Nova Maldives

Three nights for two, full board plus, with return seaplane transfers and green tax, from ₹3,05,900. Nova sits in the South Ari whale shark zone, 25 minutes by seaplane, and it has one unusual rule in its contract that is worth more than it sounds: there is no fixed check-out time. You get your villa for 24 hours from the moment you check in.

Every price below already includes the buffet meals. The 15% early bird on November and December travel closes on 30 September 2026.

What this actually costs

Two adults, full board plus, return seaplane and green tax in. Rates are inclusive of service charge and GST, so nothing further is added at check-out beyond what you spend.

To 31 October 2026

1 November to 25 December 2026, with the 15% early bird

Indicative, in Indian rupees, and subject to availability. The November to December column assumes you book by 30 September; after that the same dates cost 15% more on the room.

Four things those tables say

• The seaplane is ₹97,800 of the entry price. Two adults return to South Ari costs the same whether you stay three nights or ten, so it is nearly a third of a short trip and under a fifth of a week. If you are choosing between three nights and five, the extra two nights in a Beach Villa cost ₹1,38,700, comfortably less per night than the first three.
• Book by 30 September and November costs less than it looks. The 15% takes ₹52,400 off a four-night Beach Villa and ₹99,400 off a Water Villa with Pool. Even after it, the Nov–Dec window still runs 4% to 12% above September and October.
• The ladder flips between the two windows, and the beach wins in winter. To 31 October the Water Villa is ₹24,700 cheaper than the Beach Pool Villa over four nights. From 1 November it is ₹8,700 dearer. Same for the Water Villa with Jacuzzi against the Sunset Beach Villa with Pool: ₹2,100 cheaper in the first window, ₹35,000 dearer in the second. Nova reprices the overwater stock upward for the high season, so in winter a pool on the beach is the better value.
• Four adults should compare carefully. The Inter-Connected Beach Villa is ₹7,48,300 for four nights against ₹7,50,400 for two separate Beach Villas. Almost identical, so the question is only whether you want a connecting door or two front doors.

What full board plus actually means

Breakfast, lunch and dinner at Soul Kitchen, buffet, with unlimited soft drinks, juice, water, tea and coffee at mealtimes. That last part matters: alcohol is not included and neither are drinks outside meals. If you eat dinner at the à la carte Flames or Mizu instead, you get 20% off the food, not a free swap.

The upgrade is Premium All Inclusive at US$120 per adult per night, and it needs a minimum of four paid nights, so it is not available on the three-night packages. On a four-night double it adds about ₹98,700; over seven nights about ₹1,72,900. For that you get a three-course dinner at Flames from the chef's menu, 20% off at Mizu, unlimited drinks from 10:00 to midnight at Wink, to 18:00 at Solis and with meals at Soul Kitchen and Flames, a minibar restocked daily, a mid-morning snack brunch, an afternoon tea party, and 15% off watersports, spa and experiences.

Our honest read: on three nights you cannot have it, so budget for drinks. On five or seven, if you drink at all, it pays for itself.

The 24-hour room

Nova does not run standard check-in and check-out times. Your villa is yours for 24 hours from the moment you arrive. On an island that is 25 minutes by seaplane from Malé, where the flight schedule decides your day, that is the single most useful thing in this contract. A late-morning arrival means a late-morning departure, not a noon scramble.

Seaplanes still fly in daylight only. Land at Velana after 15:00 and you overnight in Malé at your own cost, so send us your inbound flight before you ticket.

The island and the reef

South Ari is one of the few atolls with whale sharks year-round, and Nova sits inside that zone. The house reef is a serious one: fish density is excellent, with big sharks, rays and real variety, and coral regrowth is better than most of South Ari. Marked passages get you out to it.

Two caveats we would rather you heard from us. The reef sits a long way out in places and the current runs, so swimming the whole island is for confident swimmers only, though there are sheltered stretches. And watch for patches where soft sand turns to coral rubble, and for jellyfish in the wet season.

Five places to eat: Soul Kitchen for the buffets, Mizu overwater for Japanese, Flames on the beach for the grill, Solis by the pool and Wink for sunset. Aquaholics runs the diving and whale shark trips, Eskape is the spa, and there is tennis, a gym and the Hub.

Who this isn't for

If you want a drink with lunch without thinking about it, price Premium All Inclusive rather than assume full board plus covers it. If you are set on three nights, you cannot buy that upgrade at all. If snorkelling straight off the beach with small children is the plan, the current here deserves a conversation first. And the festive fortnight, 26 December to 10 January, is not sold on this page: it carries a seven-night minimum, no check-out is allowed on 31 December, and the compulsory gala dinners are charged per person per stay at US$285 on Christmas Eve and US$425 on New Year's Eve, halved for children. Those depend on which nights you actually stay, so we build festive by hand.

Worth knowing even if you travel before Christmas: the Christmas Eve dinner supplement falls on 24 December, a day before the festive season starts. A stay ending on the 25th is priced in the table above and still attracts it.

Before you book

• 30 September 2026 is the deadline for the 15% on November and December travel. The contract itself runs to 10 January 2027.
• Payment falls due in full 15 days before arrival. Cancellation on November and December stays is 50% of the booked nights inside 30 days and 100% inside 14; on stays to 31 October it is 50% inside 14 days and 100% inside 7. A no-show costs the nights plus the arrival transfer.
• Extra guests are US$190 per adult and US$65 per child per night. The eight single categories take up to three adults, or two adults and a child.

Location

South Ari Atoll, Maldives

Tell us your dates, who is travelling and which airport you fly from, and we will send a costing that separates the villa, the seaplane and the green tax, with Premium All Inclusive priced alongside so you can see what it is worth on your length of stay. Message our Maldives specialists on WhatsApp or send us an enquiry. We reply within 24 hours.