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I recently solo backpacked the Maldives on a budget, visiting three different local islands in two weeks, and Ukulhas was undoubtedly my favourite of the local islands I visited.
With a picture perfect powder soft white sand beach, palms bent over the turquoise waters and one of the best house reefs for snorkelling I’ve had the pleasure to swim in, Ukulhas is a wonderful choice for a local Maldivian experience.
Read on for all my hand picked recommendations on where to eat on Ukulhas, which excursions you should do, where to stay and how to navigate getting to this far flung island on a budget.
Ukulhas Travel Guide Contents:
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WHAT IS UKULHAS IN THE MALDIVES LIKE?
Ukulhas is a fantastic choice for a local island Maldives experience! Not only is the island beautiful and boasts one of the best beaches I’ve ever been on, but there is plenty of accommodation to choose from in a range of budgets, and there are enough good restaurants to eat somewhere different every night for a least a week.
Ukulhas is part of the Alif Alif Atoll (also known as the North Ari Atoll) which is popular for Manta Ray sightings, and the island is one of the few places you can see them feeding each morning all year round. That said, I was one of the few unlucky ones who on one Manta Ray safari saw none! A massive rarity, but a change in the current moved the plankton which they feed on.
Please do adhere to the clothing rules on the local islands; it is a small ask to enjoy paradise and respecting any countries customs is an important part of travelling.
WHERE TO EAT ON UKULHAS
Being one of the larger and more developed local islands in the Maldives, Ukulhas has a better, wider range of restaurants and offers more varied cuisine across varying budgets than some of the other islands. For me this adds to the pull of Ukulhas if you’re stuck between choosing which local islands you should visit.
Something to bear in mind is that the Maldives is a dry country, so alcohol is only available to drink and buy on private resort islands, and won’t be available on any of the local islands, including Ukulhas.
BEST RESTAURANTS ON UKULHAS
Yellow Mango
Fantastic Thai restaurant in the middle of the island serving up solid Thai favourites, including a generous portion of mango sticky rice to round things off.
Taste
Taste is part of the Ranthari hotel and has a lovely secluded beach area where you can eat under festoon string lights hanging from the palm trees.
The food is excellent and well presented – fresh fish, pasta dishes and the most authentic pizza on the island. I had a beautiful seared tuna steak here that was cooked to perfection, and the coffee is great here too. One of the more expensive places to eat on Ukulhas but worth the extra pennies.
Basilico
Popular restaurant next to the sea, with tables sitting in the sand under festoon lights, the sound of lapping waves adding a special element to your evening dinner. The menu is large, with plenty of choice of fresh fish prepared different ways, as well as pastas, rice dishes and deccent pizzas.
Basilico can handle big groups, but be sure to book in advance if there are a lot of you.
Peperone
Reasonably priced restaurant near bikini beach offering all the local Maldivian favourites: fried rice, kotthu and fresh sea food alongside pizzas, pastas, fresh salads and kids meals.
A good option for lunch given the proximity to bikini beach.
Ona-Noa
New family run restaurant Ona-Noa served me the best fried rice dish of my time in the Maldives. A simple dish like fried rice should be straight forward but not all are created equal!
Fresh fish, noodles and some banging curries round off the menu at Ona-Noa; I’ll definitely be returning to try their butter chicken next time I’m on Ukulhas.
Celeste Restaurant
Popular restaurant set over three floors serving great curries with roti alongside momo dumplings, fresh seafood, pasta, pizza and wraps.
Celeste also have a dessert fridge full of patisserie and cakes, making it a great pit stop for coffee and cake on a wander around the island.
L’obsta De Sushi
One of the newer restaurants on Ukulhas offering, you guessed it: lobster and sushi! The restaurant has an area on the beach to eat under the palms and is the place to go if you want to indulge in a fancy lobster dinner during your time on the island.
The food is (understandably) at a higher price point given the lobster element, so perhaps not one for the backpackers amongst us, but a good option if you have the budget or want to celebrate a special occasions.
BEST JUICE BARS ON UKULHAS
Manta Bay
Drinks bar near the beach serving coffee, juices, smoothies and non alcoholic beers that you can take onto the beach in time for one of Ukulhas’ beautiful sunsets.
Ocular Bar
Beach bar with seating under the palms, or opt for a take away drink from their kiosk to enjoy on the beach. Also the place to enquire about signing up for watersports and hire a jet ski.
Uncle Bobo’s
Coffee and frappe bar that can also be found on Male, Uncle Bobo’s serves delicious creamy iced drinks and coffee, perfect to cool you down on a wander around the island.
BEST EXCURSIONS AND ACTIVITIES ON UKULHAS
On the Maldives, the hotels and guesthouses you stay at will be the go to for arranging your excursions. Aside from the ease, sometimes if your accommodation isn’t running a trip (due to lack of sign up numbers, for example) and you sign up via another guest house, they will call your accommodation to check that’s okay.
There’s a lot of respect involved when it comes to not taking business from each other unfairly, which is great!
Manta Ray Safari
The number one pull to the Ukulhas is the fact the island is one of the best places to see Manta Rays all year round.
There is a large population of Mantas that feed on plankton in the reefs around Ukulhas in the morning, though please bear in mind nothing is guaranteed!
There was a change in current when I was there and on my first safari I saw no mantas! The next day I luckily saw one, and it was so worth the wait. It’s quite normal to see around 15 of these beauties, feeding close to the surface.
With Nala Veli hotel, the Manta Ray excursion was on offer for $50pp down from the usual $65pp during my stay.
Whale Shark Safari
Another gentle giant of the sea, whale sharks are incredible creatures and a safari to seek them out is a popular excursion whilst in The Maldives.
Whilst it is possible to do a whale shark safari from Ukulhas, this will be significantly higher in price than some other places due to the distance to the South Ari Atoll, where the whale sharks can be found most easily. It will also depend on numbers as it is an expensive trip to run, so there will be a minimum number of people required for the trip to go ahead.
If you are going to Dhigurah, or even Omahoo, which is closer than Ukulhas to Dhigurah as it sits in the same atoll, I would save this trip until you’re there as it will be a lot cheaper.
Please never touch the mantas or the whale sharks! Or any sea life for that matter. The mantas will come up close to you on the surface, but they won’t hurt you.
Snorkelling
One of the best past times in the Maldives is of course snorkelling. The marine life is amongst the best in the world: all types of sharks, rays, turtles, colourful fish, corals – the Maldives have it all.
There is an excellent house reef just off of bikini beach on Ukulhas and most guesthouses and hotels will have snorkelling equipment either included for guests or offer masks and fins for hire for a small fee.
If you want to go further afield on an organised snorkelling trip they will also be able to arrange this for around $50-60pp; there are some excellent reefs a bit further out.
Diving
There are several dive shops on Ukulhas offering diving; and the atoll is particularly good for diving – if you’re lucky you may even see a manta or a whale shark swimming alongside you!
You can see so much snorkelling, but of course you will have a different experience when diving, and the Maldives boasts excellent visibility.
I’m an advanced diver but as I’m out of practice, I stuck to snorkelling for my two weeks in the Maldives, though I am fully intending on returning next year and I will definitely dive next time.
Picnic on a Sand Bank
Visiting a sand bank is high on most lists for any trip to the Maldives! Your accommodation will be able to arrange this for you, and based on the tides they can arrange a private lunch or dinner on the sand bank too.
Deep Sea Fishing
The Maldives offers excellent deep sea fishing across the country, but before Ukulhas turned to tourism to boost its economy, the island’s population were mostly tuna fishermen, so Ukulhas is a particularly good place to try your hand.
Resort Day Trip
In my esteemed opinion, no trip to the local Maldives islands is complete without a day trip to a nearby resort island to see how the other half live for the day!
I did a day trip to a resort out of Gulhi, but Ukulhas have a couple of resorts nearby that offer the opportunity to visit on a day pass. It’s a total dream to pretend you’re super rich and fancy even for the day, and I highly recommend for a taste of luxury and a bit of day drinking, if that’s your thing!
A day trip to either the nearby Nika or Ellaidhoo resorts can be arranged by your hotel or guest house, where you can indulge in excellent food and sip on cocktails (yes, alcoholic ones!) for the day. Prices vary depending on the resort and usually how many people are signed up to the day trip.
Jet Skiing
Ocula Bar on bikini beach offers jet ski hire. They also offer the other usual excursions and even a banana boat ride!
WHERE TO STAY ON UKULHAS
There are a good range of hotels and guest houses on Ukulhas for all budgets. All accommodation has air con and hot water, and across the Maldives all stays will generally include breakfast of varying quality.
I saved money by booking in advance on Booking.com for my time in the Maldives, though it’s hard to tell if this was the way things go in the Maldives generally, or if I benefitted from being organised as my trip was timed with the Easter holiday. Probably a bit of both!
I stayed at Nala Veli for 3 nights and my biggest takeaway from my time there was how wonderful the staff were. Kind and friendly, they made me feel so welcome, especially as a solo traveller.
Rooms are spacious, very comfortable and have lovely bathrooms (a separate shower instead of a wet room! Backpackers will understand this rare joy…), and the hotel is a minute from bikini beach.
They provide beach towels you can change daily and sunbeds for guests, and the buffet breakfast provided a solid start to the day. There’s also a fridge in the room to keep your convenience store haul cool.
Nala Veli organised excellent excursions and gave guests a discount on all of them; they organised two manta ray safaris with knowledgable skippers committed to do their best to find mantas for me! Highly recommend. Book here.
Perhaps the most luxurious of the hotels on Ukulhas, Ranthari sits right on bikini beach and has the added draw of a rooftop pool with ridiculous views if you’ve somehow become sick of the white sands and turquoise waters off of the beach.
Rooms at Ranthari are clean and modern, many boasting balconies from which you can enjoy unparalleled sea views, and is one of the only hotels on the island with a gym and spa on site.
Taste restaurant sits in Ranthari and is well worth going to even if you aren’t staying there, and if their coffee and dinners are anything to go by, breakfast will be a treat. Book here.
Good budget option a couple of minute’s walk to bikini beach – you can get rooms here for under £50 ($66) at certain times of year, though I have seen some dates for as much as £200, which is over priced for Olumathi Inn.
The rooms are spacious and there is a small shared courtyard you can enjoy and hang up any wet clothes from the day’s snorkelling. The hosts are super friendly, gladly picking me up from the harbour and decorating my bed in petals and towel swans for my arrival (I stayed for 1 night as planned). Beach towels are included too. Book here.
A new, stylish, modern hotel with large rooms with the added bonus of a pool in a secluded garden for guests to enjoy. There are various areas to relax around the hotel, including a decking area with comfortable bean bag chairs, the perfect spot to read in the peace and quiet.
ARIA Beach has an apartment option that can sleep five across two bedrooms and a living room, including a small kitchen area. Book here.
Boutique B&B with three well equipped bungalows, each with their own tropical garden space complete with sun loungers.
Close to bikini beach, at Beach Villas Ukulhas you’ll enjoy a personalised experience from the friendly hosts and a great breakfast included in the rate.
The rooms are very spacious with the option to add beds for children; this and the private garden make this a good option for families. Book here.
OTHER
LOCAL CUSTOMS
The Maldives is a Muslim country, so there is no alcohol served on any of the local islands (only the private resorts) and modesty with regard to clothing must be adhered to outside of the designated bikini beach for tourists on the island.
Only on bikini beach are you permitted to wear (you guessed it) a bikini, and when walking around the island and to the beach you should cover up accordingly. Below is one of the signs that you’ll find on Ukulhas, and on checking into your accommodation you are gently reminded of this custom.
IS THERE AN ATM ON UKULHAS?
Yes, there is a Bank of Maldives ATM near the harbour on Ukulhas, so don’t panic if you run out of cash whilst there.
Some restaurants will happily take card on Ukulhas too, as will hotels and guesthouses, but please note that there will usually be a 3% charge on top of your bill.
Restaurants will accept US dollars and Maldivian Rufiyaa in cash, but hotels will only accept cash in US dollars. It’s worth taking plenty of US dollars for your trip to save on extra card charges, if you can.
CONVENIENCE STORES
There are quite a few convenience stores on Ukulhas where you can buy postcards, drinks, ice creams, snacks, fruit and toiletries, though I found Faiykuri Mart to be the best.
Please note that sun cream is sold at a premium in the Maldives, so best to bring plenty with you for the duration of your trip.
MEDICAL
Ukulhas has a medical centre should you be in need, and they are currently building a hospital which will become the go-to for the atoll, though this is a long way off yet.
CONSTRUCTION
Like many of the local islands in the Maldives, there is a fair amount of construction on the island as the country invests in tourism in a continued effort to build the economy.
Unfortunately some of these projects are paused and left unfinished due to lack of finances, so you will see some half built hotels around. I didn’t notice after a while unless walking right past it – the beach and ocean are beautiful enough to cancel this out!
Ukulhas is undergoing a project to extend the island with reclaimed land from the sea. The manger of Nala Veli hotel took me to see this extra land, which will increase the island’s size by a third. The land will be used to build more guest houses and hotels to help the economy, but also provide good social housing for Maldivians. So interesting to learn what they are doing on Ukulhas to advance their future!
FITNESS
There is an outdoor gym for use on Ukulhas, not far from the harbour where the ferries and speed boats arrive, though some hotels have their own facilities. Bear in mind that you’re not on a five star resort island, so don’t expect anything state of the art!
GETTING TO UKULHAS, MALDIVES
LOCAL FERRIES
The information around the local ferries in the Maldives can feel really tricky to nail down at first. However, if you can figure them out and plan your days around the public ferries, you will save a lot of money.
Between Ukulhas and Male, the public ferry costs just £2.57 ($3.50). It takes 4 hours and runs as follows:
From Male to Ukulhas (also stopping at Rasdhoo): departs Male at 9am on Mondays and Thursdays, arriving at Ukulhas around 1pm.
From Ukulhas to Male (also stopping at Rasdhoo): departs Ukulhas at 9.45am on Sundays and Wednesdays, arriving at Male just after 2pm.
You can see the schedule here. It’s important to note that the schedule becomes a lot easier to decipher once you recognise that it needs to be read from right to left – the Maldivian language, Dhivehi, is derived from Arabic, hence reading it this way!
SPEEDBOAT
If budget is less of a concern, or you’re tied to certain dates and times of travel, you’ll opt for the speedboat between Male and Ukulhas. The journey takes 1.5 hours from Male and costs $50 each way per person.
This is easily arranged through your accommodation, and the fare is usually added to your hotel bill.
GETTING AROUND UKULHAS, MALDIVES
Ukulhas is tiny! You can walk from one end to the other in 10 minutes, so getting around on foot is the usual. That said, a lot of the locals have scooters which I found surprising. Hotels and guest houses will happily meet you from the speedboat at the harbour and take you and your luggage on a golf buggy to your accommodation.
Make sure to message your hotel or guesthouse in advance to save you carrying your luggage across the island – most of the accommodation is on the other side to the harbour, near bikini beach.
Even a small bit of rain can create big puddles on Ukulhas, and the island floods easily in rainy season or after a tropical storm. They are working on building pavements for the 3 main roads, but the golf buggy pick up will be particularly helpful if you have wheely suitcases with you and the rains have come!
UKULHAS IN A NUTSHELL
Ukulhas is my favourite of the Maldives local islands that I backpacked over two weeks. The beach is stunning, the house reef is fantastic and the opportunity to snorkel with the gentle giants of the sea, manta rays, cannot be missed!
With plenty of great restaurants with varied cuisine, excellent accommodation options across a variety of budgets and friendly people, Ukulhas is a must visit when backpacking the Maldives.
If you’ve enjoyed this guide to Ukulhas island, be sure to check out my other Maldives blogs here:
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