Discovering the Hidden Gem of the Maldives: Dhigurah Island

Dhigurah Island, perhaps the most beautiful island in the Maldives, may be a place you've never heard of. It's a local island without the famous luxury water villas, but it boasts a long and stunning white sandy beach.

If you're looking to visit the Maldives on a budget, this is one of the best options. Dhigurah offers all the breathtaking tropical scenery of the Maldives, along with family-run hotels for just $70 per night!

We recently visited two local islands in the Maldives, Dhigurah and Fulidhu, and we were thoroughly pleased with our choices. Both are fantastic and have their unique characteristics.

This travel guide will cover how to get to Dhigurah Island, what to do there, where to stay, and everything else you need to know before you depart!

Contents Show

Exploring Dhigurah
Atolli Beach
Atolli Beach

Finolhu Inn
Finolhu Inn

Whale Shark Beach
Whale Shark Beach

Happy Dhigurah
Happy Dhigurah

How to Get to Dhigurah Island
Dhigurah doesn't have an airport, so you must first fly to Male International Airport (MLE), the capital of the Maldives, which is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from Dhigurah.

From Male, you can take a speedboat or ferry directly to Dhigurah Island, or take a seaplane or domestic flight to a nearby island and then complete the journey by boat.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide

• By Public Speedboat
The main way to get to Dhigurah is by public speedboat, which is what we took. Speedboats depart from Male Airport and the city every morning and afternoon.

The journey by speedboat to Dhigurah takes 2 hours, and the one-way fare is approximately $50 per person. Children over 3 years old need to pay the full price.

The boat ride is usually not too bumpy (depending on the weather), and there are toilets and plenty of luggage storage space on board. The boat is new, and the seats are comfortable. They also provide you with free bottled water.

Boats from Male to Dhigurah depart at 11:00 AM and 4:30 PM (10:00 AM on Fridays). Boats from Dhigurah to Male depart at 6:30 AM and 1:30 PM (1:45 PM on Fridays). The journey to Dhigurah makes a brief stop at Dangethi Island.

However, please keep in mind that several speedboat companies operate this route, and the schedule seems to change occasionally, so I recommend checking the schedule carefully with your hotel in Dhigurah before you depart.

You can ask your hotel in Dhigurah to book the speedboat for you and pay for it upon arrival with your room fee. We did it this way, and paying with a credit card spared us from carrying a lot of cash.

• By Private Speedboat
Renting a private speedboat is much more expensive than taking a public one, but if you want to save time and need a direct ride from another island in the Maldives to Dhigurah, renting a private speedboat may be more convenient.

You should be able to arrange this with your hotel on Dhigurah Island.

• By Domestic Flight
One of the easiest ways to get to Dhigurah Island is to take a 20-minute domestic flight from Male with Villa Air/FlyMe to the nearby Mamigili Island (VAM) Airport, then take a 5-minute taxi to the harbor, and finally a 20-minute speedboat ride to Dhigurah Island.

This route usually has 3 or 4 flights per day. The one-way fare starts at $170foradults,$85 for children under 12, and free for children under 2. The speedboat transfer is usually included in the price.

In rare cases, if the waves are too rough for regular boats, this may be your only option to get to Dhigurah.

• By Seaplane
Taking a seaplane is one of the most beautiful and fun ways to get to Dhigurah, but it's also the most expensive.

The fare starts at $250 per person, and the journey includes a 30-minute flight to the Lux Resort in the South Ari Atoll, followed by a 10-minute speedboat ride to Dhigurah Island.

Seaplane flights don't have a fixed schedule, so you must arrange it with your hotel beforehand and hope you can share a flight with other passengers going in the same direction.

• By Public Ferry
Lastly, but not least importantly, you can take a public ferry from Male to Dhigurah. This is the slowest option but also the cheapest. The ferry ride to Dhigurah takes about 6 or 7 hours, and the one-way fare is $8.

This route is operated by MTCC a few days a week, with departures in the morning and evening. You can confirm the current schedule with MTCC or your hotel in Dhigurah, and they should also be able to help you purchase tickets.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide - Drone
The beaches here are never crowded.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide - Drone
Drone photos of Dhigurah Island.

How to Explore the Island
Once you arrive in Dhigurah, the next step is to explore the island.

Fortunately, the entire island is small and can be explored by foot. You can walk anywhere! From one end to the other, Dhigurah Island is 4 kilometers (3 miles) long and only about 100 to 200 meters wide. It's long and narrow in shape.

This is one of the reasons we loved Dhigurah Island so much because it's very convenient, and you don't need to pay for transportation. However, if you prefer, the hotel does have bicycles that you can rent for half a day or a full day.

Best Attractions on Dhigurah Island

• Northwest Beach / Bikini Beach
The main beach on Dhigurah Island is called Northwest Beach, spanning the entire west side of the island. This is the island's designated "bikini beach" where tourists can sunbathe in their swimsuits.

It's a beautiful beach with palm trees, many small hermit crabs, and not many people. The water is calm, and children can swim. If the sky is clear, you can also watch the sunset on the beach.

For snorkeling, there's a spot called Turtle Reef midway, where you can swim with small sharks and sea turtles not too far from the shore!

Dhigurah's beach is actually one of the longest in the Maldives, and the island's name derives from this fact – "Dhigurah" means "long island" in the local language.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide
The best spot to pull up a chair.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide
Drone shot of Bikini Beach.

• Long Beach Sandbar
One of the main attractions on Dhigurah Island is the sandbar at the southern end of the island, known as Long Beach. It's a stunningly beautiful place with snowy white sand and shallow, turquoise water, perfect for swimming or walking.

From any hotel in the northern part of Dhigurah, you can walk to the sandbar along the beach or through the jungle for about an hour. We preferred the jungle path because it had more shade and we could see lizards and other animals.

The best time to visit the sandbar is around 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM when it's less crowded and the sun isn't too hot. If you don't want to walk, you can also bike or take a rickshaw from your hotel.

If you walk all the way to the end of the sandbar during low tide, you can actually walk to the neighboring LUX Resort, although you shouldn't if you're not a guest.

Bring enough water because it can be very hot at noon, and there's no place to buy drinks on the sandbar. Near the end of the beach, there are some free sun loungers and umbrellas where you can leave your things and go swimming.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide - Long Beach Sandbar
The sandbar at Long Beach.

Drone shot of the end of the sandbar on Dhigurah Island.
Drone shot of the sandbar. It's located at the far end of the island.

Maldives Dhigurah Island Travel Guide - Long Beach Sandbar
Shallow water at the sandbar.

More Things to Do in Dhigurah

Whale Shark Tour: One of the most popular activities on Dhigurah Island is swimming with whale sharks. Of course, you're not guaranteed to see them, but there are opportunities throughout the year. Many other tour groups