The Ultimate Guide to Maldives Surf - Surf Atlas

Maldives surf trips are taking off like it’s nobody’s business. With the same Indian Ocean swells as Bali and Sri Lanka, fine reef breaks fringing the countless isles, and three separate surf zones suited to different levels – it’s easy to see why! An introduction to surfing in the Maldives To surf in the Maldives seems so distant to most of us. It’s like a vacation to the Bahamas; a casual city break to Cannes. Mere mortals with normal bank accounts usually discount idea out of hand. It’s too expensive, right? It’s too exotic? Well…not really. Changes to the rules around hoteliering in the Maldives back in 2009 allowed locals to open their own guesthouses and allowed travelers to stay on any island in the chain, not just the ones that were privately owned by gazillionaires. That’s worked wonders for surf tourism in the region, helping barrel-hungry board touters reach the best breaks up and down the atolls for less. That’s one side of the coin. The other is the fact that the surf here is consistently proving it’s up there with the best in the world. You won’t hear any arguments about the swell. The Maldives string through the Indian Ocean to pick up both SE and SW ground pulses just like Indo. When winds are onshore in one region, they’re neatly offshore in another. There’s a nice, long surf season of about six months. Add to that the fact that crowds in the Maldives are but a fraction of what you get in nearby Sri Lanka, or even across the hard-to-reach Ments. Plus, the vibe is always a version of tropical happy go lucky. Localism incidents are basically unheard of. Probably the best thing for us is the fact that the Maldives can be roughly split into three individual surf zones. Each of them cranks up the difficulty level a little as you move north to south, which means intermediate improvers have something in this paradise, as do pros, and even relative beginners. We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that! This is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Asia Maldives surf at a glance The good: Reef breaks for most levels Warm water and paradise islands Long swell period The bad: Hard to get to Expensive hotels