LUX* South Ari Atoll
South Ari Atoll · Eleven villa categories · Whale sharks all year
In South Ari, whale sharks are seen all year rather than in a season, and this island sits inside the protected area. The trade is the lagoon: it is sand, and the snorkelling here happens from a boat rather than off your steps. Everything operational, in one page.
- Getting there
- ~25 minShared seaplane from Male
- Latest you can land
- 15:00No domestic backup into this island
- House reef
- 2 / 5The lagoon is sand. Go by boat
- Villas
- Eleven types60 to 360 m², counts in the table below
- Meal plans
- FiveTwo restaurants sit outside all but the top one
- Whale sharks
- All yearThree mornings a week, capped at eighteen
Location and transfers
Land at Male after 15:00 and you sleep in the capital. The seaplane does not fly after dark, and there is no domestic-flight alternative into this island for a late arrival. That makes your inbound flight time the single most important decision you make about this island, and it is worth checking before the ticket rather than after.
Seaplanes carry far less luggage than your international airline. Excess is weighed and paid at the terminal, in cash, before you fly. Ask us for the allowance on your routing and pack to it.
Late in pregnancy, the seaplane needs a doctor’s certificate at check-in. The resort submits it for you, but it has to exist before you travel. Tell us early and we will handle it.
Check-in is 14:00 and check-out 11:00.
The villas
| Villa | Size | Pool | Sleeps | How many |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beach PavilionThe entry category, on the sand. No pool. | 60 m² | None | 2 adults and 1 child | 22 |
| Beach VillaLarger, on the sand. No pool. | 95 m² | None | 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children | 35 |
| Water VillaOver the lagoon, with steps down into it. No pool. | 98 m² | None | 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children | 38 |
| Overwater Infinity Pool VillaThe first overwater category with a pool, and the largest block on the island. | 110 m² | Private | 2 adults and 1 child | 46 |
| Beach Pool VillaOn the sand with a private pool. | 116 m² | Private | 2 adults and 1 child | 12 |
| Family Beach PavilionTwo bedrooms on the sand. | 120 m² | None | 4 adults and 2 infants, or 2 adults and 4 children | 6 |
| Family Lagoon PavilionTwo bedrooms with separate entrances. | 130 m² | None | 4 adults and 2 infants, or 2 adults and 4 children | 6 |
| Beachfront Infinity Pool VillaA large infinity pool on the sand. | 136 m² | Private | 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 children | 10 |
| Temptation Beach Pool VillaThere is exactly one on the island. | 206 m² | Private | 2 adults and 2 children | 1 |
| Temptation Pool Water VillaThree of these exist. | 220 m² | Private | 2 adults and 1 child | 3 |
| LUX* VillaThe largest on the island, and there is one. | 360 m² | Private | 2 adults and 1 child | 1 |
Three categories have no pool at all, and two of them are the cheapest way onto the island. The first overwater villa with a pool is the Overwater Infinity Pool Villa, and it takes two adults and one child rather than three adults.
The counts above matter more than the price here. There is one Temptation Beach Pool Villa, one LUX* Villa and three Temptation Pool Water Villas on the whole island, so for those three it is availability rather than budget that decides. Ask us to check before you fix your dates.
The resort counts an infant as under two, a child as three to eleven and a teen as twelve to seventeen. Occupancy above reads in those terms, so a fourteen-year-old is a teen and not a child.
Sizes are a single total figure, indoor and outdoor together.
Meal plans
| Plan | What it covers | Still charged |
|---|---|---|
| Bed & breakfast | Buffet breakfast at MIXE and East Market. | Every other meal, every drink, all excursions. |
| Half board | Breakfast, plus dinner across the included restaurants. | Lunch, every drink, Allegria and Umami. |
| Full board | Breakfast, lunch and dinner across the included restaurants. | Every drink, Allegria and Umami. |
| All inclusive | All three meals, drinks across the restaurants and bars during their own opening hours, ice cream, speciality coffee, the minibar, non-motorised water sports and a daily spa credit. | Allegria and Umami, motorised water sports, diving and every excursion. |
| Premium all inclusive | Everything above, plus one dinner at Allegria and one at Umami during the stay. | Further dinners at either, motorised water sports, diving and every excursion. |
Allegria and Umami sit outside every plan but the top one, and this is the thing guests get wrong here. On the four plans below Premium you are given a fixed credit per adult per meal against the bill rather than the meal itself, and the credit applies to food and not to drinks. If either restaurant is part of why you chose the island, price Premium before you book instead of discovering the gap on the second night.
The resort reserves the right to close up to two restaurants during the year. That is its own published wording and it applies on every plan, so a twelve-venue island is not a guarantee of twelve open venues in your week.
Everyone in the villa takes the same plan. Child and teen supplements differ by age band and we confirm them for your party rather than quote a standard one.
There is a dress code and the resort prints it. A cover-up over swimwear at the daytime restaurants, and elegantly dressed in the evening. This is not the barefoot-anywhere island some of its neighbours are.
Restaurants and bars
| Venue | What it is | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Café LUX* | Coffee, roasted on the island | 06:00 – 18:00 |
| MIXE | International, the main restaurant | Breakfast 07:00 – 10:30, dinner 18:30 – 22:00 |
| East Market | Asian, overwater | Breakfast 07:00 – 10:30, dinner 18:30 – 22:00 |
| Senses Restaurant | Indian and Middle Eastern | Lunch 12:00 – 15:00, dinner 18:30 – 22:00 |
| Senses Lounge & Bar | Bar, by the infinity pool | 09:00 – 00:00 |
| Beach Rouge | Mediterranean beach club | 10:30 – 00:00, lunch 12:00 – 15:00, dinner 18:30 – 22:00 |
| AllegriaOutside every plan but premium all inclusive. | Italian | 18:30 – 22:00 |
| UmamiOutside every plan but premium all inclusive. | Modern Japanese | 18:30 – 22:00 |
| Veli Pool Bar | Pool bar | 09:00 – 17:00, lunch 12:00 – 15:00 |
| Lagoon Bar | Beach bar | 10:30 – 17:00, lunch 12:00 – 15:00 |
| East Bar | Overwater bar | 17:00 – 00:00 |
| ICI | Ice cream | 10:30 – 17:00 |
Book Allegria and Umami on the day you arrive, for the whole stay. Guests regularly report both booked solid for five nights, and walking in does not work. Reservations go through the guest experience desk and we can ask them to hold tables before you land.
In-villa dining runs around the clock, on its own menu.
Nothing closes on a set weekday, and no venue carries a published age restriction.
The water
Why we rate the reef 2 out of 5
The lagoon is sand. It is warm, shallow and lovely to swim in, and close to empty for snorkelling. The coral in front of the water villas is dead, and the water-villa side is shallow enough in places to be seagrass rather than swimming.
The one spot you can reach on your own is by the seaplane jetty, where coral has been planted and reef sharks come in behind the boats.
The resort runs a guided boat out to the reef, about ten minutes away, where turtles and rays are common. That trip is how people actually see anything here, and it is short.
This is a straightforward trade, and we would rather you made it knowingly. You are not buying a house reef on this island. You are buying what is twenty minutes away in a boat, and what is out there is genuinely rare.
Three animals, three sets of days
The whale shark trip goes Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, leaving at 09:00 and running about three and a half hours. The Manta Quest goes Sunday and Wednesday at 08:30, and the turtle trip Monday and Friday at 10:00. You can see all three in one week, but only if your week is the right shape.
Every trip on this island needs four guests before it departs, and the whale shark boat is capped at eighteen with three guides, six guests to a guide. Those caps are marine park rules the resort did not write and cannot bend. Book before you fly rather than on the second morning.
All four snorkelling trips are eight and over, and you must be able to swim. There is no swim test: you say how confident you are when you book, and everyone signs a disclaimer before departure. Pregnant guests are not permitted on the whale shark boat at all.
There is a Marine Biology Centre on the island running coral planting and adoption, a five-star PADI dive centre, and the resort counts more than fifty dive sites around the atoll. Beginner Snorkelling runs Tuesday and Saturday at 14:00 and is the sensible first step if you are unsure.
Who it suits
✓Yes
- You want whale sharks.Whale sharks are seen in South Ari all year, and this island sits inside the protected area.
- You dive.A five-star PADI centre on the island and more than fifty sites around the atoll.
- You have young children.PLAY runs 09:00 to 19:00 for three to elevens, with its own pool, and babysitting starts at one.
✕No
- You came to snorkel off your steps.The lagoon is sand and the coral in front of the water villas is dead. Everything happens from a boat.
- You are landing at Male after 15:00.The seaplane stops at dusk and there is no domestic alternative into this island. That is a night in the capital.
- You are buying all inclusive expecting every restaurant.Allegria and Umami are outside every plan but the top one, and drinks at either are never included.
Children and safety
- PLAY takes three to eleven, 09:00 to 19:00. Indoor arts and crafts, a library, a toddler space and a mini kitchen, plus an outdoor lawn and a swimming pool of its own. The long hours are unusual and they are the reason this island works better for young families than most of its neighbours.
- There is a teens programme, and it runs to its own schedule. It changes through the season. Ask us what is running on your dates, because a thirteen-year-old is not automatically catered for here.
- Babysitting starts at one year old, at a supplement. Arranged through the resort. We book it before you travel, because it depends on who is rostered that week.
- Every snorkelling trip is eight and over. Whale shark, turtle, manta and the beginner session alike. Younger children can swim in the lagoon and use the kids’ club pool, but the water excursions are closed to them. If the whale shark is why you are going and your child is six, this is the wrong year.
- No minimum age is set for the overwater villas. Children and infants are permitted in both the Water Villa and the Overwater Infinity Pool Villa. Tell us the ages of anyone travelling and we will have the position and any waiver confirmed before you book.
- The spa is sixteen and over. There is a separate kids’ spa session for younger children. The main spa is adults and older teenagers only.
On the island
- Clinic
- On the islandChargeable. Ask us for the hours on your dates
- Dive centre
- PADI 5 StarMore than fifty sites around the atoll
- Spa
- 15 villasLUX* ME Spa, sixteen and over
- Fitness
- 06:00 to 20:00LUX* ME Fitness Centre. Sports shoes required
- Check in and out
- 14:00 / 11:00Later check-out on request only
- Getting around
- BuggiesIt is a long island. Bicycles on request
Things we would rather you heard from us
- There is no house reef you can swim to. The resort lists house reef snorkelling as a complimentary water sport. Independent reviewers and guests are consistent that snorkelling from the beach or the villa is not really possible and that you need the boat. We rate the reef two out of five for that reason. If snorkelling from your own steps is the point of the holiday, tell us and we will name three islands that do it properly.
- Two restaurants sit outside every plan but the top one. Allegria and Umami give you a fixed credit per adult per meal against the bill, not the meal, and the credit is against food rather than drinks. On a short stay that is a real line on the folio, and it is the most common surprise on this island.
- The whale shark boat has eighteen seats and needs four people. Three mornings a week, eighteen guests, six to a guide, and it will not sail with fewer than four. Those are marine park rules. If the whale sharks are why you are going, the trip gets booked before you fly, not on arrival.
- It is a long island and there is a dress code. You will be on a buggy or a bicycle to get from one end to the other, and the resort asks for a cover-up over swimwear by day and elegant dress in the evening. Neither is a problem, but both catch people who packed for a barefoot island.
- The seaplane has no backup. Some islands run a domestic flight when the seaplane stops for the night. This one does not. Land at Velana after 15:00 and you are paying for a night in the capital, and you lose a night you have already bought on the island.
- The speciality restaurants book out. Guests report Allegria and Umami full for an entire five-night stay. The resort’s own head of sales makes the same point about excursions: several run only two or three days a week and pre-booking is the difference between a promise and a maybe.
Shall we price it for you?
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and which airport you fly from. We will check your inbound flight against the 15:00 seaplane cut-off before anything else, tell you which meal plan is worth the step up for the way you actually eat, and give you a straight answer on whether the whale shark boat can still be booked for your week. We reply within 24 hours.