26 natural atolls 1,192 coral islands, about 200 inhabited Visa on arrival Free 30 days, most nationalities Green tax $12/night resorts · $6/night small guesthouses Best diving visibility Dry season, roughly Dec–Apr One island, one resort The concept that shaped Maldives tourism Guesthouses on local islands Legal since 2009 — a genuine budget route 26 natural atolls 1,192 coral islands, about 200 inhabited Visa on arrival Free 30 days, most nationalities Green tax $12/night resorts · $6/night small guesthouses Best diving visibility Dry season, roughly Dec–Apr One island, one resort The concept that shaped Maldives tourism Guesthouses on local islands Legal since 2009 — a genuine budget route
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Atoll code · HA

Haa Alifu Atoll

Haa Alifu sits at the far northern end of the Maldives, well outside the resort-dense central atolls, and tourism here is a genuinely different proposition — this is a region defined by its distance from Malé and its local-island communities as much as by any resort scene.

What's there

Hideaway Beach Resort & Spa (see our Hideaway Beach profile) is the atoll's best-known international property, and one of the more established reasons visitors travel this far north at all rather than staying within the central atolls.

What to expect

Reaching Haa Alifu means a domestic flight rather than a resort speedboat or seaplane package, and beyond its one resort, the experience on offer is closer to independent local-island travel (see our guesthouses guide) than a bundled resort stay.