Maldives Culture and Customs: Islam, Local Islands and Etiquette

Maldivian law is based partly on Islamic sharia, and several rules apply to everyone in the country, resort guests included.

• Alcohol: illegal for Maldivians and banned on inhabited islands. It is sold only on resort islands, licensed liveaboards and safari boats, and at a few licensed hotels such as the one on the airport island of Hulhulé. Customs at Velana International Airport confiscates alcohol from arriving passengers, so do not buy duty-free on the way in.
• Imports: pork products, pornography, idols for worship and dogs are banned. Personal religious items for your own use are fine; handing out non-Islamic religious material or preaching is illegal.
• Drugs: penalties are severe, with long prison sentences for possession and up to life for trafficking. Bags are scanned on arrival.
• Nudity: nude and topless sunbathing are banned everywhere, including resorts.
• Relationships: sex outside marriage and same-sex relations are illegal under Maldivian law. Resorts welcome all couples, but keep affection private on local islands.
• Coral and shells: taking coral, shells or sand from beaches and reefs is prohibited, as is buying turtle-shell or black-coral products.

On any inhabited island, including Malé, Hulhumalé and guesthouse islands such as Maafushi and Thulusdhoo, cover shoulders and knees in the village: a T-shirt and shorts or a skirt to the knee is enough for both men and women. Women do not need to cover their hair except inside a mosque. Swimwear, bikinis included, is allowed only on the island’s designated tourist or bikini beach, which is marked with signs and often screened by a fence or a line of trees. On other beaches, local custom is to swim in shorts and a T-shirt.

Walking through the village in swimwear, even with a towel around you, is the mistake guesthouse owners most often have to correct; carry a sarong or kaftan to the beach. Public kissing or close embraces draw stares, and loud drinking talk about a resort trip is best kept out of earshot of families. Men and women greet with a smile and a nod; many Maldivian women do not shake hands with men, so let them offer first. Shoes come off at the door of homes and mosques.

The Maldivian weekend is Friday and Saturday. On Friday, shops, cafes and offices close from late morning to early afternoon for the main congregational prayer, most public ferries do not run, and local islands go very quiet until mid-afternoon. In Malé, shops and some cafes also close for about 15 minutes during each of the five daily prayers, so do not be surprised if a door is shut at 12:30 or 3:30pm.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. On local islands cafes close during daylight, guesthouses still feed their guests indoors, and you should not eat, drink or smoke in public in the daytime. After sunset the islands come alive: cafes open for the breaking of the fast, families eat late, and shops stay open towards midnight. Resorts run as normal, often with special iftar dinners. Ramadan moves about 11 days earlier each year; in 2027 it is expected to begin around 8 February and end with Eid al-Fitr around 9 or 10 March, with Eid al-Adha around 16 May, though exact dates depend on the moon sighting, so check before you go. Both Eids bring several days of public holidays, family visits, bodu beru performances and fully booked ferries and domestic flights.

The other fixed holidays visitors notice are Independence Day on 26 July, Victory Day on 3 November and Republic Day on 11 November, with parades and events mostly in Malé.

Malé has dozens of mosques, and two are worth seeing. The Old Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiy), built in 1658, is the country’s finest building: its walls are made of coral stone blocks carved with Arabic script and geometric patterns, and the cemetery around it is full of carved coral headstones, pointed for men and rounded for women. The interior is not always open to non-Muslims; ask at the gate outside prayer times, and you can always see the walls, the round Munnaaru minaret and the graves from the grounds. The Grand Friday Mosque of the Islamic Centre, with its golden dome, usually admits visitors outside prayer times.

Dress for any mosque visit with long trousers or a long skirt, covered arms, and for women a headscarf. Remove your shoes, do not walk in front of anyone praying, and avoid the hour around Friday prayer. Outside Malé, old coral-stone mosques survive on many islands, including Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll, whose finely fitted stonework is among the best in the country. In the capital, the National Museum in Sultan Park and the morning fish market on the northern waterfront round out a half-day in Malé.

Maldivian food is built on skipjack and yellowfin tuna caught by pole and line, coconut, chilli, curry leaves, lime and rice or flatbread. The day starts with mas huni, shredded smoked tuna mixed with grated coconut, onion and chilli, eaten with roshi flatbread and sweet black tea. Lunch is often garudhiya, a clear tuna broth served with rice, lime, chilli and onion, or mas riha, tuna curry. Rihaakuru, a thick brown paste made by boiling tuna down for hours, is the national condiment, salty and intense.

The best way to eat local is the afternoon tea-shop ritual. A sai hotaa (tea shop) lays out trays of hedhikaa, short eats such as gulha (fried dough balls stuffed with tuna and coconut), bis keemiya (pastries filled with tuna, egg and cabbage) and kulhi boakibaa (spicy baked fish cake), with sweet tea for a few rufiyaa each. You pay for what you eat from the plates on the table.

Eat and pass food with your right hand. After a meal you may be offered foah (areca nut) wrapped in bileh (betel leaf); it is fine to decline. On farm islands such as Thoddoo you can buy watermelon and papaya straight from the field. Fresh coconut toddy, raa, is tapped from palm trees and is sweet and non-alcoholic when fresh. Food on local islands is halal, and pork appears only on resort menus. Our where to stay guide explains resort meal plans.

Bodu beru (“big drum”) is the national music: a group of men, three or four on drums made of hollowed coconut wood covered with skin, a lead singer and a chorus, playing songs that start slow and build to a frantic beat while dancers move into the circle. Many Maldivians trace it to sailors from East Africa centuries ago. You will hear it at weddings, Eid and national holidays on local islands, and most resorts hire a troupe for a weekly bodu beru night. Thaara, a seated performance with tambourine-like frame drums and Arabic-influenced chanting, is rarer and seen mainly at religious celebrations.

English is spoken at every resort and guesthouse, but a few words of Dhivehi go a long way on local islands.

Spelling in Latin letters varies, because Dhivehi is written in Thaana; locals will recognise all of these. The far south speaks noticeably different dialects: people in Addu and Fuvahmulah understand standard Dhivehi but use their own words and pronunciation at home.

Almost every bill in a resort or guesthouse already carries a 10% service charge, so tipping is not required. Guests who want to thank particular staff, such as a room attendant, waiter or dive guide, usually leave a few US dollars a day in cash in an envelope at the end of the stay. On local islands, rounding up at a cafe is plenty.

Ask before photographing people, especially women and children, and do not photograph police, military or government buildings in Malé. Point and pass things with your right hand, do not touch anyone’s head, and avoid criticising Islam or the government in public: conversations on small islands travel fast. Do not feed fish or sharks, stand on coral or bring home shells. Finally, respect quiet hours: on many local islands music and noise stop by 11pm, and drinking-related behaviour after a resort trip is the most common source of complaints about guesthouse guests.

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