Noonu Atoll

Choosing the resort island first in Noonu Atoll

In Noonu the resort is the trip, so choose the island before anything else. The atoll has 71 islands, only 13 of them inhabited, with a small capital on Manadhoo, and many visitors never see a local island. Compare house reefs and villa layouts, and check the transfer and meal plan before paying a deposit.

The resort list is short. A recent count gives nine names: Velaa Private Island on Fushivelavaru, Cheval Blanc Randheli, Soneva Jani on Medhufaru, Siyam World on Dhigurah, Robinson Noonu on Orivaru, The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, NOKU on Kudafunafaru, Kuredhivaru and JOY. They differ enormously in scale and price. Compare villa layouts and house reefs, and read recent reviews about the food, because you will eat every meal there.

• Five nights on one island: enough for two dives or snorkel trips, a sandbank lunch and a sunset dolphin cruise without rushing.
• A diving week: plan around Orimas Thila, where grey and whitetip reef sharks patrol, and Christmastree Rock, also called Vavathi Kurohli Thila, for its soft corals. Noonu has the densest schools of fusiliers and snappers in the country.
• A split stay: four or five nights here, then a final night close to Velana in Kaafu, which takes the stress out of a morning flight home.

Before you pay a deposit, find out what the transfer is and what the meal plan includes. Both can add as much to the bill as the villa upgrade you were debating, and both are harder to change once you are on the island. You can compare resort rates across dates before committing.

Ask your resort which transfer it uses before booking your international flight.

Calm north-east monsoon seas and year-round spinner dolphins in Noonu

Noonu's marine life stays all year, including a large resident population of spinner dolphins, so the season decides sea state more than sightings. The north-east monsoon is the comfortable time, with February the driest month at about 29 mm on the Hanimaadhoo record, and the south-west monsoon, June to November, brings wind and heavier showers.

The atoll has a large resident population of spinner dolphins, and the shark and soft-coral sites are dived all year. What changes with the months is the sea state, and with it how much of your stay you spend underwater.

Noonu's figures come from Hanimaadhoo, the nearest weather station in the north. January to April brings the best diving visibility and the calmest crossings. December is already fairly settled at about 108 mm, right at the start of the peak season.

The southwest monsoon, June to November, brings heavier showers with wind and waves; July tops the chart with roughly 261 mm. Dive boats still go out, though the outer channels can be lumpy. Seaplanes are more likely to be held by squalls. The trade-off is lower resort rates and quieter house reefs.

Pack light whatever the month. The water stays warm all year, and a 3 mm shorty or a thin lycra skin is plenty for diving.

Noonu meal plans and the Maldivian dishes worth asking for

Pick your Noonu meal plan carefully, because there is nowhere else to eat. Breakfast is nearly always included, half board adds dinner, often a buffet, and full board covers lunch and dinner, with drinks usually extra. Ask the kitchen for Maldivian dishes such as mas huni, or eat on an excursion to Manadhoo.

Drinks are usually extra, and an all-inclusive deal typically covers house wine and spirits, with premium drinks charged extra. Compare these options against the number of restaurants on the island: a resort with one restaurant gets repetitive on half board, while one with several makes room-only booking risky for your budget.

Ask the kitchen for Maldivian food. A plate of mas huni, the usual island breakfast, or a tuna curry with rice is the easiest way to taste the country without leaving the resort.

An excursion to Manadhoo or another inhabited island is the only chance to see daily Maldivian life in Noonu. Treat it like visiting a village anywhere conservative: cover shoulders and knees, carry no alcohol, and save the swimwear for the boat. If you photograph homes or people, ask first.

A little local vocabulary goes a long way. Kandu means channel, as in Baraveli Kandu, the passage on the western side of the atoll, and baraveli itself is the Dhivehi word for a hermit crab. Hani Kandu in Baa Atoll is another name you may hear on a dive boat.