Making the most of Male
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Ships are moored or anchored in port, then tendered ashore for landing.
The tender lands in the town centre, within walking distance of the large mosque, the interesting fish market and the local farmers' market.
Take a printable map along.
The Maldives is a chain of almost 1200 low-lying islands, 220 miles south west of India. Its tropical heat and outstanding white-sand islands, surrounded by coral reefs, make it a beautiful travel destination.
Male is the Maldivian capital and the place through which visitors almost always enter and depart, yet many never spend a night there, heading straight to their resort islands for most of their time in the country.
For its land area, Male is densely populated, with around 70,000 people. Ongoing land-reclamation projects aim to create more space. Though small, the capital still has expected services, including books, a post office, internet access, a bookshop, travel agents and many places to eat. There are also several points of interest for anyone wanting a glimpse of capital life on the island itself.
The Islamic center and mosque is among the city's grander buildings. Hukuru Miskiiy is Male's oldest mosque, dating from the 1650's.
The National Museum displays artefacts formerly owned by the Sultans, from clothes to weapons. Muleeaage is also worth visiting; it was first built as a palace and has previously served as a presidential residence.
Male has no beach and is instead ringed by seawalls. It is a green, pleasant city, with trees shading residential streets and in places arching overhead.
Getting around
Maldivian travel takes two main forms: taxi boats, official or unofficial, and seaplanes. Boats are the local equivalent of a car, while planes are chiefly for tourists. On land, bicycles and motorbikes are the usual transport.
The island measures 1.7 km long and 1.0 km wide, yet more than 100,000 people live on it, making Male by some measures the world's most densely populated city.
The Maldives' great attraction is its coral atolls and underwater life. At the tender pier, it is easy to arrange a local-island visit or a snorkelling trip for less than $50.00 per person.
Nearby places
Snorkelling here is many times better than anywhere in the Caribbean.
The closest islands are within a 20 min speedboat journey.
Money
Maldivian Rufiya (MVR; symbol MRf) equals 100 laari. Banknotes come in MRf500, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 denominations; coins are MRf2 and 1, plus 50, 25, 10, 5, 2 and 1 laari.
Banks, resort islands, hotels and leading shops exchange major currencies. Hotels accept most hard currencies, particularly US Dollars, as cash, traveler's cheques or credit cards.