Island guide · Kaafu Atoll · South Malé
A small fishing village a short hop from Maafushi, with a bikini beach and dive centres of its own.
A small fishing village in South Malé Atoll, close to Maafushi and about half an hour from Malé by speedboat — quieter than its neighbour, with a designated bikini beach and dive centres of its own.
Best for
A quiet base close to the airport, for divers and for beach days
An island guideavé doesn’t arrange stays on Gulhi — this page is here to help you choose. The nearest islands we do arrange are Maafushi and Malé.
Getting there
| Way in | Time | Fare, each way | When it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shared speedboat from Malé | 25–30 min | About US$25–30 | A couple of runs a day |
| Public ferry from Malé (Villingili terminal) | About 75–90 min | A couple of dollars | Afternoons, most days; never Fridays |
| Private speedboat | 20–30 min | On request | At any hour, booked ahead |
Times and fares as researched in October 2026, from operators’ and travellers’ reports. Boats move with the season and the weather — confirm the day’s with your guesthouse before you travel. Getting around the Maldives
What you’d come for.
A designated beach for swimwear, with sunbeds — the island’s day-long fixture.
Dive centres on the island run to the atoll’s known sites — Kandooma Thila, Cocoa Corner and Guraidhoo Corner among them.
Snorkel trips to the reefs nearby, and half-day runs to sandbanks that show at low tide.
Maafushi, the busiest local island, is a short boat ride away — for its cafés and its excursion boats.
Questions
A shared speedboat takes about 25–30 minutes from Malé for roughly US$25–30 each way, a couple of times a day. The public ferry from Malé’s Villingili terminal takes about an hour and a quarter for a couple of dollars, leaving in the afternoon most days and never on Fridays. Land late in the day and you may miss both — plan a night near the airport.
Yes, a designated bikini beach. Gulhi is a Muslim village, so cover shoulders and knees elsewhere on the island.
They sit side by side in South Malé. Maafushi is the busier island, with more guesthouses, cafés and boats; Gulhi is smaller and quieter, with its own beach and dive centres, and Maafushi a short boat ride away.
No — it is a dry island, like every inhabited island in the Maldives. Alcohol is served at resorts and on licensed boats.
No — this page is a guide to Gulhi, an island avé doesn’t arrange stays on. The nearest islands we do arrange, end to end, are Maafushi and Malé.
Stay close by, with avé.
avé doesn’t arrange stays on Gulhi. These are the nearest islands we do — rooms, boats and days arranged as one journey.