The Maldives is one of the most amazing countries that we have visited. Not only is it full of picture perfect beaches and crystal clear water, but also there is an endless list of once-in-a-lifetime activities to experience! The people are so friendly and we loved getting to experience a small part of the country through our stays on local islands.
One of our favorite islands that we stayed on was Fulidhoo. It was the perfect balance of relaxation and adventure! Some of our favorite highlights of our 5 day stay were relaxing on a remote sandbank and swimming with sharks and dolphins in the Maldives.
During our visit we stayed at The Pearl Seaview, a local guest house on the island that is family owned and operated. The family actually started the first guest house on Fulidhoo island, and just this year they opened their brand new guest house. Their entire team was so friendly and did everything they could to ensure that we had the best experience possible. Their Instagram @thepearlseaview does a great job of capturing the beauty of the island and amazing excursion opportunities. From our room we had an incredible view of the ocean. We spotted nurse sharks, stingrays, or turtles swimming through the coral! We loved our stay at The Pearl Seaview, their entire team, and the island of Fulidhoo.
The island itself is home to less than 300 local inhabitants. It is the perfect vacation getaway. There is only 1 car on the entire island – all the streets are “paved” with fresh sand. Em and I took our sandals off when we arrived and didn’t put them back on until we left! Although the island is a relaxing departure from the outside world, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of things to do. For starters, the island has incredible beaches with crystal clear water. We spent each day laying in the perfect, clear water on our floating hammocks.
Fulidhoo is famous for its large number of nurse sharks and stingrays. Chances are if you have seen a photo of people in the Maldives surrounded by sharks and rays while they laid in the shallow water it was taken in this atoll. Em and I saw sharks and rays swimming underneath us as we floated in the water. Although they look menacing, these animals are relatively harmless and are not interested in people. It was so cool at night walking out on the dock to see several sharks and rays floating under the island’s lights!
The excursions on Fulidhoo were some of our favorite experiences of our travels. There aren’t many places in the world where you can swim with dozens of sharks and dolphins in a short boat ride. The Pearl Seaview has their own speedboat and offers a variety of different tours. The tours are a fraction of the cost that resort islands charge and a lot more personable. We saw other boats full of 20+ people swimming with the sharks and dolphins. Such a big group can take away from the experience. On one excursion of ours, we were the only ones on the boat! The guest house customizes the excursion so that we had the best experience possible. We were able to stay away from the other boats with dozens of tourists for a much more personal experience.
Swimming With Dolphins
One of Em’s favorite experiences of our travels was swimming with dolphins in a lagoon near Fulidhoo Island. There were more than 100 dolphins in the area! We booked our excursion with The Pearl Seaview. There were only 3 other guests on the tour so we pretty much had our own personal tour. This was incredible for swimming with the dolphins. We tried a similar experience in Hawaii, but with a much larger group. Large crowds and splashing scare the dolphins away. Also, with so many people, there are only so many times that you can load on and off the boat. Because of this, big groups only get 2 or 3 chances to get in the water with the dolphins. With The Pearl Seaview, we were able to swim with them for as long as we wanted. Our small group meant that we were often the only ones in the water with the dolphins.
Several times I would be swimming with a pod of about 10 dolphins only to turn my head and see another group of 20-30 dolphins swimming underneath me! At one point, I was swimming along when a pod turned right towards me and swam around me. It was so cool getting to feel like one of them for a few seconds! The spinner dolphins were very playful. They often would play together, spinning under the water. Every once in a while one would jump out of the water and corkscrew through the air! It was an experience we will never forget!
Swimming With Nurse Sharks
Before we started traveling, I didn’t even know that it was safe or possible to be in the water with 30+ sharks swimming around you. However, that is exactly what we did during our stay on Fulidhoo Island. Nurse sharks are abundant all over the Maldives. However, this area in particular is home to more than 100 nurse sharks in a fairly concentrated area. Historically the sharks were drawn to this area to eat the scraps of fish that the local fishermen were cleaning.
Although we were rubbing elbows (or fins =) with more than 30 sharks, nurse sharks are more like dogs than vicious predators. They would often brush past us as if we were just another one of the sharks. Every direction we looked there was another shark. It was one of the coolest animal interactions that we have experienced! Our guides from The Pearl Seaview knew where to go to avoid the majority of other tourists and so that we were safe the entire experience.
Whether you are looking for pure relaxation, heart pounding adrenaline, or a mixture of both, The Pearl Seaview on the island of Fulidhoo is a great option! The family owned guest house was a great fit for us, and the team was so friendly and made sure we had the best stay possible. If you are interested in staying at their guest house or booking one of their excursions, visit their website here.
