The Maldives: the story, and the trip.

A country made of coral

The Maldives is almost 1,200 coral islands, grouped in a chain of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-west of India. Fewer than 200 of them are inhabited. The ground is so low, about a metre and a half above the sea on average, that it is the lowest-lying country in the world.

For about 1,400 years the islands were Buddhist. Sailors and traders crossing the Indian Ocean stopped there, and the islands had something everybody wanted.

Shells that were money

That something was the cowrie, a small, shiny sea shell. Cowries collected in the Maldives were used as money across Asia and along the coast of East Africa. In Bengal they were legal tender alongside gold and silver, and the Maldives exchanged them for rice in what historians describe as the largest shell-money trade in history. Centuries before tourists, the islands were already in the business of selling something beautiful from the sea.

The sea demon and the conversion

The traditional date for the islands becoming Muslim is 1153. The last Buddhist king, Dhovemi, converted and took the name Sultan Muhammad al-Adil.

The Maldivians tell it with a legend, which Ibn Battuta wrote down two centuries later. A demon called Rannamaari came out of the sea every month, and the islanders had to give it a young girl. A visitor from North Africa, Abu al-Barakat al-Barbari, took the girl's place one night and recited the Quran until morning. The demon never came back, and the king converted. Whatever happened, the Maldives has been Muslim ever since.

Ibn Battuta, judge of the islands

The great Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reached the Maldives in the 1340s, in the middle of a journey that took him from Tangier to China. He meant to pass through. Instead the rulers, who wanted a learned man, made him the islands' chief judge, the qadi. He married into local families, tried to enforce stricter rules than the islanders liked, and left after a falling-out with the court.

His account is one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the Maldives: the cowrie trade, the coconut rope used to sew ships together, and a society where, to his surprise, women held real influence.

Fifteen years of Portuguese rule

In 1558 the Portuguese, who were building an empire of ports across the Indian Ocean, occupied Malé. Their rule did not last. A local leader from the northern island of Utheemu, Muhammad Thakurufaanu, organised a revolt with his brothers, attacked by sea, and in 1573 drove the Portuguese out. He became sultan, and the Maldives still celebrates the victory as its National Day.

Protectorate, independence, resorts

From 1887 the Maldives was a British protectorate: the sultans ran the country, Britain handled defence and foreign affairs. Independence came on 26 July 1965, and in 1968 the sultanate became a republic.

Then came the idea that changed everything. On 3 October 1972 the first resort, Kurumba, welcomed its first guests. Today tourism is the heart of the economy, and the country that once exported shells now welcomes visitors from all over the world, the UAE among the closest.

The same thing that makes the islands beautiful makes them fragile. With the ground so close to the sea level, the Maldives has become the world's best-known warning about rising oceans. In 2009 its government even held a cabinet meeting underwater, in scuba gear, to make the point.

See the story for yourself

Most visitors never leave their resort. If you have half a day, it is worth it.

Getting there from the UAE

• Flights. About four hours from the UAE to Velana International Airport in Malé. Compare Dubai to Malé flights. Book early for National Day: Khaleej Times reports fares for the break can nearly double.
• Visa. No visa needed in advance. Every tourist gets a free 30-day entry stamp on arrival.
• The one form you must not forget. Fill in the free Traveller Declaration on the official IMUGA portal within 96 hours before you arrive, and again before you leave. Keep the QR code.
• From the airport. Resorts are on their own islands. Your resort arranges the speedboat, seaplane or domestic flight, and seaplanes only fly in daylight, so check your landing time.
• When to go. The dry season, roughly December to April. Early December is why the islands top UAE bookings for National Day.
• Local islands. Guesthouses on inhabited islands are much cheaper than resorts. The Maldives is a Muslim country: dress modestly on local islands, use the designated bikini beaches, and note that alcohol is only served in resorts.

Before you fly

• Mobile data. Resort Wi-Fi varies. Airalo and Saily sell Maldives eSIMs you can install before you leave.
• Reef-safe sunscreen. Many resorts ask for it to protect the coral. See reef-safe sunscreen on Amazon.ae.
• Your own snorkel mask. Resort gear is often worn out. Snorkel sets on Amazon.ae.
• A waterproof phone pouch for the boat trips. See them on Amazon.ae.
• A book for the beach. A Kindle stays readable in direct sun, which a phone does not. Which Kindle to buy.
• Insurance. Not required for entry, but medical care on remote islands means evacuation by boat or plane. EKTA travel insurance.

Questions people ask

The history is from the sources below. The travel tips are research from official and booking sites, not a personal trip report. Links to activities, flights, eSIMs and insurance may earn me a commission through Travelpayouts, and Amazon.ae links through Amazon Associates, at no extra cost to you. The IMUGA and Wikipedia links are plain links. Full disclosure.

Sources

1. UAE National Day break: airfares could double for popular tourist destinations, Khaleej Times, September 2026 (dnata Travel and Emirates Holidays booking data)
2. History of the Maldives, Wikipedia
3. Maldives, Wikipedia
4. Maldives, Encyclopaedia Britannica
5. Ibn Battuta, Wikipedia
6. Shell money, Wikipedia
7. Muhammad Thakurufaanu, Wikipedia
8. Traveller Declaration, Maldives Immigration (IMUGA), official

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