Kandima Maldives
An island built like a small town, with a go-kart track, a bowling alley and a hospital that has its own decompression chamber. There is no snorkelling off the beach at all, and the reef is a boat ride away on a fixed timetable. Everything operational, in one page.
- Getting there
- 50 minDomestic flight, then a speedboat
- Latest you can land
- 20:45By seaplane instead, 15:00
- House reef
- 2 of 5A boat ride out, six times a day.
- Rooms
- 27079 over water, the rest on land
- Meal plans
- FourBed and breakfast to premium all inclusive
- Medical
- On-island hospitalDecompression chamber, dentist, German doctors
Location and transfers
Your flight times decide the route, at both ends. The domestic flight will not connect if your onward international flight leaves Male before 09:00, and the seaplane is out entirely if you land after 15:00. Send us both flights before you book them.
Luggage is tighter than your airline’s. The domestic Comfort Class allows 22 kg checked and 5 kg hand. Sapphire Class allows 35 kg and 5 kg. The seaplane allows 20 kg and 5 kg, the least of the three.
There are paid lounges at both terminals if you have a long wait: Pause Lounge on the domestic side, and Manta Air’s Comfort and Sapphire lounges at the seaplane terminal.
The villas
| Villa | Size | Pool | Sleeps | How many |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sky StudioUpper floor, ocean facing. The entry room and the largest category on the island. | 55 m² | None | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 56 |
| Beach StudioSame footprint as the Sky Studio, on the sand instead. | 55 m² | None | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 72 |
| Beach Villa with Swirl Pool | 97 m² | Swirl pool | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 18 |
| Sunrise Beach Pool Villa with Swirl PoolMorning light. Fourteen on the island, the scarcest beach category. | 105 m² | Pool and swirl pool | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 14 |
| Sunset Beach Pool Villa with Swirl PoolSame villa, evening light, and there are more of them. | 105 m² | Pool and swirl pool | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 23 |
| Aqua VillaOver the water. The cheapest way onto the jetty. | 73 m² | None | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 30 |
| Aqua Villa with Swirl PoolOver the water, same size, with a swirl pool on the deck. | 73 m² | Swirl pool | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 29 |
| Ocean Pool VillaOver the water with a proper pool rather than a swirl pool. | 95 m² | Private pool | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 18 |
| 2 Bedroom Family Sky SuiteThe only room on the island that takes more than four people. | Not published | None | 4 adults and 4 children, or 8 adults | 8 |
| Sunset Aqua Pool SuiteTwo on the island. Children must be 2 or over here, with a signed disclaimer. | Not published | Private pool | 2 adults and 2 children, or 4 adults | 2 |
The ten categories sum to 270, which matches the resort’s own total. Seventy-nine rooms sit over the water across the Aqua, Ocean Pool and Sunset Aqua categories; everything else is on land.
Every room takes two adults and two children, or four adults. That is unusually generous and it means a family of four fits in one room in any category. Only the 2 Bedroom Family Sky Suite goes beyond it.
Beds are a king plus a sofa bed throughout. There are no twin-bedded categories.
The resort publishes a single total area per room rather than an indoor and outdoor split, and publishes no size at all for the two suites.
Meal plans
| Plan | What it covers | Still charged |
|---|---|---|
| Bed & breakfast | Breakfast at Flavour or Zest, with unlimited juice, water, tea and coffee at breakfast. | Every other meal, all other drinks, in-villa breakfast. |
| Half Board Plus | Breakfast and dinner at Flavour or Zest, with unlimited soft drinks, juice, water, tea and coffee at mealtimes. 20 per cent off food if you take dinner in an a la carte restaurant instead. | Lunch, all drinks outside mealtimes, the a la carte restaurants at full price. |
| Full Board Plus | As half board, plus lunch. Same 20 per cent discount on a la carte dinner. | All drinks outside mealtimes, the bars. |
| Premium All Inclusive | All meals, afternoon refreshments at Deli and Aroma, dinner at Smoked, Sea Dragon or Azure, unlimited drinks by the glass at the restaurants and the pool bars, minibar restocked daily, snorkelling gear, a kayak or paddleboard an hour a day, and 10 per cent off watersports and spa. | Certain menu items and beverages, home delivery, Deli and Aroma food orders, food at Breeze and the Beach Club, bottles rather than glasses. |
This is the single most misread thing about Kandima, and it is where the complaints come from. The two middle plans are served at Flavour and Zest inside fixed windows. Only Premium All Inclusive opens the a la carte restaurants and the bars. Guests who buy the middle tier expecting the top one arrive disappointed.
Everyone in the room must be on the same plan, for the whole stay, and rooms travelling together must match. A four-night minimum applies to the premium plan. Nothing unconsumed is credited back.
Children 2 to 5.99 are included free on every plan. Youth 6 to 11.99 and teens 12 to 17.99 pay reduced supplements.
Opening times change. The resort updates them each morning on the K’App and at the restaurant doors, and Flavour, Zest and Smoked open on selected days rather than every day. Check on arrival rather than planning the week in advance.
Restaurants and bars
| Venue | What it is | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Flavour & ZestSelected days of the week. | International food hall, live cooking stations | 07:00 – 10:30, 12:30 – 14:30, 18:30 – 22:00 |
| SmokedSelected days of the week. | Parilla grill and smoker, steaks and fish | 19:00 – 22:00 |
| Sea DragonFour days a week. | Asian | 19:00 – 22:00 |
| Azure | Mediterranean, seafood and steaks | 12:00 – 15:00, 19:00 – 22:00 |
| Deli | Grab and go food boutique | 07:00 – 22:00 daily |
| Aroma Café | Speciality coffee | 10:00 – 18:00 daily |
| Beach Club | Pool bar and casual food | 10:00 – 19:00 daily |
| Breeze Pool Bar | Cocktails, shisha, live bands and DJs | Hours not published |
| Forbidden BarFour days a week, alongside Sea Dragon. | Cocktail bar, adults only | 19:00 – 00:00 |
Private beach dining and the Castaway sandbank experience are both arranged on request and sit outside every meal plan.
The water
You cannot snorkel from the beach
The reef sits roughly 500 metres out and the only way to it is a free boat to a platform at the reef edge. It runs six times a day, at 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00 and again at 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00. Nothing crosses the middle of the day, so a guest who surfaces at half twelve waits until two.
Guests who go out see turtles, coral and baby sharks. They are also lukewarm about the variety, and several report bleaching. We rate the reef 2 out of 5 and would not send a serious snorkeller here.
There is dead coral on the seabed near the shore. Bring water shoes.
The lagoon is the better story
It is shallow and safe, which suits small children, and you will see baby sharks and rays in the shallows from the beach without getting in a boat at all.
Aquaholics is a PADI 5 Star Dive Centre, open daily from 08:00 to 18:00, and runs the six complimentary snorkelling trips as well as the diving.
The island has an on-site decompression chamber, which is rare in the Maldives and unusually reassuring for a dive trip.
Who it suits
Children and safety
- Kandiland takes children from six months to twelve. Open daily 09:00 to 20:00. Drop-off care runs from four to twelve; under-fours are looked after but need a parent with them.
- Babysitting runs late. Available at Kandiland during club hours for six months to four years, and extended to 02:00 for children up to nine. Charged, and worth arranging before you travel rather than on arrival.
- Children in an overwater room need a signed disclaimer. The resort asks for one on every Aqua and Ocean Pool category. There is no minimum age on the Aqua villas. The Sunset Aqua Pool Suite sets it at two years and up.
- There is no teen club. What there is instead is a go-kart circuit from age ten, plus VR, escape rooms and bowling at PlaySpace. For a certain kind of thirteen-year-old that beats a club.
- A family of four fits in one room. Every category takes two adults and two children, which is not true of most resorts we sell. Eight people fit in the 2 Bedroom Family Sky Suite, and there are eight of those.
On the island
- Hospital
- 24 hoursClinic hours 10:00 to 12:00 and 18:00 to 20:00
- Dive centre
- AquaholicsPADI 5 Star, daily 08:00 to 18:00
- Spa
- esKapeDaily 09:00 to 20:00, garden huts on land
- Gym
- 24 hoursBurn Gym, plus a hydro pool
- Kids club
- 6 months to 12Kandiland, daily 09:00 to 20:00
- Getting about
- Shuttle or bikeEvery 15 to 20 minutes on a three-kilometre island
Things we would rather you heard from us
- The meal plan tiers catch people out. Half Board Plus and Full Board Plus are Flavour and Zest inside fixed windows. Only Premium All Inclusive opens the a la carte restaurants and the bars. This is the most common complaint about Kandima and it is entirely avoidable if you know before you book.
- Seaplanes start arriving around six in the morning. Guests in the Aqua and Sky categories report being woken by them. If you sleep lightly, say so when you book and we will ask for a room away from the flight path.
- The island is nearly three kilometres long. There is a shuttle every fifteen to twenty minutes and free bicycles, but some rooms are a long way from the restaurants. Take a bike on the first morning.
- The buffet repeats on a longer stay. Guests on a week or more say so consistently. The a la carte restaurants are the answer, and they sit outside the two middle meal plans.
- Opening times move. Three of the restaurants open on selected days only, and the schedule is published each morning rather than in advance. Plan the week on arrival, not before.
Shall we price it for you?
Tell us your dates and the ages of anyone travelling with you. We will price two rooms across the windows either side of your dates, apply the family offer wherever it lands, and tell you which meal plan is worth the step up for the way you actually eat. We reply within 24 hours.