Based on 2,144 reviews
Rated Travellers' Choice on TripAdvisor
We just returned from an absolute dream family vacation at Amilla Maldives with our 7-year-old child, and it exceeded every expectation! The island's natural beauty is unreal—lush jungle greenery, pristine powder-white beaches, and crystal-clear turquoise waters rich with marine life. It felt like playing in a tropical paradise. The culinary experience was another massive highlight. Every meal was delicious, especially the authentic local Maldivian dishes and fresh seafood. Above all, what made our trip truly special was our amazing butler, Hajar. She took exceptional care of all three of us throughout our stay! Hajar was warm, thoughtful, and incredibly attentive—especially toward our child. Thank you, Hajar, and the Amilla team for giving our family memories that we will cherish forever.
Our butler Hajar was very caring, friendly and helpful. The food in Amilla also had a great quality. Overall, the experience was excellent.
Reef villa is very good. It is close to the trench. There are many fish. You can see the fish when you jump in the morning. My housekeeper Monika is great and the service is very considerate. I like her. The room was cleaned very cleanly, and the water and bath towels were replenished in time.
We had a wonderful and fulfilling trip. My wife and I really enjoyed our holiday. We'd like to express our gratitude to our Chinese-speaking butler Monica for her amazing service. The housekeeping staff were also very friendly. Highly recommended!
Worth choosing the resort for. One or two caveats on entry point or current.
The reef rings the whole island, and the Reef Water Pool Villas drop a ladder straight onto it. Turtles, eagle rays and four kinds of shark are routine, and there is a natural Blue Hole a short boat ride out. Amilla guides free snorkels to both, but the Blue Hole takes only eight to ten guests a session, so book it on arrival. Snorkelling on the reef is for confident swimmers aged twelve and over. The beach entry is sandy along most of the island, though a few Beach Pool Villas have rock in front of them, so ask us which villa you are getting.
Land at Velana after 15:00 and the last transfer of the day will have gone, which means a night in Malé before you reach the island.
There is a second way in. Domestic flight to Dharavandhoo + speedboat, about 50 min, for arrivals at Velana up to 16:20.
All seaplane flight timings are scheduled by Manta Air. Routes may involve up to two short stops en-route.
Transfer details last checked August 2026. We re-check yours against your actual ticket before we quote. See what your flight can reach →
The reef is the part of this island you can plan around. The programme is not. Amilla sets its activities week by week according to occupancy and publishes them in its own app once your booking is confirmed, so there is no fixed rota to print and any day pattern you read elsewhere is guesswork. Build your days around the water off your own villa, and treat the boat trips as things you book on arrival rather than before you leave home.
A shared seaplane, thirty-five minutes, flown by Manta Air. The airline schedules it, not the resort, and the aircraft can make up to two short stops on the way, so treat thirty-five minutes as flying time rather than door to door. Seaplanes fly in daylight only. Land at Velana by 15:00 and you are on the island the same afternoon. Land later and the first night goes to a Male hotel at your own cost. There is a second way in that buys you eighty minutes: the domestic flight to Dharavandhoo followed by a speedboat, about fifty minutes in total, which still works on a Velana arrival up to 16:20. If your flight from India lands late in the afternoon, ask us to price that route before you move the whole trip.
Do these three things when you land.
A strong house reef, with an access note worth reading before you plan a morning around it.
The reef rings the whole island, which is rarer than it sounds and is the reason repeat Maldives travellers pick Amilla. Turtles, eagle rays and four species of shark are routine here rather than lucky, and there is a natural blue hole a short boat ride out. The best water is off the overwater reef villas, where a ladder off your own deck puts you on the reef without a boat. It rates 4 rather than 5 because the morning you get depends on which villa you book. A beach villa and a reef villa are two different holidays on the same island.
There is no fixed weekly rota here. The resort updates its programme in the guest app week by week, so what runs depends on the days you are there. What is fixed is worth knowing. Kayaks, paddleboards, windsurf equipment and, for certified sailors, a catamaran are complimentary and available whenever you want them, which on a bed and breakfast island is a genuine saving. Everything with an engine is charged, as are the guided snorkel trips, fishing, diving and the excursions. All of those are quoted before service charge and tax, so the figure that reaches your folio is meaningfully higher than the menu price. Prices move through the season, so tell us which trips you actually want and we will price them against your dates. One thing to plan around if you are travelling between May and November: Hanifaru Bay, the manta aggregation site in this atoll, is snorkel-only, ranger-managed and capped by permit each day, so it books out. Ask on arrival, not on day three.
The board basis moves with the travel dates: 2026 dates carry half board, 2027 dates are bed and breakfast. On four nights in 2027 that is four dinners at resort prices, and Amilla runs a lot of separate venues with a wide spread between the cheapest and the dearest. Every drink is charged on either plan. Decide the plan before you arrive rather than after two dinners, and ask us to price a half board upgrade against your dates; it is often the difference between a predictable holiday and a surprise at checkout.
Seaplanes fly in daylight at both ends of the trip, not just on the way in. The resort builds your outbound flight backwards from your international departure and usually confirms it the day before. An early morning flight home out of Velana can therefore mean leaving the island the previous evening rather than catching a dawn seaplane. Ask us to check your return leg before you book it.
Dinner first, because bed and breakfast leaves every evening meal open, then drinks, then diving and the boat trips. The published activity prices are quoted before service charge and tax, which is what catches people out. Green tax and TGST are already inside the price we quote you. Anything you buy on the island is not.
Anyone landing at Velana after 15:00 who will not take the Dharavandhoo route, because the first night goes to a Male hotel at your own cost. Anyone who wants the week mapped out before leaving home, because Amilla genuinely does not publish one. And anyone booking bed and breakfast without costing the dinners first. Families should also know that Amilla publishes no child prices and no minimum ages for its activities, so those have to be checked trip by trip. The festive fortnight, 24 December to 10 January, is priced separately and is not on this rate.
Tell us your flight times and we will check this against your actual dates.Ask on WhatsApp
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