To describe a place as easygoing and relaxed is commonplace and for almost all resorts it’s true to some extent - but Maayafushi is its epitome. Here there are no pretensions, no regulations, no competition and no complaints. On an ideal resort tick list there would be several key boxes unchecked, but Maayafushi’s friendliness seems to make that irrelevant. As one happy guy said to me, “Can’t fault it”.

Prominent groynes march down one side of the island but these have not done their job and so a wall has been built, around half the island (but only in front of a third of the rooms). The circular ends of the groynes prove useful as sunbathing spots in the afternoon, when many of the rooms, facing east, are in the shade. They also double up as a candlelit dinner location (good prices for lobster and seafood).

Although many of the rooms don’t have much in the way of a beach, one huge, soft sand spit makes up for it. With the water sports hut at one end playing music, this is a busy, genial area during the day, and a reverentially quiet one at sunset when everyone
comes together to watch and photograph.

The resort clientele changed from predominantly German divers to all Italian clubbers and is now a mix of German speakers and British with still around one third Italians. There are evening entertainments in the bar as well as aqua aerobics and some games on the beach but these club activities now take a back seat to the main business of sunbathing, eating and drinking. And diving and snorkelling.

Maayafushi is a good snorkelling island. The drop-off is no more than 60 metres away around half the island. And access channels have been cut at the beginning, the middle and the end of the snorkelling zone. The coral and fish life are abundant, which is not too surprising as this area of North Ari Atoll is world renowned for its dive sites.

Diving interest on Maayafushi is growing again, as it should. The dive school is large and prominent at the end of the jetty next to the reception and the staff is as friendly and helpful as everyone else. Most importantly the diving itself is truly excellent. The dive school is not as busy as it could be because everyone here is on all-inclusive which generally means less spare money around. There are also many Italians, who tend not to do much diving, and many honeymooners, with shallow pockets and other things on their mind.

The food is unexpectedly good - a three-course mix of buffet and set plates with cold white wine and beer on tap. Again, it is the Italian guests who are probably to thank for this.

The 76 rooms are divided up into 60 Beach Bungalows, 16 Standard Rooms and 7 VIP Rooms. The Standard are just the same as the Bungalows except they are in two-storey blocks and the bathroom is entirely enclosed. The furniture in the rooms is cheap but everything is very clean and well maintained. The VIP rooms are inside the island behind high walls. This obviously gives them great privacy but no views. The rooms are bigger, the furniture better and there is a swing in the small private garden. Beach access might be an issue on another resort, but because this is such a friendly, unstuffy place there’s no problem mixing in and finding a spare sun lounger.

So there it is, a relatively cheap holiday with great staff, good food and idyllic location. You can put up with a lot for that.