Gulhi island guide: getting there, things to do and where to stay
In this article
Gulhi is a small inhabited island in South Malé Atoll, about 20 kilometres south of Malé and 20 to 30 minutes from Velana International Airport by shared speedboat. It sits about ten minutes by boat from Maafushi, with the same reefs and day trips on its doorstep, at a fraction of the noise.
It is a village first and a holiday island second. The bikini beach is one of the prettiest on any local island, the streets are sand, and you can walk from one end to the other in five minutes. For couples who want a local island without the crowds, it is the natural first choice.
Gulhi at a glance
Population and island life
The 2022 census counted 976 people on Gulhi: 812 Maldivians and 164 foreign nationals, up from 912 in 2014. It is about a fifth the size of Maafushi's population, and it feels it. The streets are laid out in a simple grid of sand and earth, with no street signs and few vehicles beyond the three-wheelers that carry goods.
The south end holds most of the island's working life: the school, a football pitch, a volleyball court, the police station and a small graveyard. The call to prayer carries across the whole island, and the evenings are quiet. Like every inhabited island in the Maldives, Gulhi is Muslim, and Dhivehi is the language at home. English is spoken at the hotels, cafés and dive and excursion desks.
Guest houses arrived here after Maafushi showed the way, and the island now has fifteen registered with the Ministry of Tourism. Two of them, Arrival Beach & Spa and Avyanna Gulhi Beach Hotel, are larger hotels; the rest are small family-run houses. Building work continues, mostly at the south-east end.
How to get to Gulhi from Malé airport
There is no seaplane or domestic flight to Gulhi. The crossing is by boat, and it is one of the shortest from the airport to any guest-house island.
The shared speedboat
Each hotel books a seat on a shared speedboat from the jetty at Velana International Airport. The boats run to a timetable, not to your flight, so the landing time decides which boat you catch.
Arrival Beach & Spa runs the most useful timetable on the island: boats leave Velana at 10:30, 12:30, 17:00 and 22:45, and the crossing takes about 20 minutes. Landing by about 21:45 still gets you to Gulhi the same night, which very few local islands can offer. Avyanna Gulhi Beach Hotel uses boats at 10:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 17:00, with only 09:00 and 17:00 on Fridays and a late boat at 21:45 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On other days, land by about 16:00. Times change, so each hotel page on this site says what applies.
From India this works well. The direct IndiGo flight from Bengaluru lands at Velana at 15:00 in winter and 14:15 in summer, in good time for the afternoon boats.
The public ferry
The government MTCC ferry to Maafushi and Guraidhoo calls at Gulhi on the way. It leaves from Malé city, not the airport, so the airport ferry or a taxi into Malé comes first. The long-standing pattern is a mid-afternoon departure from Malé, every day except Friday, taking about an hour to Gulhi. Check the current MTCC timetable before relying on it, as times change around holidays and during Ramadan.
Coming home
Boats back to the airport leave Gulhi through the day; from Arrival Beach & Spa they leave at 06:30, 11:30, 16:00 and 20:00. With afternoon flights to India, that leaves time for a last swim. Hotels will usually hold luggage after check-out at 12:00.
The short version. Gulhi is close enough to the airport that a late landing is not the problem it is on most islands, as long as the hotel runs an evening boat. If it does not, land by mid-afternoon or plan a first night in Malé.
Island rules worth knowing
Alcohol. None is sold or served on Gulhi, and none may be brought onto the island. A resort day pass is the usual way to have a drink.
Dress. Swimwear is for the bikini beach and the excursion boats. In the village, shoulders and knees should be covered, by men as well as women, and signs say so.
Fridays and prayer times. Friday is the weekly holy day, the public ferry does not run, and shops and cafés close around midday prayers. Shops on Gulhi keep loose hours at the best of times.
Money. Carry some cash in US dollars or rufiyaa. Beach loungers, drinks and small rentals on the beach are paid in cash, and card acceptance in the cafés is patchy.
Things to do on Gulhi
Bikini Beach
The tourist beach runs along the north-east side of the island, walled off from the village so that swimwear is allowed. It is a long, narrow strip of fine white sand with room for a couple of rows of loungers, and the water stays clear and shallow a long way out. Stingrays often cruise the shallows, and small reef sharks are sometimes seen near the edge. A sandbank is visible offshore. Shade is limited, so bring a hat.
On dark nights in the dry season, bioluminescent plankton can light up the waterline after sunset. It is never guaranteed, and it is brightest away from the full moon.
Watersports and snorkelling
Beach attendants rent out snorkelling gear and jet-skis, and run jet-ski trips to better snorkelling further out. There is some coral within reach of the shore, but it is fragile and walking on it is discouraged, so the good reefs are reached by boat.
Diving
Gulhi sits beside the same South Malé channels as Maafushi. Gulhi Dhigu Thila, a long pinnacle in the pass between Gulhi and the neighbouring resort island, is the local site: sea fans, hard and soft coral and dense fish life. Kandooma Thila, Guraidhoo Corner and Cocoa Corner are all a short boat ride away. Dive centres on Gulhi and on Maafushi pick up from the island.
Evenings on the island
Sunsets on the west shore are quick, under half an hour from gold to dark. Gulhi has only a handful of cafés, from simple local places serving kottu, fried rice and tuna with rice, to the hotel restaurants. That is why half board makes more sense here than on Maafushi. Vegetarian food is easy to arrange if the hotel knows in advance.
Excursions from Gulhi
The day trips are the same as from Maafushi, and most operators collect from both islands.
Full-day snorkelling. Nurse sharks and stingrays, two or three reef stops, lunch on a sandbank and often a walk through the nearby island of Guraidhoo.
Whale sharks and manta rays. A long day to South Ari Atoll, one of the few places where whale sharks are seen year-round.
Sandbank half day. The sandbank visible from the beach is a short ride away.
Maafushi. Ten minutes away for its watersports centres, cafés and busier evenings. The Maafushi island guide covers it in full.
Resort day pass. A day on a nearby resort island, with lunch, drinks, the pool and the resort's reef.
Fishing and the village. Sunset hand-line fishing, and a village walk with a local guide.
How long to stay. Three nights covers a snorkelling day, a beach day and a sunset fishing trip. Four or five leaves room for whale sharks, or for splitting the stay between Gulhi and a resort.
When to go
The dry northeast monsoon, roughly December to April, brings calm seas, sunshine and the clearest water, and it is when Gulhi's few rooms fill first. The southwest monsoon, roughly May to November, brings showers, wind and occasional cancelled boat trips, but quieter beaches and lower rates. October is usually the cheapest month on the Gulhi hotels on this site.
Hotels and guest houses on Gulhi
Gulhi has 15 registered guest houses with about 230 rooms between them. Two are on this site, with their rooms, meal plans and shared speedboat on their own pages. The full register follows.
Arrival Beach & Spa
The largest hotel on Gulhi, with a spa, sea-view rooms and suites, and the island's best boat timetable, with a last departure from Velana at 22:45. Choose a Deluxe Sea View room for a couple; the Standard and Superior rooms are compact. The Arrival Suite has its own jacuzzi, and the Family Room sleeps three adults.
Avyanna Gulhi Beach Hotel
A beachfront hotel whose rooms face the sunrise, the sunset or the island. The Sunrise Double, with a sea view and balcony, is the pick for couples, and the Family Deluxe Sea View sleeps three. It suits couples who want a quiet local island with a beach a few steps away.
Every registered guest house on Gulhi
The Ministry of Tourism register lists these guest houses on Gulhi, with the number of rooms each is licensed for. Names in bold link to the hotel's page on this site. More are added as they join, and the rest can still be priced on request.
- Aimi Beach24 rooms
- Aqua Gulhi13 rooms
- Aqua Sunset6 rooms
- Arrival Beach & Spa47 rooms
- Arrival Seaview20 rooms
- Avyanna Gulhi Beach Hotel38 rooms
- Ayala Homely3 rooms
- Ayala Ocean View20 rooms
- Beach Stone8 rooms
- Beach Walk Villa8 rooms
- Coquillage Inn4 rooms
- Pearlshine Retreat Maldives13 rooms
- Premier Beach4 rooms
- Sandy Heaven Maldives10 rooms
- Tropic Tree11 rooms
Source: Ministry of Tourism, Maldives, register of tourist guest houses, October 2026. Room counts are the licensed totals and change as properties expand.
Every guest house on this site, on Gulhi and the other local islands, with live prices for your dates, is on the guest houses and city hotels page.
Who Gulhi isn't for
Anyone who wants nightlife, a choice of restaurants or a drink with dinner. Gulhi has a few cafés and goes quiet after dark. Maafushi, ten minutes away, is livelier, though dry too.
Anyone who wants to fill the days without leaving the island. Gulhi is small enough to see in an hour, and almost everything worth doing beyond the beach starts with a boat.
Families who need a kids' club, and anyone hoping for an over-water villa or a house reef off the beach. A resort is the better spend there, and the trade-off is set out in local island or resort island.
Comparing islands? The Maldives local islands guide sets every island guide on this site side by side, by transfer time from the airport and what each island does best.
Common questions
How far is Gulhi from Malé airport?
About 20 kilometres south, in South Malé Atoll. The shared speedboat from Velana International Airport takes 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the hotel. Arrival Beach & Spa runs a boat as late as 22:45, so an evening landing can still reach Gulhi the same night.
Gulhi or Maafushi: which is better?
Gulhi is quieter, smaller and has the nicer bikini beach. Maafushi has far more cafés, watersports centres and evening life. Both reach the same reefs, sandbanks and day trips, and they are ten minutes apart by boat. Couples who want calm usually prefer Gulhi; groups who want choice prefer Maafushi.
Can you wear a bikini in Gulhi?
Yes, on Bikini Beach, the walled-off tourist beach on the north-east side of the island, and on excursion boats. In the village, cover shoulders and knees, men as well as women. Signs on the island make the rule clear, and a sarong for the walk to the beach is enough.
How do you get from Gulhi to Maafushi?
By boat, in about ten minutes. Hotels and excursion operators on both islands arrange the hop, and many day trips collect from both. The MTCC public ferry from Malé also calls at Gulhi and Maafushi on the same route, every day except Friday.
How many guest houses are there on Gulhi?
The Ministry of Tourism register lists 15 guest houses on Gulhi, with about 230 rooms between them. The largest are Arrival Beach & Spa and Avyanna Gulhi Beach Hotel; most of the rest are small houses of a few rooms. The full list is on this page.
Can you drink alcohol on Gulhi?
No. Gulhi is an inhabited Muslim island, so no hotel, café or shop serves alcohol, and it cannot be brought ashore. A resort day pass from Gulhi or Maafushi is the usual way to have a drink during the holiday.
Gulhi is the quiet end of South Malé's guest-house islands: one good beach, a small village and the atoll's best day trips leaving from the jetty. Pick the hotel by its boat timetable, give it three or four nights, and use Maafushi next door for anything Gulhi does not have. Both Gulhi hotels on this site are priced for your dates, shared speedboat included, on the guest houses and city hotels page.
