284. Hulhumalé, Maldives
Why Hulhumalé, Maldives
The Maldives is on many people’s bucket list. It’s a place with beautiful beaches, hotels, food and people. Most go to the resorts, but there is an island that adjoins the airport, Hulhumalé, Maldives, that deserves your attention the next time you go and if you are looking for a budget stay.
Malé, Maldives – Approaching Malé from the Airport
Where
Hulhumalé, Maldives is one of the many islands in the Maldives. It is attached to the airport island, Hulhule, by a very thin stretch of beach I’d say. The island is just located south of Malé.
How To Get Here
Plane
It is first necessary to fly into the Malé International Airport (MLE), then take a local bus or taxi to your accommodations.
Malé, Maldives – Boarding Dock at Airport
You can get to Malé (MLE) from most of the European and Asian airline hubs, plus the Middle East hubs of Emirates (EK), Etihad (EY) and Qatar (QR). Transiting India is also very doable as its just across the way. As an example, you can get to Sri Lanka’s Colombo Airport (CMB) and then take SriLankan Airlines or Korean Airlines (KE) and make the journey to Malé.
Airlines serving the Male International Airport, The Maldives (MLE) are:
Aeroflot (SU), Air Asia (AK), Air Asia X (D7), Air France (AF), Air India (AI), Alitalia (AZ), Austrian Airlines (OS), Bangkok Airways (PG), Beijing Capital Airlines (JD), British Airways (BA), Cathay Pacific Airways (CX), China Eastern Airlines (MU), China Southern Airlines (CZ), Condor (DE), Eidelweiss Air (WK), Emirates (EK), Etihad Airways (EY), FlyDubai (FZ), Flyme (VP), Hong Kong Airlines (HX), Korean Airlines (KE), Lufthansa German Airlines (LH), Maldivian (Q2), Neos Air (NO), Qatar Airways (QR), Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV), SilkAir (MI), Singapore Airlines (SQ), Spicejet (SG), SriLankan (UL), Thai Asia Airways (FD), Tiger Airways (TR) and Turkish Airlines (TK).
Where To Stay
You can stay on the island of Hulhumalé which is connected to the airport island (Hulhule) by a narrow roadway. The runway is the length of Hulhule island.
I ended up staying at the Hotel UI Inn on Hulhumalé, which at the time they were adding more rooms and I stayed in the new section.
One thing to note here is that if you stay on Hulhumalé, there is a local bus that runs from the airport straight down the center of the island and actually ends up at the ferry terminal. From where you can take the ferry to Malé. Alternatively, you can take the shuttle bus for the Hotel UI Inn. For other hotels though I think you’ll have to take a taxi.
==>>You can find a list of hotels in Hulhumale from TripAdvisor here.
==>>You can find a list of hotels in Malé from TripAdvisor here.
Where To Eat
I love this part. There’s a grocery store on Hulhumalé, well several grocery stores from which you can purchase food items. There are also a few restaurants. You can also head over to Malé to eat as well.
==>>You can find a list of hotels in Hulhumale from TripAdvisor here.
What To Do
Malé is a Muslim country and as such some of the things to do surrounds this religion. Please respect the religion by following the instructions before entering the places of worship. There are a few mosques that are worth visiting.
Beaches, duh, Hulhumalé does have a few beaches; Of course you can take tours of the resort islands and use their beaches; there may be a charge though.
Hulhumalé, Maldives – Hulhumalé Beach
==>>Here is a list of things to do from Trip Advisor.
==>>Viator also has a few tours in this region as well.
