Surfing

 

Maldives Surf and Stay

The Maldives is considered one of the best spots in the world for surfing and diving. Staying in our guesthouses will be the perfect way to experience the Maldives as it really is; grab the opportunity to surf at famous locations just a stone’s throw away from your home away from home.

The Maldives is a group of tropical islands in the Indian Ocean characterized by hot and damp weather conditions. With little variation from the average temperature of 25 C throughout the year, yet with lovely oceanic swells that sweep the nation, it has gotten into the spotlight of the worldwide surfing community. The Maldives is great for parasailing and windsurfing as well.

 

When’s best for surfing in Maldives?

Surf season in the Maldives extends from end of February to the middle of November. According to the local surfers, the best waves and swells occur between March and May and again from September to November, i.e., the arrival and departure of the monsoon season that brings with it a stiff breeze. Bring your own board, suit and thirst for adventure and you’ll be riding the turquoise waters in no time.

 

Where’s best for exploring the surfs?

Some of the best surf spots are near Guraidhoo Island. You can hire boats or ‘Dhoani’, as they are called here, or take the local charter services to venture out and explore the waves and try surfing at the reefs.

Hiring a local boat is one of the best options, where you can explore some of the untouched surf spots in the Maldives. The most exciting activity is breaking through the reefs, which being shallow on the surfs are quite risky at times as the razor-sharp corals jut out, so remember to pack your safety equipment like rubber sole booties to walk in. During the surf monsoon, the size of reef breakers go up to 8 to 10 feet where normally they would be 4 to 6 feet the rest of the year.

• Chickens: A long and satisfying left hander with bigger swell and higher tide. Chickens can produce up to 10 second barrels.

• Colas / Cokes: This is one of the best reef breaks in the area when it’s big. It is a thick, heavy and hollow right with a vert take-off. Coke’s breaks hard over a shallow reef so this is definitely a wave for experienced surfers.Honkys: This super long left hander wraps nearly 90 degrees and can double in size by the end section. In season it is definitely one of the best waves in the Maldives, nice barrels, too.

• Sultans: The bigger the better is the mantra of this classic 300m right hander. When it’s on this steep outside peak leads to a super-fast wall and then an inside section that throws right out and tubes on every wave. Epic!

• Jailbreaks: Named after the prison that used to be on the island close by. This right works best with big swell but has plenty of soft breaking sections. When big it becomes a single, long and perfect wave and the three sections start to link up. Unfortunately some of the big resorts call some waves “their own”, which makes them out of bounds for non-guests.

• Lohi’s: This wave is an exclusive wave for guests of the resort island Lohifushi. It is a solid left hander that usually breaks in two sections but with big swell and high enough tide the sections link up.

• Pasta Point Guests of the resort have an exclusive use of this left. Nice wave, but hey someone else “owns” it.Surf spots in and around Malé are Raalhugandu, Rats, Runways, Furana, Kadu and Piddlies. Also check our surf trip Maldives surf video section.

 

The beginning of surfing in Maldives

Before modern surfing was introduced, teens and children of the yesteryears used simple planks to entertain themselves on the waves. Modern surfing was introduced in the late 70′s with Tony Hinde, an Australian surfer, who was stranded in the Maldives on a journey from Sri Lanka towards Africa.

While living here, Tony used his skill at surfing in the reefs of Maldives and discovered the hidden wealth of Maldivian reefs and waves. As time went by, Tony fell in love and married a beautiful native lady and soon started his own surfing agency. He ‘lived happily ever after’ in his fairytale land of the Maldives and soon people from all over the world would come to know about this beautiful land and its surfing opportunities.

The recently held O’Neil Deep Blue Contests and several other events hosted by the Six Senses group has secured Maldives as a surfing destination on the world map, with some of the world’s best surfers being attracted to the Maldives. We’re just lucky our guesthouses are so close to the action – and you will be too! Ask us about surfing when you make your booking.