guraidhoo from Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort – look how close it is!

Guraidhoo honestly looked like a short swim away from our resort, but the Holiday Inn staff quickly informed us that this wasn’t the case – and that you still needed a 10-minute boat ride to get there. We were curious to see what life on a local inhabited island was like, so we didn’t hesitate to explore.

Welcome to Guraidhoo

With a population of just over 1,500 and an area of less than 1km (0.62 mi), Guraidhoo is a truly tiny, dot-sized island (in fact, it’s actually considered an atoll). Guraidhoo is roughly 30.77km from the capital city of Malé, and can be visited on a day trip from several resorts close by. The public ferry from the capital to Guraidhoo takes about 2 hours.

Strolling the streets of Guraidhoo

Houses in Guraidhoo

Docking at Guraidhoo, we quickly got to witness the stark difference between the highly commercialised four-star Holiday Inn Kandoom Resort where we spent the last few days in, compared to this humble island. There were no welcome drinks, swimming pools, restaurants... but there was still that undeniably beautiful, blue Maldivian water.

Religious Structure in Guraidhoo

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What’s there to learn about Guraidhoo?

Guraidhoo was full of colourful houses

Our tour guide, who was a local on the island, took us around and told us tales about what life was like. He guided us through local houses, gift stores and a public school where Maldivian children would play and learn.

Local school in Guraidhoo Island

School where local Guraidhoo kills learn

He explained the unique flora and fauna that can be found on the island, including many species of birds and bats. Interestingly, dogs can’t be found on the island, but we managed to catch a few stray cats lazing around. Guraidhoo is also home to the only mental hospital in the country.

Modern playground at the school in Guraidhoo

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Development of Guraidhoo

Guraidhoo is quiet, but more developed than most local islands in the Maldives

Though Guraidhoo is much less developed than the infrastructure you would find on a resort, it’s still quite developed for an island in the Maldives. Not as developed as the bigger and more populated island of Maafushi, but built up enough that it contains roads, houses, stores, eateries, dive centres and more. I’m sure this will change in the future as well, as traveling to Maldives on a budget seems to be quickly gaining popularity.

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Should I Visit or Stay in Guraidhoo?

More colourful houses in Guraidhoo

If you want to quickly visit for a day trip like we did, I’d say it’s worth it. It’s a bit of an eye-opening experience to the stark difference between the country’s opulent resorts and local, inhabited islands, and was a fun experience just to take in the overall, laidback vibe of the island. Although there wasn’t a ‘must see’ in Guraidhoo or anything like that, it’s still one of my most memorable experiences in the Maldives purely for the educational factor.

Bright hues of blue and yellow provide a splash of colour on the houses in Guraidhoo

Staying in Guraidhoo can be an extremely strategic choice. As you know, the Maldives is far from being a cheap destination. In fact, most resorts charge over 400USD to stay a night. In Guraidhoo, there are quite a few clean, well-appointed guesthouses that come at literally a fraction of the price (40-60USD a night). A lot of them are more than good enough for you to stay comfortable and save money, while still giving you a way of visiting these stunning islands.

Even more colour in Guraidhoo

One thing to take into account, though, is what you plan to be doing in the Maldives. Because the Guraidhoo beach is not a bikini beach, you won’t be able to swim there. If you do, you’ll actually be breaking the law. There’s no reef at Guraidhoo, so you won’t be able to snorkel either.

Guraidhoo’s beach, pictured here, is not a bikini beach

To visit a beach, snorkel, surf or do any other activity, you’ll have to arrange an excursion from one of the tour companies near the jetty. These activities can quickly start to cost a lot if you go on an excursion every day. So depending on how active you want to be on your holiday, it might actually be more economical to stay at a resort that allows you to do these activities for free.

While affordable to stay in, you may have to do go on excursions to swim and snorkel – away from Guraidhoo

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Our Day Trip to Guraidhoo Experience

What did we think of our day trip to Guraidhoo?

Overall, we strolled around Guraidhoo for about 2 hours before heading back to the Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort. It was a nice change of pace to our other days in the Maldives, and we would recommend a short visit if you had enough time in the country.

Also read: our in-depth, comprehensive review of Holiday Inn Kandooma Resort here

Have you visited the Maldives? Did you stop by the tiny island of Guraidhoo? Let us know in the comments below!