Vakkaru Maldives
A natural island in Baa Atoll, wide enough to hold a forest and a resort at once.
Vakkaru sits in Baa Atoll, inside the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, about thirty minutes by seaplane from Malé or a domestic flight and a boat. The island is a natural one rather than a reshaped sandbank — round, wide and heavily wooded, with a house reef that circles it completely and a sandbank that appears offshore at low tide. Hanifaru Bay, where mantas and whale sharks aggregate in season, is within reach of the resort's boats.
Around 125 villas and residences hold the island, split between beach and overwater, with several restaurants, a spa built over the water and a children's programme that runs to teenagers. A resident marine biologist works the house reef with a coral propagation programme, and the resort publishes what the reef does rather than only that it exists.
A circular house reef. Most Maldivian resorts have a reef on one side. Vakkaru's runs the whole way round, which means the snorkelling changes with the wind rather than closing with it.
Room to disappear on a busy island. At 125 villas this is a large property, but the interior forest and the width of the island absorb it in a way a narrow sandbank cannot.
Who it is not for
Vakkaru is wrong for guests looking for a small, quiet island — this is a full resort with families, several restaurants and movement. It is wrong for travellers who want an adults-only atmosphere, which the property does not offer. And it is wrong for those wanting the barefoot informality of its Baa Atoll neighbours. Those wanting small should look at Soneva Secret or The Nautilus; those wanting barefoot should look at Soneva Fushi.
Sources
- vakkaru.com — around 125 villas and residences, Baa Atoll, house reef and marine programme
- UNESCO — Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve designation
- Villa count and coral programme figures unverified. Confirm before publication.
Booking
Private Island Resorts arranges each stay on request, quoting the rates available for the island and dates. No benefit should be assumed unless it is confirmed in writing for the individual reservation.
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