Addu Atoll situation

Latest news for those eho plan to travel to Addu.

The situation in Addu and the Maldives is calm and daily life is continuing as normal.

Do's & Dont's

Do negotiate your taxi fare before climbing in.

Don't be surprised if you're called "Darling" or "Honey" in the Addu Atoll. It's as common a greeting in the Addu as "Mon" is in the Maldives.

Do experience the less touristy side of the Adduans: Travel between islands on a mail boat. Your companions will be Adduans (and sometimes their goats and chickens).

Don't expect to find full banking services on all islands. Make sure you have enough cash or traveler's checks if you go any islands

Dangers

While travel to the Addu Atoll is generally safe, some precautions should be taken and some dangers should be kept in mind.

Street crime

Street crime involving tourists does occur in the Addu Atoll, and normal precautions should be taken. The most common crimes against tourist in the Addu Atoll are mugging and pickpocketing. You shouldn't leave valuables in parked automobiles, on beaches and in other public places.

Cellular phones should be carried in a pocket rather than on a belt or in a purse. One increasingly common method of street robbery is for a person on a moped (often coasting with the engine turned off so as not to draw attention) to approach a pedestrian, grab the cell phone, purse or backpack, and then speed away.

Visitors to the Addu Atoll are advised to take only Guesthouse/hotel taxis or taxis operated by services whose cabs are arranged in advance by phone and can be identified and tracked. Passengers in private taxis are frequently the victims of pickpocketing.

Use of credit cards

Tourists are recommended to limit their use of personal credit cards due to credit card fraud. Credit cards should never leave the sight of the cardholder in order to prevent the card's information from being copied down for illegal use.

Strikes & demonstrations

Protests, demonstrations, and general strikes occur periodically in the Addu Atoll. Although these events are not targeted at foreigners, it is advisable to be cautious when traveling throughout the Atoll. Avoid large crowds and keep a low profile during protests.

Clothing

The Addu Atoll and Maldives is hot throughout the year. Light, summer cotton and linen wear is ideal. Pack lots of tee shirts, beachwear, light skirts, cotton shirts, slacks and shorts. At the resorts where you’ll have to walk on soft sand most of the time, going barefoot may be ideal for some.

However on visits to inhabited islands,where most of the streets areof compact sand, or Islands’ wheremost of the streets are paved, casual shoes or sandals are easy to walk on.

Regulations and norms

It must be said that official regulations do not allow public nudity anywhere in the Addu Atoll or the Maldives. Even at the beach on your resort or swimming or snorkelling around your cruise boat. At least bikinis or swimming trunks is a must. Most resorts do not allow swimwear inside the restaurants, to avoid offending fellow holidaymakers. At the in-house bars or restaurants casual cotton tropical wear is highly recommended.