Malé Surf Guide

The surf in Malé has transformed from rarely crowded to always crowded over the last decade, helped by the fact that the capital has the highest population density in the world. The large, exclusively local crew are becoming increasingly territorial, because resorts on neighbouring islands exclude them (i.e: non-paying guests) from the line-up. This leaves them with effectively 1 wave to surf - Raalhugandu, the main break in town, which luckily, is one of the most consistent and powerful waves in Maldives. Really wedges at low, but the waves get messed up at high by the massive coastal armouring tetrapods that line the beach. When it maxes out on big SE swells, you could surf Rats treacherous lefts on the backside corner of the island or on the next island west, Vilingili, where shallow rights peel in the biggest swells. There’s a left beside the runway on Hulhumalé that is seldom surfed, because the tail section is deadly and access is not easy. Rightly or wrongly, Male's surfers feel aggrieved and will not welcome boat loads of surfers from the resorts arriving to steal "their waves". Few surf-tourists end up in Male for any length of time anyway, but if you do surf here, think how you would feel if you weren't allowed to surf your neighbouring beaches and give the locals extra respect.