Baa Atoll
۸ · Southern Maalhosmadulu · 14 resorts · 38 guesthouses
Baa is the atoll people fly to for one reason, and it is worth the flight: Hanifaru Bay, a UNESCO-designated marine protected area where reef manta rays gather to feed in numbers that occur almost nowhere else. The aggregation follows the lunar cycle through the southwest monsoon, roughly June to November, which means a resort’s own dive schedule matters more here than in any other atoll.
Dharavandhoo carries the domestic airport and the atoll’s cheapest beds. Fourteen resorts sit across the lagoon from it — some a ten-minute speedboat away, some a seaplane hop that costs more than two nights of the room. The table below gives the transfer for every one, because that is the number most itineraries get wrong.
At a glance
AirportDharavandhoo (DRV)
From Malé25 min domestic
Manta seasonJun – Nov
Public ferryYes, 3×/week
21 properties — sorted by transfer time
TransferPriceA–Z
SponsoredKanumas paid for this position. It is ranked here for that reason, not on merit.
Kanumas IslandResort · 68 villas · house reef on the west shore · dive centre
12 minSpeedboat$980From, B&B
Dharavandhoo Reef StayGuesthouseOn the airport island · 9 rooms · Hanifaru trips daily in season
4 minWalk$85B&B
Vaali Reef RetreatResort48 villas, 12 overwater · house reef · adults only
15 minSpeedboat$1,240Half board
Fehendhoo Guest HouseGuesthouse6 rooms · bikini beach · boats hired locally
20 minSpeedboat$62Room only
Maadhoo LagoonResort92 villas · two dive sites off the jetty · family wing
25 minSpeedboat$760Full board
Goidhoo Sandbank InnGuesthouse11 rooms · reef 40 m out · ferry three days a week
55 minFerry$58B&B
Olhugiri PrivateResort24 villas · seaplane only · closed to day visitors
35 minSeaplane$3,900All incl.
MV Kanumas ExplorerLiveaboard20 berths · 7-night Hanifaru route · nitrox on board
7 ntsBoards DRV$2,450Per trip
The Hanifaru RoomsHotelCity hotel on Dharavandhoo · 14 rooms · airport shuttle
6 minShuttle$140B&B
Every atoll
Prices are the property’s own published rack rate. We take no commission and sell no rooms.
