HOW TO GET TO MAAFUSHI FROM MALÉ AND / OR MALÉ AIRPORT

Maafushi Island is one of the most comfortable and cheap options to get to know Maldives "beyond" the resorts. That backpacking islet is a great stop for your vacation in paradise, since from here you can do a lot of excursions, enjoy a local island and spend unforgettable days. Ok ... buthow to get to Maafushi from Male and / or from Male Airport? We tell you in this post!

There are essentially two options: take a private speedboat or the public ferry, managed by the Government of Maldives. Both are good, one is faster and worth every day and another slower, but cheaper and circulates every day except Fridays. Let's see them in detail:

It is possible to catch a speedboat directly from the Male airport, so it is not necessary to do one for technical in the capital and you can start your vacation even faster. Of course, it will be much more expensive: speedboats (fast boats) cost 20/25$ per person and they take you to Maafushi in just 30-45 minutes.

It was the option we chose… more than anything because when we arrived on a Friday, a rest day for Muslims (local ferries DO NOT circulate), we also didn't have much more XD choice.

How to book the speedboat?

If you also want to go to Maafushi by speedboat, it is best to hire it online (there are several companies that offer this route), or you can go to airport jetty and there you reserve it (with the disadvantage that there may be no places in the following).

You can also negotiate directly with the hotel where you are staying on the island. This second option is the easiest, because when you arrive at the airport there will be someone waiting for you and will guide you to the next ferry that leaves for Maafushi. But it may be a little more expensive (the official price of the tour is $ 20, and you will probably be asked for $ 25).

If you are already in Male, you will have to approach the area of ​​the piers 5-6 (very close to where the airport ferries depart / arrive) since the speedboats leave from there. The ideal is to have the place already reserved because if you go without, you run the risk of no available places. The good thing is that there are many schedules so you arrive at the time you arrive you have the possibility to move to Maafushi and start your vacation as soon as possible.

There is 3 companies who make this journey:

• Icom Tours
• Maafushi Tours
• Go Maafushi

If you prefer to save a little money, the thing is not much more complicated: from the Villingili Ferry Terminal, local ferries leave for different islands of Maldives. Both routes that interest us and that arrive in Maafushi from Male are the 310 and 311. This ferry costs about 2$ and it takes 1.5h to arrive.

Here are the schedules of line 310- and 311 //www.atolltransfer.com/311-guraidhoo-male which are the ones that link the Male-Maafushi route (sometimes the schedules change, so we recommend you also check the official Web).

• Route 310 schedule: departure at 10:00. Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
• Schedules route 311: departure at 14:30. Every day except Fridays. To return

Eye, this ferry can change the schedule or be canceled due to bad weather, without warning in advance. In that case, or if the schedules do not add up to you and you do not want to sleep one night in Male, you will have to choose the option of the yes or yes speed boat.

If you arrive at the airport, you will have to take a ferry to Male (1$ or 10MVR) and from there walk 1km, or take a taxi (approx $ 5) to the local ferry pier.

How to book the local ferry?

This network of local ferries does not accept reservations in advance or onine, so you will have to do it once at the port. Ideally, be there at least 30 minutes before departure, so as not to risk and run out of space. On this page you can see the schedules of the ferries that go to Maafushi.

We hope we have helped you understand how to get to Maafushi from Male! If you want to continue investigating things about that backpacking island ... check out this post where we tell you everything to do in Maafushi (it's full of info!). Enjoy your cheap trip to the Maldives!