are unsure of when the best time to visit the Maldives is, I have good news for you. It's a slightly complicated topic discussed in detail below, but the quick answer is that almost any time you can make it, the Maldives will be waiting for you with nearly-perfect warm and sunny weather.

Its location starting around the equator and stretching up for about 1,000 kilometers puts it in the sweet spot for warm weather literally every day of the year. You are probably going to be looking into water villas in the Maldives, and we can help you with that elsewhere on this website. Maldives weather is usually perfect for an island resort in the Indian Ocean, although it does change slightly through the year.

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Short version

At the risk of sounding like a sales agent, for most people the best time to visit the Maldives is the time you have available. The temperatures are warm and somewhat humid every day of the year, and there is only a small risk of a quick rainstorm any day.

 

The driest and most popular season to Visit Maldives is January through April, and that is also when you’ll see the highest room rates and airfares. From late May through early July there is at least a small chance that you’ll have a few rainstorms that last hours rather than minutes, so those are probably best avoided on at least your first visit to a beach resort or hotels in the Maldives.

 

From August through December you’ll probably get at least a few quick rainstorms in any given week, but honestly those can be enjoyable for reasons discussed below. In this period you also get lower Maldives hotel prices and smaller crowds, so it’s a good time to come for most people if you’re looking for cheap holiday packages.

Important: The Maldives covers a huge area and the climate can vary a bit

The Maldives stretches about 1,000 kilometers from north to south, and the southernmost resorts are actually a bit south of the equator. Most of the larger and more established resorts on local islands are reasonably close to Male Airport, which is about two-thirds of the way from the southernmost islands. The rain forecasts for the country are mostly for the area around the capital, and spa resorts in the northern and southern islands often have different rain patterns, by at least a bit.


Maldives weather is almost always the same, year round

As we will discuss just below, there are some months that are typically drier and other months that are typically wetter in the Maldives, but the temperatures are almost exactly the same all year and most days in any month are sunny and dry.

 

Even in the driest months in the Maldives, you have a pretty good chance of seeing some clouds for an hour or two, and maybe even a quick downpour. And even in the wettest months, you will get mostly dry and sunny days where you might have clouds for 3 or 4 hours and possibly a quick cloudburst. Honestly, the difference between the two isn’t much, and it’s fairly humid every day of the year as well. If you were coming on a golf holiday it might be a problem, but you don’t come on a Maldives holiday for golf.

Driest and most dependable months: January through April

As every Maldives weather chart will show you (such as our Maldives weather by month), the least rainy months in the Maldives are January through April, for most of the country and a lot of the Indian Ocean. This is also the busiest and most expensive time for Maldives tourism, partly because it’s also the worst time of year in the areas where most guests come from (Europe, China etc).

 

If you want to try your best to avoid any rain it’s best to visit Maldives islands like Baa Atoll or Ari Atoll during this period if you can afford it. It should also be mentioned that April is the hottest month and since it’s always somewhat humid this might make it less than ideal for people who are sensitive to that.

The most expensive time of the year: late December

Starting on the weekend before Christmas, the Maldives has its peak season for room rates and airfares. It’s the tail end of the wetter season, but obviously it’s the Christmas holidays, which drives the popularity, particularly in spa resorts or in Dhaalu Atoll Maldives.

 

Starting around 10-January you’ll get lower room rates and slightly better weather as well, so avoid Maldives travel at Christmas unless you have no other choice.


Also important: Rain storms tend to be short and can have benefits

If you are new to holidays in the Tropics and South Pacific you might not realize that rain storms near the equator are almost always short and intense. It is often sunny until 2pm and then cloudy by 3pm. A few minutes later the skies open up and it pours for 10 to 30 minutes. Then just as quickly as it started the rain is over and the clouds start to part.

 

The rain increases the humidity by a bit, but it also tends to decrease the temperature so it feels a little cooler in those late afternoons after a downpour. More importantly, the few lingering clouds usually make for a much more beautiful sunset, especially compared to a sunset on a perfectly sunny afternoon. In other words, you take the good with the bad and those rainstorms are often refreshing. It sometimes rains overnight as well, but rarely in the mornings.

Months you may (or may not) want to avoid: Late May through early July

While the patterns of quick thunderstorms are true most of the year throughout the Maldives, the time of the year they can be different centers around June. I’ve discussed Maldives weather with many experienced workers and destination experts there, and they all seem to agree that June is sometimes (but not always) problematic.

 

Through the rest of the year the rainstorms in the Maldives rarely last more than 45 minutes, but from late May through early July it can sometimes rain for hours at a time, or even for most of a few days at a time. It’s still quite warm in June so it’s not like you’d be looking for a rain jacket, and most people either stay in the bars at their resort in the Maldives or find other shelter to watch the storm from a dry place.

 

Because June is the riskiest month it’s also the least popular and therefore cheapest month to visit. And chances are you’ll have very nice weather on any given week. Many savvy Maldives fans come each June because they can afford a nicer place with smaller crowds, and the rain isn’t much of a problem anyway. But if you don’t like to gamble with rain, it’s best to avoid late May through early July. In many places this is the most popular period for honeymoons and romance holidays, and at least you can get great beach resort deals if you come then.

August through December: Short rainstorms and lower room rates

Keeping in mind that the short rain storms can actually be refreshing and are rarely problematic, the best time to visit the Maldives for many people will be from August through December where you get great weather along with smaller crowds and lower room rates at the island resorts. Maldives tourism season runs all year long and holiday packages this time of year are cheaper than from January through April.

 

Compared to January through April, it does rain more often in the last 5 months of the year, but often the rain is overnight and long rainstorms are extremely rare. If you are thinking about coming to the Maldives during this period I wouldn’t hesitate to book at all. And again, it can rain on any day of the year in the Maldives, and most days are mostly sunny all year round. Water temperatures are pleasantly warm all year long so there is no season to visit the Maldives that is better or worse for swimming and snorkeling.

Best way to be sure: Check the reviews at the resorts of your choice

Running this website, I’ve honestly read many thousands of Maldives resort reviews to gather research for these articles, and it’s extremely rare to find reviews that mention how the weather ruined a trip. Again, it’s almost the exact same temperature every day of the year, and the rain storms are almost always very short and they have some benefits. Still, before you book I recommend reading as many reviews as you can for the specific resort you have in mind for the time period you are considering.

 

As mentioned at the top of this article, the Maldives islands stretch out for around 1,000 kilometers north to south, and the weather patterns can vary at least a bit at the extremes. If you read 20 or 30 reviews from those who stayed at that resort in the same month the year or two you are planning on going, and none of them mention bad weather, you are pretty safe. But if many of those reviews mention long rainy periods that disrupted their fun, you might want to check other resorts or other dates.

 

Agoda.com is the cheapest booking site for most Maldives resorts and they have a great number of reliable reviews. But TripAdvisor has no shortage of reviews and they tend to be longer and more detailed. Better still, you can type in the month you are planning as a keyword and it will only show the reviews that mention that month. It’s a pretty fast way of seeing how previous guests felt during that month in recent years, and chances are you’ll discover that almost everyone mentions pleasant sunny weather for nearly their whole stay.

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  1. first of all sincere thanks to you for giving the detailed guidance to everyone for Maldives, good work..!!

    I have a few questions as below:

    We want to visit maldives in Nov first week and is a family of 5 Adults plus a 5 month baby.

    1. Which resorts in your list can accommodate us with a baby?
    2. Can you explain differences between All inclusive, full board and other normal booking?
    3. Can we split a stay in a resort between different category of rooms, does it have a cost impact?
    4. With baby is it advisable to take sea boat transfer or sea plane transfers?
    5. Is it advisable to take a far off resort from Male airport?
    6. If we prefer water villa which will be most budget friendly?

    Reply

    1. Pratz,

      I’m happy to try to help.

      1. Unfortunately, it’s rare to even find Maldives resorts that allow 4 guests per villa. The only that allow 5 or 6 are a few large 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom units at a few resorts and those cost many times what normal water villas do, so it’s cheaper to get 2 water villas.

      2. All resorts offer an included breakfast with a normal booking. Half Board also includes dinner. Full board includes 3 meals per day, but not alcohol. All-inclusive includes all meals (usually served at buffets) and usually unlimited alcohol and other drinks. In some places the top-shelf drinks cost a premium, while they are included at others. A few resorts also include a tour or excursion with the all-inclusive plan.

      3. Yes, you can book an island room for part of your trip and a water villa for another part. It’s not only cheaper, but sometimes you’ll get upgraded to a water villa for one or more of your island days if they’ve got an empty villa.

      4. I’m not sure about that. Both are quite loud. The sea planes don’t fly very high so I don’t think pressure is as much of an issue as it is in a big plane.

      5. The resorts closer to Male Airport usually have cheaper transfers so they can actually save you money. I don’t think any of them are in the flight path to the point that it’s annoying, so staying near the airport will save time and a bit of money.

      6. The list above shows our picks for the best of the cheaper resorts. But the rates can change for any given date depending on availability. My suggestion is to check the dates at a resort that appeals to you, and then also check your dates for all resorts on Agoda.com, which usually has the best rates. Sometimes you’ll see a promotional rate for your dates if a resort has too many empty rooms. It’s hard for me to know which is best on any given dates so it’s best to check yourself. Some good news is that pretty much ALL of these resorts is really as wonderful as the photos look. A couple Maldives resorts have quite a few disappointed guests, and I don’t even list those on this site. -Roger

      Reply

  2. HI ,
    I would like to get 2 days normal resort and 1 day water villa. Which one do you recommend and how much it will cost.

    Reply

    1. Yash,

      Obviously it depends on where you’d stay. Island villas at some resorts start at around US$150 per night, and water villas at those same resorts start at around US$350 per night. You also have to pay between US$100 and US$700 per person for transfers from the airport to the resort. Have a great trip. -Roger

      Reply

    1. Thorsten,

      I totally understand and the speed boat transfers do feel kind of like a rip-off at first. But each resort (for the most part) has to buy and operate their own boats and it’s pretty expensive. I think your best bet is to look into the resorts that are closest to the airport, as a few of them offer transfers close to US$100 per person, return. Here is our list of the closest water villa resorts to the Maldives Airport. Best of luck. -Roger

      Reply

    1. Francesca,

      Sorry about the delayed response and it might be too late. For the Maldives each resort has its own speedboats and when you book a room they will ask you for your flight details so they can arrange a pickup at the dock just in front of the airport. The speedboats are fairly expensive so you have to research those prices before you book, and that’s why we list them on each page of this site.

      As for a 3-year-old, yes, it will be an issue. Many resorts don’t allow guests under 13 or even 18, while other resorts just make you sign a waiver saying that you understand the risks. Speaking of that, the piers that go out to the water villas do NOT have rails, and it’s easy to just walk right off the decks in most water villas as well, so you’d really have to stay focused on that. -Roger

      Reply

    1. Estee,

      I haven’t been to Adaaran Club Rannalhi, but I’ve heard good things and I’ve spoken to the people who run it. It’s true that the resorts all look so amazing and almost all of the reviews are glowing as well. In my experience it turns out because they ARE so amazing. It seems like it’s so expensive to build and run these private-island resorts that operating them poorly is a bad strategy. There are 2 or 3 Maldives resorts that tend to get many bad reviews and I don’t even list those resorts on the site because there are enough great ones to list.

      As for the sea planes, it’s true that some of them drop guests at one resort on their way to another, but actually most people love the sea plane flights because they offer the most amazing views of the islands you can get. If you are not comfortable flying in a plane with 10 or 12 people then it might be better to opt for one of the resort with speedboat transfers. And the sea planes only operate during daylight hours, while speedboats can go at night if they need to, so that’s another factor. Best of luck with whatever you decide. -Roger

      Reply

  6. hello Roger,
    great site with alot of information but with that im trying to plan a honeymoon probably in June and ok with it being a rainy month especially if the cost can be slightly discounted. Dont want to stay at a resort that is overly expensive.
    I want a location that is all inclusive and want to stay maybe 3 nights over water and 3 nights non. I see you recommend meeru alot and the price is very good. I know its one of the older resorts do you still think it stands up for honeymoon and todays standards.
    Is there any other resorts you would recommend I also would like it to have some activities so we dont get too bored.
    Also what is the best time to book is now good or wait till closer will it have better deals.

    Reply

    1. Andre,

      It’s true that June usually has the greatest chances of a rainy day or two, as opposed to just a quick rainstorm here and there, but most days in June are still mostly dry so I agree that it can be worth it to take advantage of the lower rates and smaller crowds, and you might get very lucky with the weather anyway.

      And it’s also true that Meeru is indeed a resort that I recommend a lot, and in my opinion it definitely holds up to the newer resorts. You might also look at Veligandu, which I also recommend, as they are run by the same respected company. Meeru Island is huge compared to most so it feels very private and spread out even when it’s full, and they have more restaurants and activities than almost any other resort. Veligandu is smaller, but also with quite a few choices.

      One reason that I recommend Meeru so often is their strategy is to offer an excellent product at a fair price, and stay almost fully booked all year round. At least half the people I met there had been there before and they come back again and again because of the quality and value. Most other resorts advertise with much higher room rates and then start offering promotions about 3 months out in order to fill the villas. If you are aware of that you can actually get a pretty good deal with 2 or 3 months to go, but you also have to settle for places that have enough vacancies to offer promotions. Places like Meeru and Veligandu (and that company runs 2 or 3 other resorts that aren’t all inclusive) have prices low enough to be full a month or two out all year round. They just prefer to be full of happy guests rather than having to keep running promotions to get new guests in at the last minute.

      All of that said, even most of the newer Maldives resorts tend to be quite casual rather than posh. The service is usually excellent, and you can check all the recent reviews yourself to confirm, but since they are sandy islands where most guests walk around barefoot most of the time, they are more like beach bungalows than 5-star hotel suites. Meeru and Veligandu usually run good rates all the time, and often I see that they offer All Inclusive Plus included in the rate in June. If that is what you are seeing I think booking soon would be wise if that is what you want. But if you wait until next March or so you might see a couple other all-inclusive places start offering rates that are similar. It’s a bit of a gamble, but since June is the slowest month it’s not like you won’t find a room, even at the last minute. I hope this helps. -Roger

      Reply

  7. Hi Roger

    Thanks to your suggestions, I am at the last stage of booking Meeru for 2 nights. I have 3 queries, I would be reaching Male International Airport at 16:20 hours.
    1. By what time would we be able to reach the resort?
    2. IF I book the water villa for one night and water front villa for 2 nights, would it be okay or booking Water Villa for 3 nights would be a better idea (Is there a huge difference in the experience or just experiencing it for one night and saving bucks for other 2 would be wise?)
    3. IF i book the villas through travel agents like Makemytrip and not through the Meeru website, how will I be able to book the Speedboat? Booking through the Meeru website is costlier.

    Thannks

    Reply

    1. Anurodh,

      I’m sure you’ll love it there. The speedboat transfer can depend on how many other guests are coming in on that flight or flights around the same time. If you land at 16:20 you should have your luggage by 17:00 and you’ll go find the Meeru representative outside of customs. The speedboat ride is about an hour each way and it might leave right after you get there, or you might have to wait for another couple or two. Usually it seems to be on its way in an hour or less because they own quite a few speedboats that are going back and forth around that time of day.

      That’s a tough call. In my opinion a water villa is an amazing novelty for at least 3 days or so, but after that you are used to it and notice that the restaurants and bars and such are a longer walk than from the beachfront villas. If you can afford the three nights I would do it. One night is much better than zero though.

      The lowest rates on Meeru Island are usually on Agoda.com, and those are much cheaper than the official website. After you reserve your room on the website it will ask you for your flight details and then charge you for the speedboat all at the same time. Since there are no other options of getting there, they just add it right on top of the room charge before you pay the first time. Have a great trip. -Roger

      Reply

  9. Hi Roger,
    I looked at about 30 resorts already, in almost every website I see the option to enter a coupon code.
    Two questions:
    1. How do I find such coupons?
    2. What’s the best time to book prior to arrival to get the best prices/deals?

    I’m looking for over-water outdoor jacuzzi villa at up to $700 so limited my choice to:
    1. Meeru
    2. Vilamendhoo
    3. Olhuveli
    4. Am I missing any option at this price range? (Centara and Sun Siyam are around $900…)

    Thanks in advance,
    Max

    Reply

    1. Max,

      Those top 3 on your list are the ones that come to mind for me, and I’m glad you found them. Meeru Island has very large Jacuzzi Water Villas in your price range with full board or even all-inclusive.

      As for hotel coupons, I don’t think they exist for most places. I’ve found the best rates are on Agoda.com in most cases and I don’t think they use coupons (at least for resorts like these).

      Have a great trip. -Roger

      Reply

  10. Hi Sir,
    I am looking for a 4D3N/5D4N Honeymoon Package.
    The Travel dates will be by end of Dec.
    Looking for a romantic tour, resort should be mostly all inclusive, water villa with Jacuzzi, spa and water sports facilities.
    Please help to find a suitable villa.
    Budget for the trip is 500-600$ per day.

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

    1. Shreyas,

      We are simply an online guide to overwater hotels and we don’t do bookings. The last week of December is peak season for the Maldives (and every other tropical island destination) so your budget might not be enough, especially for all-inclusive. Your budget is enough for the excellent Meeru Island resort if you can go a little earlier or later than that last week in December. The Jacuzzi Water Villas there are huge and the service is fantastic. Best of luck with this. -Roger

      Reply

  11. Dear Roger,

    Thanks so much for this and other articles, have you heard of Sun Island Resort and do you have any thoughts on it? They have over the water bungalows for a low price. Thanks

    Reply

    1. Ani,

      I haven’t personally been to Sun Island, but I’m familiar with the place. The reason that the water villas there are cheaper is that they are semi-detached, so they have 68 bungalows in 34 structures. The water villas are also smaller than almost any other in the Maldives at around 32 square meters or 340 square feet, which makes them similar in size to a normal 4-star hotel room in a big city. Most other Maldives water villas are at least 50% larger and many are many times larger. All of that said, the place has a very good reputation and gets great reviews, and I’d be very happy to stay there myself.

      When comparing these resorts it’s important to compare what you get for the price. In other words, for the same price as a water villa at Sun Island, you could instead get a larger beach villa at another resort, or at Sun Island itself. At least for part of my stay I would personally prefer to stay in the water villa over the clear lagoon because that is an experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger

      Reply
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