Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru
Baa Atoll · 103 villas on 44 acres · UNESCO biosphere reserve
The best marine research operation in the Maldives, a manta programme nobody else matches, and the weakest house reef of the big Baa islands. The resort itself puts snorkellers on a boat. Land in the evening and Four Seasons flies you over the next morning instead of taking your first night. Everything operational, in one page.
- Getting there
- 35–40 minSeaplane, daylight only
- Latest you can land
- 15:00Or overnight at Kuda Huraa
- House reef
- 3 / 5Modest. The excursions are the draw
- Villas
- 103Beach, oceanfront and over water
- Children’s club
- 4 to 12Complimentary. A paid tier for teenagers
- Seaplane luggage
- 20 kgPlus 5 kg cabin, counted separately
Location and transfers
The luggage allowance is unusually generous for a seaplane, and the cabin bag is counted separately. Twenty kilos checked plus five in the cabin, per person, rather than one combined figure. Excess is charged by the kilo.
Send us your inbound flight time before you buy the ticket. The seaplane flies in daylight only, so a 21:00 landing at Velana cannot connect the same day. We will tell you whether your flight works, and arrange the Kuda Huraa night if it does not.
Children under two fly free on a guardian’s lap, and reduced fares apply under twelve. Same-day cancellation or a no-show is charged as a one-way fare.
The return seaplane for two adults is already inside every figure we quote you.
The villas
| Villa | Size | Pool | Sleeps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier Oceanfront Bungalow with PoolThe entry category, on land. | 77 m² in, 91 m² out | Private | 3 |
| Water Villa with Pool, Partial Sea ViewOver water on the jetty, with a partial rather than open outlook. | 90 m² in, 183 m² out | Private | 3 |
| Family Oceanfront Bungalow with PoolThe cheapest way to put four people in one villa here. | 99 m² in, 91 m² out | Private | 4 |
| Sunrise Water Villa with PoolMorning light. The outer sunrise positions are the ones reviewers say are overlooked. | 90 m² in, 183 m² out | Private | 3 |
| Sunset Water Villa with PoolEvening light, and the side we would pick of the two. | 90 m² in, 183 m² out | Private | 3 |
| Beach Villa with PoolSouth side, private beach access, and a 12-metre lap pool rather than a plunge. | 137 m² in, 260 m² out | 12 m lap | 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children |
| Sunrise Family Water Villa with PoolOver water with room for four, which is rare. | 112 m² in, 183 m² out | Private | 4 adults, or 1 adult and 4 children |
| Sunset Family Water Villa with PoolThe same villa, on the better side. | 112 m² in, 183 m² out | Private | 4 adults, or 1 adult and 4 children |
| Family Beach Villa with PoolThe most room for a family of five on our booking page. | 164 m² in, 260 m² out | 12 m lap | 3 adults, or 2 adults and 3 children |
| Two- and Three-Bedroom Water SuitesOver water. The three-bedroom takes six guests including up to five children. | Ask us | Private | 4 to 6 |
| Four-Bedroom Landaa EstateNew since February 2025. Four bedroom pavilions plus a fifth king room, a dedicated children’s room, a private library and 80 metres of its own beach. | 800 m² in, 2,000 m² out | 20 m lap | 9 adults, or 8 adults and 6 children |
Four Seasons states the island total and not the split. There are 103 villas across eighteen categories. How many of each exists is not something we can put a number to, and on the smallest categories that is the constraint rather than the price. Ask us and we will put the question to the hotel for your dates.
Every villa on the island has its own pool. The two beach categories get a 12-metre lap pool, which is a different proposition from the plunge pools elsewhere, and the Landaa Estate runs to twenty metres.
Nine categories sit on our booking page. The water suites, the Two-Bedroom Royal Beach Villa, the Three-Bedroom Land and Ocean Suite and the Four-Bedroom Landaa Estate are all priced by hand, so tell us what you need and we will quote it.
Four Seasons counts a child as twelve and under, and under-twelves stay free sharing with parents where the villa has the space. Cribs are available for infants.
Meal plans
| Plan | What it covers | Still charged |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Buffet at Café Landaa or à la carte at Blu, for two guests per bedroom. Four guests in a family villa, and everyone in a suite. | Lunch, dinner and every drink. A third or fourth guest in a one-bedroom villa is charged separately. |
| Half board | Breakfast and dinner, taken across the restaurants rather than tied to one. | Lunch and every drink. |
| Full board | Breakfast, lunch and dinner. | Every drink. |
Nothing to drink is inside any plan. Not with dinner, not house wine, not a beer at lunch. On an island priced at this level the drinks line is a real part of the total, so build it in before you compare Landaa against an all-inclusive island in another atoll.
Half board here is a dine-around rather than a single restaurant, which is unusual in the Maldives and worth something on a longer stay. Four restaurants means four dinners before anything repeats.
Children under five eat free from the children’s menus.
Breakfast coverage follows the villa, not the head count. Two guests per bedroom in a standard villa, four in a family villa, everyone in a suite. Put a third adult in a one-bedroom villa and their breakfast is extra.
We sell this island on breakfast, half board or full board. Tell us how you actually plan to eat and we will price all three against your dates rather than leave you to guess.
Restaurants and bars
| Venue | What it is | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Café Landaa | Asian and regional across three pavilions, with a standing tandoor and curry kitchen | 07:00–11:00, 12:00–17:00, 19:00–22:30 |
| Blu Beach Club | Italian on the beach, now led by a two-Michelin-starred chef | 08:00–10:30, 12:00–15:00, 15:00–19:00, 19:00–22:30 |
| Al Barakat | Eastern Mediterranean over the water, with a Beirut kitchen behind it. Dinner only | 19:00–22:30 |
| Fuego Grill | Beachfront grill, feet in the sand. Dinner only | 19:00–22:30 |
| Seabar | Over the water, with tapas | 17:00–00:00 |
| Blu Bar | On the beach | 11:00–23:00 |
| Shisha Bar | Over the water, below Al Barakat | 18:00–23:00 |
| Poolside Bar | Light plates by the Olympic pool | 09:00–18:00 |
Café Landaa runs a tandoor and a dedicated curry kitchen as standing features, not as a weekly theme. Friday adds a Taste of India night, with masalas, tandoor dishes, biryani and cultural entertainment. For Indian guests who have eaten badly elsewhere in the Maldives, that combination is the single best reason to look at this island over its Baa neighbours.
The teppanyaki counter at Café Landaa runs Monday to Thursday and Saturday, in two sittings. Sunday is a seafood night, and Thursday at Al Barakat is mezze.
Two of the four restaurants serve dinner only, so lunch is Blu, Café Landaa or the Poolside Bar. In-villa dining runs day and night.
Tell us about dietary requirements when you enquire and we will have them with the resort before you travel.
The water
Why we rate the reef 3 out of 5
This is the weakest reef of the big Baa islands, and the neighbours are the reason. Anantara Kihavah and Milaidhoo both beat it in the water, and if snorkelling from your own steps is the point of the trip, one of those is the better island.
What is here is modest and largely the resort’s own work. The coral regeneration frames have pulled real fish life in close to shore. The sunrise side is stomach-deep, which is good for small children and not much else, and visibility goes when the wind gets up.
The resort’s own snorkelling session takes you out by dhoni to a nearby reef rather than off the beach. That tells you most of what you need to know, and we would rather say it here than have you work it out on day two.
A sea wall runs off parts of the island. Four Seasons’ own villa pages describe it as keeping currents at bay and enabling safe swimming year round, and recent guests describe the beach as large and the low tide as a walkable sandbar. It is why the lagoon swims in every season.
What you actually come for
The Marine Discovery Centre is the best of its kind in the country. Marine biologists on staff, a turtle rehabilitation programme with a vet on the island, a fish lab, evening talks, and the Reefscapers coral frames you can sponsor and then follow online after you go home.
Manta-on-call: the centre rings your villa when mantas are sighted and takes you out by speedboat, charged only if they are actually there. It is a chance rather than an itinerary item, and guests do stay five nights without the call coming.
Hanifaru Bay is the manta and whale shark aggregation site, roughly June to October. It is a protected area, so snorkelling only, diving prohibited, daily numbers capped and a guide compulsory. If mantas are the reason you are going, the date matters more than the villa.
Diving is in-house, and Four Seasons describes it as a PADI Five-Star Career Development Centre, which is the top of PADI’s retail ladder. Two-tank mornings and one-tank afternoons daily, nitrox available, instruction in seven languages, and Bubblemaker for children. Dhigali Haa and Dharavandhoo Thila are the Baa sites worth asking about.
Who it suits
✓Yes
- You came for mantas.Hanifaru in season, manta-on-call year round, and the research team that helped found the Manta Trust.
- You have children between four and twelve.Two supervised programmes, both complimentary, and family villas over water as well as on the beach.
- You care what the Indian food is like.A standing tandoor and curry kitchen at Café Landaa, plus a Taste of India night every Friday.
✕No
- You want to snorkel off your own steps.It is the weakest reef of the big Baa islands and the resort takes you to a better one by boat.
- You want somewhere small and quiet.103 villas, 44 acres and a family crowd in the school holidays. Baa has smaller islands.
- You want the total settled before you fly.Nothing to drink is inside any plan, and the excursions and the spa here are priced accordingly.
Children and safety
- Kuda Velaa takes four to twelve, and the supervision is complimentary. Two programmes rather than one room. Passport to Adventure runs four to eight with up to eight activities a day, and Mission: Landaa pushes nine to twelve out into the wider resort on their own terms. Painting and crafts, a hermit crab race, beach games, a touch tank and children’s yoga, with a shallow free-form pool inside the club area.
- Teenagers get something quite different, and it is paid. The Trainee Marine Biologist modules run thirteen to eighteen: six one-to-one day modules on coral, dolphins, turtles, plankton, the aquarium and mantas, worked alongside the resort’s own marine biologists and vet. It is the strongest teenage offer in the Maldives and it is a course, not a club. Tell us if you want it held.
- There is no minimum age for a child in a water villa. Four Seasons sets none, and it sells Sunrise and Sunset Family Water Villas for up to four children and the Three-Bedroom Water Suite for six guests including five children. You will read elsewhere that water villas suit children of eight or eleven and over. That is not the resort’s rule. If you would rather be on sand anyway, the Family Beach Villa takes two adults and three children.
- The island is built for this and it is big. Four pools including a 50-metre Olympic one with a swim-up bar, a 20-metre seawater pool, a tennis court, and 44 acres of jungle to cycle around. Under-twelves stay free sharing with parents where the villa has room, and birthday amenities come as standard for that age.
- Two things worth having us settle first. The club’s opening hours move with the season, and babysitting is arranged rather than included. Tell us the ages of anyone travelling and we will have both settled, along with cribs, high chairs and dietary requirements, before you leave India.
On the island
- The island
- 44 acres18 hectares of jungle, and a 2.5 km lagoon
- Pools
- FourIncluding a 50 m Olympic pool with a swim-up bar
- Spa
- AyurMa10:00–21:00. Overwater rooms and Ayurveda pavilions
- Diving
- PADI CDCIn-house, in seven languages
- Marine centre
- On the islandBiologists, a vet, a fish lab and turtle rehabilitation
- Wifi
- ComplimentaryPremium, across the island
Things we would rather you heard from us
- There is no swim-out house reef worth the name. The resort’s own snorkelling trip goes out by boat. If you are picturing finning off your deck onto live coral, this is the wrong island in Baa Atoll, and Kihavah and Milaidhoo are both twenty minutes away. We would rather move you than sell you the wrong island.
- Manta-on-call is a chance, not a booking. You are only charged if mantas are sighted, which is fair. But some guests stay five nights and the call never comes. If the mantas are the reason for the trip, come between June and October and build the days around Hanifaru instead.
- Nothing to drink is inside any plan. Breakfast, half board and full board all stop at food. At this level the bar bill is not a rounding error, and neither are the excursions or the spa. Ask us to price the trip with the extras in rather than discover them on the folio.
- It is a big, busy island. 103 villas, four restaurants, four pools and a lot of children in the school holidays. That is a strength if you have your own and a drawback if you do not. The trade is real and it goes both ways.
- The outer sunrise water villas are the ones to ask about. Guests in those positions report feeling overlooked by the neighbouring villas, where the sunset villas at the end of the jetty get the privacy. It is the one villa-position question on this island worth raising before you pay, and we will raise it for you.
Shall we price it for you?
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and which airport you fly from. We will price two or three villas with the seaplane and every Maldivian tax inside one figure, check your dates against the Hanifaru season, put breakfast beside half board and full board, and tell you whether your inbound flight connects or wants a night at Kuda Huraa first. We reply within 24 hours.