sLOVEnians travel

After 2 years we returned to paradise. We totally fell in love with the Maldives the first time and we couldn’t wait to be back. But this time we actually didn’t plan the trip as we were supposed to be in Sri Lanka for 5 weeks. But with this gem being so close and with flight tickets at these low prices, we couldn’t resist.

The first time we visited only Maafushi, the most touristic local island in our opinion. We liked it a lot, but this time we wanted to see a new island in a new atoll. We decided to visit Ukulhas.

Where is Ukulhas and how to get there?

Ukulhas is a small island (1025 x 225 meter) in the North Ari atoll with one of the biggest and nicest bikini beaches in the country (FYI on local islands it is allowed to wear a bikini only on a designated bikini beach). In the Maldives Ukulhas is a role model for waste management and cleaning and planting programs.

From the international airport in Male it takes aprox. 1,5 hours to reach the island by speed boat. Currently there a 2 speedboat companies – Nevi and Coral. It’s quite hard to communicate with both, but the accommodation can assist you with bookings (usually without additional charge).  One way price is 50 USD. There is one speedboat in the morning (between 9 and 10) and one in the afternoon (around 4 PM), but be careful as on Fridays the schedule is different.

 

What to do in Ukulhas?

1. Relax on the beach
The main reason to come here is the beach. White sand, turquoise water and an amazing coral reef are a dream for ocean lovers. Sun beds and umbrellas are free on the beach. But there are no bars or any other vendors, so bring your own drinks and snacks.

2. Baby black tip sharks
Every morning (at least in August) we watched baby black tip sharks on the east side of bikini beach.

3. Night beach safari
And every evening after dark you can go on a beach safari. 😊 Hundreds of crabs  come to the beach in search of food.

4. Snorkeling
The house reef is really good – I could see different fish, corals, anemones, reef sharks and turtles.

 

5. Diving
There is just 1 diving center on the island, which is open only in the evenings. The prices start at 65 USD per dive with equipment.

6. Walk around the island
Because of the size of the island you can walk around and get a feeling of the local life. But keep in mind to dress appropriately.

7. Excursions
The hotels offer different excursions, but the prices were quite steep;
Manta point
Sandbank with lunch
Big game fishing
Sunset fishing
Snorkeling tour

The excursion prices started at around 65 USD, but most were around 80-90 USD per person.

8. Sunset walk or dinner on the beach
The sunsets are beautiful and you can spoil yourself with a romantic dinner on the beach. ❤

What you need to know

• There is no bank or ATM, bring cash with you or ask your accommodation if you can pay by card
• Don’t expect too much going on – it is very calm
• There are not a lot of restaurants and bars – we were there in low season and we found just 1 restaurant open, all other were parts of hotels
• Most locals will be friendly, but for some reason we were stared at a lot (although I was covered)
• You can wear a bikini only on the designated bikini beach (which is really big)
• There is no alcohol on the island

 

After a relaxing stay on Ukulhas we decided we needed some action and switched the island – we moved to Maafushi, mainly because the excursions and diving there are much cheaper.

 

Here’s the VLOG from Ukulhas and Maafushi, hope you’ll like it 😉