Gulhi Island is located 20 kilometers South Male on the way to the popular Maafushi island. Gulhi island is a paradise to discover and we really loved our time in this tiny island. We will write for you all the things to do in Gulhi island, where to stay, where to eat in our Gulhi travel guide.
Gulhi island has only 900 people and it’s so quiet. Only 500 meters island and you can reach everywhere in 5 minutes walking distance. Amazing sunrises and sunsets with blue water and white sand in the bikini beach became in our favorite local island in Maldives.
GETTING TO GULHI BY PUBLIC BOAT
If you want to get by public boat to Gulhi Island. You have to get to Villigili ferry terminal in Male and there are daily boats leaving to Gulhi and Maafushi at 3 pm except Fridays. The ticket costs $1.5 USD. The trip will take 1 hour and 30 minutes and the boat will continue to Maafushi Island.
GETTING TO GULHI BY SPEED BOAT
There are a few speed boats leaving from Male and the airpot to Maafushi Island, they will stop in Gulhi Island. It takes 30 minutes to reach there and the prices are $25 USD. The best way to arrange the speed boat is with your guesthouse.
PRIVATE BOAT
This option can be great if you are traveling in a group. Prices can be around $200 USD to reach Gulhi island from Velana International Airport.
BEST TIME TO VISIT GULHI ISLAND
You should make sure to visit Gulhi Island on its sunniest months. The dry season begins in December and lasts until April, so this would be the best time to visit Gulhi Island. This is the peak season for tourists and lands on important holidays like Christmas, New Year and Easter. If you visit on May to August, you can experience Maldives’ monsoon season. The country may not be at its best but can still be enjoyed. Especially if you’d like to get discounts in hotels for as much as 40% as this is Maldives’ low season. Click here to know when is the best time to visit Maldives!
Click here to know more about the weather in Gulhi!
ATM IN GULHI ISLAND
There is no ATM in Gulhi island so make sure you bring cash from Male. Local currency and USD are accepted. If you need to get cash you can go to Maafushi for a day trip 30 minutes boat ride where you can find an ATM or going back to Male.
VISA AND CURRENCY IN MALDIVES
Maldives is Visa-friendly. You will get 30 days free visa when landing in Maldives. You just get a stamp and you’re good to go! The official currency in the country is the Maldivian Rufiyaa and the exchange rate is around $1=15.4 Rufiyaas. Click here to know the exact exchange rate before you visit.
WIFI AND INTERNET CONNECTION IN GULHI ISLAND
Internet connection was working great in Gulhi Island! We managed ourselves for work with the wifi of our guesthouse. We recommend you to buy a local Sim card in Maldives. So you will enjoy of data connection when wifi is intermittent. A local Sim card costs $30 USD for 14 days with 17 GB and $20 USD for 7 days.
Read here Maldives tourist sim card and Maldives itinerary!
DAILY BUDGET TRAVEL IN GULHI ISLAND
You can get snacks for 2-3 RFY ($1=15.4 RFY). It´s very common for locals have tea with these snacks. You can have rice with fish curry for 25 RFY where they will give you a kind of chips for free, perfect for sharing the food. Most of the dishes have fish and curry but you can also find chicken here A bottle of water costs 15 RFY while cookies and small snacks go for 5-10 RFY. Foreigners’ meals cost $7-10. It’s mostly just pizza and pasta, though. There is also Chinese food for around $5-6 USD per dish.
If you decide to do activities will cost you $30 USD per person for snorkeling, dolphin watching and visiting the sand bank. If you decide to visit a luxury resort in a day trip with activities and lunch included will cost you $100-150 USD per person. In our opinion much better if you travel as a couple find a great deal and stay in the resort. Click here to find the best hotel deals in Maldives with Agoda.
There are only 11 guesthouses and hotels in Gulhi Island. Prices starting from $40-60 USD depending on the season. Most of them included breakfast so take advantage of that freebie. We stayed at Sandy Heaven Maldives and everything was great. We will write below in this blog post about our experience with pictures.
You can also do Airbnb in Gulhi Island click here to get $30 USD of your first booking with AirBnB.
Read here our review of Kuramathi Island Resort!
Click here to check the best deals in Gulhi Island!
HOW MANY DAYS SHOULD I SPEND IN GULHI ISLAND
Gulhi Island is quiet and small and you can go around everywhere in just 10 minutes. We loved it the sunset in South Beach and the sunrise in bikini beach. Our favorite was spending time in the bikini beach our favorite beach in Maldives so far.
We recommend you to stay at least two days enjoying this paradise. We stayed 3 days and we didn’t go around just snorkeling, swimming, taking pictures and catching up with work online.
We felt so relaxed in Gulhi Island. If you do day trips you can go to Maafushi and come back with the public boat the same day. You can go for diving, snorkeling, dolphin watching and watersports. You can ask your guesthouse and they will arrange day trips for you. An excursion it’s usually $30 USD per person and you need a minimum of two people joining.
THINGS TO DO IN GULHI ISLAND
Gulhi Island is calm and relaxed place. There are many things to do from day trips to other islands and excursions to snorkeling and enjoying sunsets, sunrises at the bikini beach.
1. RELAXING AT BIKINI BEACH
The bikini beach at Gulhi Island was definitely our favorite beach in Maldives. It was so perfect with white sand, blue water calm and with the swing in front to take pictures. You can also try to do snorkeling since the water is so clear you will have to go little bit far to reach the reef from the beach.
2. DAY TRIP TO MAAFUSHI ISLAND
You can go for a day trip to Maafushi Island leaving in the public boat around 4 pm to Maafushi. It will take 30 minutes and it will cost $1.5 USD. There is no public boat until next 7 30 am morning going back to Gulhi Island. So you can go to Maafushi Island enjoy the sunset, having dinner since there are more options than in Gulhi. You can wake up early morning enjoying the sunrise and going back to Gulhi Island with the public boat.
3. SUNRISE AT GULHI ISLAND
You can have an amazing sunrise at Gulhi Island in the bikini beach. The colors are amazing and you will enjoy the beach for yourself with the views to the swing with low tide..
4. SUNSET AT GULHI ISLAND
For the sunset at Gulhi Island is in the South Beach where there is also a swing. You can also enjoy the colors from the port which is 2 minutes walking distance from South Beach. Sunsets are really beautiful in Gulhi Island.
5. SNORKELING
Just grab your snorkeling gear if you don’t have you can ask to your resort or renting around the island. The water is so clear and you can spot sharks, fishes and take nice shots. If you want to join to a snorkeling trip prices are around $30 USD.
6. FISHING TRIPS
The resorts offer fishing trips during the day and sunset time 1-2 hours and the prices are around $30 USD. You can go on a speed boat. And also they have the option of go for fishing in a traditional dhoni. The best time is at sunset and if you fish they will cook for you and you will have fresh dinner.
7. SAND BANK DAY TRIP
We didn’t join for a sand bank trip in Gulhi since we did in previous islands. But prices are similar and it’s so worth it the experience. Better going early morning or at lunch time to avoid the crowd. Prices are around $35 USD per person.
8. TURTLE SNORKELING
If you want to try turtle snorkeling you will have to join a tour organized for the guest houses. Prices are around $30 USD per person. The trip will take 1-2 hours.
9. DOLPHIN WATCHING
One of the most popular things to do in Gulhi Island is dolphin watching at sunset time. The activity costs $30 USD per person and it will take 1-2 hours.
10. WATER SPORTS IN GULHI ISLAND
There are a few sports that you can enjoy like jet ski. You can rent and going around the beautiful waters of the island. The most popular water sport in Gulhi Island is the Jet Ski and you can rent in the bikini beach.
11. DAY TRIP TO A LUXURY RESORT
There are tours going to luxury resorts and prices are going from $100-150 USD per person depending how many people are joining with lunch included, snorkeling and visiting sand banks.
In our opinion 2 people paying $150 USD will be $300 USD and if you click here you will find offers to stay one night for $300-400 USD in a luxury resort and enjoying the paradise of Maldives. Who isn’t been dreaming with this?
WHERE TO STAY IN GULHI ISLAND
Well this is the best part of our trip to Gulhi Island. We stayed at Ayala Maldives. Since the first moment you will feel like at home with an amazing set up romantic in the room and snacks and juice for your enjoyment. They make you feel special and it was our favorite guesthouse in Maldives.
The breakfast was amazing bread, croissants, cereals, sausages, egg, juice and coffee there is no way you finish all the food is too much and so delicious!
Our last day we left early morning in the public boat to Male 8 am and they packed our breakfast and took our luggage to the port. We realized that 9.8 in Booking it’s not easy to reach but our staying was amazing!
WHERE TO EAT IN GULHI ISLAND
There are a few local Cafe’s in Gulhi Island. Prices are so affordable between $6-8 USD per dish and having the Maldivian snacks for $1 USD 5 pieces. You can find Western food and expect to pay $8-15 USD per dish.
You will find small supermarkets for buying water, sodas, cookies and the essentials for affordable prices. There are souvenirs before entering to the bikini beach. In the South beach there is a soccer field and volleyball court. We were surprised how much Maldivian people love soccer. You will find a soccer field in all the islands even Gulhi island is so small you will find it.
Hope you find useful our favorite things to do in Gulhi Island and feel free to share our Gulhi Island travel guide with your friends going to Maldives. You will enjoy paradise for affordable prices.
