At Emerald Faarufushi Resort & Spa a jetty runs out to the edge of the house reef, so you walk to the drop-off instead of swimming over shallow coral to find it. Sharks, eagle rays and turtles are regulars, and the water villas have their own steps down. The current at the edge is strong, so check with the dive team each morning.
The island has 80 villas in Raa Atoll, 45 minutes from Velana by seaplane. Three of the seven options here split four nights between two villas, the easy way to have both beach and water.
What you pay
Pick your dates and a villa and the price is the whole stay for two: four nights, Deluxe All-Inclusive, the return seaplane and every tax, green tax included. These prices are for guests from India.
The seasons do not move together here. On the earliest dates the Beach Villa, the Water Villa with Pool and the split between them are all priced identically, so the water comes for nothing.
Later in the high season the Beach Villa drops to the lowest price on the page while the Water Villa with Pool barely moves, so the gap opens and the beach becomes the better buy.
The split stay is the way into the sunset villa. From November, two nights in a Beach Villa with Pool and two in the Sunset Water Villa with Pool come to about twenty thousand rupees less than four sunset nights. The resort may swap the order of the two villas.
One excursion comes with this package, a dolphin trip or sunset fishing. Normally you need seven nights for one.
What's included, and what isn't
In the price: your villa for two, breakfast, lunch, dinner each night at AQUA, The Carnivorous, Le Asiatique or The Mediterraneo, house wine, beer, cocktails and soft drinks, a minibar of soft drinks, beer and water, one excursion, snorkel gear, non-motorised water sports, the return seaplane, and every Maldivian tax including green tax.
Not in the price: your international flights, travel insurance, in-villa dining, drinks beyond the all-inclusive list, extra menu choices at the three dinner restaurants, spa, diving, motorised water sports, Indian TCS, and anything not named above.
Who this isn't for
Anyone who wants Indian food at every meal. The vegetarian buffet and Indian menu are at AQUA, not in the three à la carte dinner rooms. Its sister, Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa, serves them in every restaurant.
Honeymooners counting on extras. No honeymoon or anniversary amenities come with this package.
Families with more than one child. One child under 14 sharing a one-bedroom villa stays free, though their seaplane and green tax are charged. A second child is charged, and in the two-bedroom villas no child stays free.
Before you book
Land at Velana by 15:00. Seaplanes fly in daylight only. A domestic flight to Ifuru works if you land by about 16:40. Ask us whether it changes your price. Later, the first night is in Malé.
Four nights is the package. Shorter stays, extra nights, villa pairs not listed and the festive period are not priced on this page. We can still book them.
The one-bedroom villas take two adults and two children, or three adults and one child. Larger groups need the Two Bedroom Family Beach Villa with Pool, priced on request. The Dolphin Kids Club takes ages 3 to 12.
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and the ages of any children, and we will price a single villa beside the split stay. Message our Maldives specialists on WhatsApp or send us an enquiry. We reply within 24 hours.