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Best Resorts in Maldives: 10 Picks With Transfer Times and the Add-On Costs

The best resorts in Maldives: atoll, villas and transfer times for ten islands, and what a stay costs after the 10% service charge, 17% GST and green tax.

By Wijet Editors

At a glance

Maldives resort stay: the add-ons

Green tax
$12 per person per night
$12 at resorts and hotels, $6 at guesthouses; in force since January 2025, per Miadhu, March 2026
Tourism GST
17%
Raised from 16% on July 1, 2025, per Corporate Maldives
Service charge
Typically 10%
Usual resort practice, not a tax, per Dreaming of Maldives
Fully inclusive pick
Kudadoo
15 over-water residences in Lhaviyani Atoll, per the resort

The best resorts in Maldives depend on what you are paying for: space, privacy, food or the transfer. Soneva Fushi won best island resort in the 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards from International Traveller. Kudadoo is the fully inclusive pick, with 15 over-water residences and everything from spa to diving included, per the resort. The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli placed fifth among Indian Ocean resorts in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards in the US edition, per Visit Maldives.

The number on the resort’s page is never the number you pay. A 10% service charge, a 17% tourism GST and a $12 green tax per person per night all sit on top, and the transfer to the island is often a separate line. Below we list the picks, the add-ons and the season, and say clearly what we could and could not confirm.

How We Picked the Best Resorts in Maldives

We judged resorts on villa type, how you get there, what is included and whether a rate is published. We take no paid placement. Where a resort does not publish a rate, we say so instead of repeating a price from a booking blog. Our readers want a number they can check, so every price in this article names its source and date.

Where a resort’s own site gives little detail, we used the Maldives tourism board’s resort directory (maldives.com), a booking guide or a hotel group announcement, and name the source in the entry. Most resorts publish no rate without dates, so where we give a figure it is the directory’s “from” range, not a quote for your dates. Where a page lists no transfer details, we say so.

The Best Maldives Resorts

Soneva Jani

Soneva Jani is in Noonu Atoll, per Soneva. The resort offers Beach Villas, Overwater Villas and larger Signature Villas, and its Overwater Villas have retractable roofs, per the Soneva website. Soneva’s page lists no transfer type, time or from-rate, so ask the resort for both before you plan flights. Who it suits: couples and families who want an overwater villa with retractable roof.

Soneva Fushi

Soneva Fushi is in Baa Atoll, and Soneva calls it “the original barefoot island built around nature.” The resort lists an observatory with a resident astronomer, more than a dozen dining options and a coral regeneration program, per Soneva. It won best island resort in International Traveller’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards. Its villas are Beach Villas, Overwater Villas and larger Signature Villas, per Soneva, and the page gives no transfer details or from-rate. Who it suits: travelers who want a jungle island and space.

Cheval Blanc Randheli

Cheval Blanc Randheli is in Noonu Atoll, about 168 km from Velana International Airport, per the Maldives tourism board’s resort directory. It lists Island Villas, Water Villas and a Private Island, and says guests arrive by a bespoke Cheval Blanc seaplane in about 40 minutes, with private seaplane charter also offered. The directory shows the rate as “upon request” and gives a quote only through its planner. Who it suits: travelers who want a small resort of about 45 villas and are happy to request a quote.

One&Only Reethi Rah

One&Only Reethi Rah is in North Malé Atoll, per the UK agent Scott Dunn, which describes “oversized and luxurious beach and water villas,” with water villas on eight jetties, and 128 rooms in total. The agent’s page gives three different transfer times for the same trip, 40 minutes by speedboat in one place and 50 to 55 minutes by luxury yacht in others, so confirm the boat and the time with the resort. It lists no prices. Who it suits: travelers who want a large resort a short boat ride from Malé.

Joali

Joali is on Muravandhoo in Raa Atoll, per the Maldives tourism board’s resort directory. It lists 73 villas and residences, each with a private pool and butler service, among them Luxury Beach Villas, Luxury Water Villas and two- and three-bedroom residences. The directory gives a 45-minute seaplane transfer, or a domestic flight plus speedboat of about 55 minutes, and rates from $2,300 to $9,100, without saying whether that is per night or what it includes. Who it suits: couples and families who want a private pool in every villa.

Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi

Hilton announced the opening of Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi on July 3, 2019. It is in South Malé Atoll, with 122 villas across beach, reef and overwater categories, plus a private island with a four-bedroom residence, according to the announcement. Guests arrive by yacht in about 30 minutes from Malé International Airport, which makes it one of the shortest transfers on this list. We did not find a current rate. Who it suits: travelers who want a short transfer and a large resort.

Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru is in Baa Atoll, per the Lets Go Maldives guide. The guide lists about 101 rooms, from Sunrise and Sunset Water Villas to Beach Villas with Pool and family villas, and gives the transfer as 30 minutes by seaplane from the airport. It lists no room rates. Who it suits: families who want a mix of beach and water villas.

Kudadoo Maldives Private Island

Kudadoo is in Lhaviyani Atoll and has 15 over-water residences, per the resort. Each has a 44 square meter infinity plunge pool, and the island is described as fully solar-powered. Rates are fully inclusive, with spa, water sports, excursions, diving and dining, and a personal butler plans the itinerary. The resort lists Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star status for 2026, its fifth consecutive year. Kudadoo’s homepage lists no transfer details or rate, so ask the resort whether the transfer is included. Who it suits: travelers who want one price and no bill at the end.

Ayada Maldives

Ayada’s own site places it in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, in the south of the country. It lists suites and villas with pools, from a Garden Villa and Beach Villa with Pool to Ocean Suites and the Ayada Royal Ocean Suite with Pool. Guests fly from Malé in about 55 minutes, or take a 25 to 50 minute speedboat from the Huvadhoo Atoll airport, and the resort’s reservations team books the domestic transfer. The page lists no from-rate and points to a “Check rates” link. Who it suits: travelers who want a quieter southern atoll and do not mind a longer transfer.

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort

Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards placed it fifth among Indian Ocean resorts in the US edition, per Visit Maldives. The Maldives tourism board’s directory puts it in Dhaalu Atoll and lists 77 villas, each with a private plunge pool and butler service, including Garden Villas, Overwater Villas and a Two Bedroom Beach Suite. It says the resort is reached by a 45-minute seaplane from Malé, or by a domestic flight plus speedboat in about 65 minutes. The directory lists rates from $2,300 to $4,900 without saying what the figure covers, and lists no transfer fee. Who it suits: travelers who want a branded resort with a pool at every villa.

We did not include a value-luxury pick. We found no resort with a published, dated rate we could open, and we will not name a price we cannot show.

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Best Maldives All-Inclusive Resorts

What All-Inclusive Covers in the Maldives

The term is not standard. Kudadoo’s own page lists spa, water sports, excursions, diving and snorkeling, dining and a cheese and wine cellar as included. Other resorts sell tiered meal plans that stop at drinks or dining. Read what a plan includes before you compare prices.

Our Pick

Kudadoo is the only resort on this list whose own wording describes a fully inclusive rate, so it is the only one we name here. When a resort offers a meal plan, ask in writing whether it covers drinks, excursions and the transfer, because Joali’s directory listing shows a seaplane-inclusive offer only as part of a specific package.

Maldives Water Villa vs Beach Villa

Soneva’s own description gives the difference. Its Beach Villas are tucked into the jungle with beach access, and its Overwater Villas have direct water access and retractable roofs. Water villas are the postcard choice. For the wider world of overwater stays, see our overwater bungalows guide.

Water villaBeach villaSource
AccessDirect water accessBeach access, set into greenerySoneva
FeelOpen lagoon viewsPrivacy and shadeSoneva
Villa typesOverwater Villas, some with retractable roofsBeach Villas in the jungleSoneva

Verdict: choose a water villa for the lagoon and a beach villa for space and shade, and compare the two rates at the same resort before you decide.

The Real Cost of a Maldives Resort Stay

The room rate is the smallest surprise. These are the add-ons, with their sources.

LineAmountSource
Room rateSet by resortResort or Booking
Service chargeTypically 10%Dreaming of Maldives
Tourism GST17%Corporate Maldives; MIRA rate from July 1, 2025
Green tax$12 per person per night at resortsMiadhu, March 2026
Seaplane or speedboatSet by resort; the pages we opened list no feeResort and tourism board pages
Meal planSet by resortResort

Dreaming of Maldives gives an illustration: a $1,000 room charge for two nights, with a 10% service charge, then 17% GST, then $48 of green tax for two adults, comes to $1,335. That page says the order of the calculation should be confirmed with the resort. Use it as a guide to scale, not a quote.

The green tax was $6 at guesthouses and $12 at resorts, hotels and safari vessels from January 2025, per Miadhu, and children under two are exempt.

When to Go

The Maldives has a dry season and a wet season. The Maldives Meteorological Service says the northeast monsoon, the dry season, extends from January to March, and the southwest monsoon, the wet season, normally extends from mid-May to November. It treats December and April as monsoon transitional periods. Travel sites often stretch the dry season to December through April, but the official service does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best all-inclusive resort in the Maldives?
Kudadoo is the fully inclusive pick we could confirm. It lists spa, water sports, excursions, diving, snorkeling and dining as included, with 15 over-water residences in Lhaviyani Atoll. Check each resort's plan before comparing, because inclusions vary.
How much does a Maldives water villa cost per night?
There is no single price, because it depends on the resort and the season. The rate you see excludes a typical 10% service charge, the 17% tourism GST and the $12 green tax per person per night. Always compare the total, not the headline rate.
How do you get to a Maldives resort?
By speedboat, seaplane, or a domestic flight followed by a boat, depending on the resort. Letsgomaldives says speedboats take about 15 to 60 minutes, seaplanes about 20 to 60 minutes in daylight, and a domestic flight plus boat about 30 to 70 minutes of flying.
What is the Maldives green tax?
It is a per-person, per-night tax. Resorts, hotels and safari vessels charge $12, and guesthouses charge $6, in force since January 2025, per Miadhu. Children under two are exempt.
Is 5 nights enough in the Maldives?
For most travelers it is enough for a single island, because the main cost is the transfer and the add-on taxes rather than the number of nights. Longer stays spread the transfer cost across more days.

Sources

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