Hotels near Male International Airport - MLE, Male City

Male looks like a super busy city with tons of motorbikes and gas pollution. I wish this city could prompt the substitution from gasoline motorbikes to electric bikes, which is more environmentally friendly and enhance the image of the country’s tourism and hospitality.

I prefer Hulhulmale to Malé when I have a stopover. It has a beach and isn't that busy and loud. The travelling time from the airport is only 15 minutes. Hulhulmale offers everything I need for my short stays.

One day is plenty. You can walk to the main square and all the main sights in one day. Entry to mosques is limited to certain times of the day (1-2) hour window so plan accordingly. Food/drink is fairly pricey and allow for 10% service charge and 17% Tax on published prices. Most places price in USD but will convert to local currency (at the prevailing exchange rate).

Hulhumale is great for crashing out after a long flight or for staying the night before an early flight. It is also a good base for visiting Male by ferry. The long straight beach is made up of broken coral and soft white sand. The off shore reef protects the beach and make swimming safe for children. There are also areas of shade from the palm trees for those who don't want to stay out in the sun. There are numerous cafes and restaurants of all kinds.

I only stayed overnight in Male and, in general, it was enough. Simply passing though to get my flight home. As expected the city is noisy, busy and hectic. Wow the contrast from the laid-back, easygoing atol where I was based for the holiday. However, I still quite enjoyed it. The guy from the diving company arranged a tour guide for me whose policy was that I pay him what I thought his time was worth. I got to experience the traffic from a scooter (quite scary to begin with) was taken to the market and given lots of free samples of local foods to try and had visits to all the important sites in three brilliant hours. He also introduced me to a wonderful restaurant - The Seagull Cafe- where I visited another twice before leaving the food and the coffee were so good.

I had previously stayed in Male city on two previuos visits and found it a pleasant place to stay. In the intervening 12 years since my last visit the entire Hulumale area has been developed and has become something of a dormitory suburb to Male city with the completion of the China Friendship Bridge. Male is now a somehwat traffic choaked hot and relatively dirty city with Hulhumale a relatively quiet place to stay with plenty of good restaurants and hotels to suit almost any budget. In addition there are plenty of options to keep you occupied from shark and manta dives, island tours and windsurfing, paddle boarding and even kite surfing advertised by tour groups located in the area.