Vilamendhoo Maldives Snorkeling Insights and Resort Information

Vilamendhoo Island Resort & Spa is a medium-sized 4-star resort island in South Ari Atoll. With an easily accessible, lively house reef and whale shark watching opportunities in the area, it is one of the most recommended Maldives islands for those who love underwater activities, so we were extremely excited to visit it.

If you are searching for your next vacation destination that is suitable for snorkelers at different levels, affordable, and provides you with unbeatable tropical scenery, you may want to consider coming to this island. For inspiration, read our Vilamendhoo snorkeling insights, followed by some resort information.

This is NOT a sponsored article. We booked and paid for this stay, and our shared information reflects our opinions and experiences. If you find it helpful, we would appreciate it if you could book it through our link, Vilamendhoo Island Resort so that we can make a small commission. This means no extra cost to you!

How Is Snorkeling At The Vilamendhoo House Reef?

Vilamendhoo offers fantastic snorkeling both for beginners and advanced snorkelers. There is a fringing reef all around the island with shallow reef flats and a deeper drop-off area, about 25-150 m (80-500 ft) from the shore (depending on which side of the island you enter the water).

Most Vilamendhoo snorkeling maps available on the internet are outdated. They indicate that the best corals are on the island’s southwestern reef and in the northeast lagoon, but unfortunately, this is no longer correct.

Significant coral bleaching affected the area in 2016, 2017, and 2020, destroying almost 70% of the Maldives’ corals, including those once lively reef sections. It is still possible to see some life in there, but you won’t find such corals that you see in photos taken before the bleaching events. We added an actual snorkeling map; you will find some pictures of the reef below.

Although all parts of the house reef were affected, some parts, mainly the deeper drop-off areas, suffered less damage, recovered faster, and are in better condition.

These areas have relatively good corals, mainly stony corals but also some soft corals with lots of reef fish among and around them. There are many sea cucumbers, sea stars, big sea clams, and feather stars.

Blacktip reef sharks can be seen all around the island. Adults swim over the reef flat and at the drop-off, while juveniles are found around the wooden structures of the water villas and in the shallow lagoon next to them.

We also saw whitetip reef sharks and nurse sharks along the north and northeast reefs. Moreover, it is possible to bump into a whale shark since the South Ari Atoll is their year-round aggregation site. Unfortunately, we didn’t encounter one during our 1-week stay, but we heard from the local dive guides that occasionally they swim along the island. The same applies to manta rays; since there are some manta cleaning stations nearby, there is a possibility that one passes by the reef.

Sightings of spotted eagle rays are almost guaranteed; they swim in bigger groups (sometimes 6-10 together), usually along the island’s southeast side.

Hawksbill sea turtles are also regular visitors to Vilamendhoo; they feed on the reef on the north reef, but we saw one on the southeast, too.

Marine Life To See

• More than 100 species of Maldivian fish (Angelfish, Porcupinefish, Anemonefish, Bluefin Trevally, Pufferfish, Parrotfish, Butterflyfish, Bannerfish, Oriental Sweetlips, Firefish, Triggerfish, etc…)
• Blacktip Reef Sharks
• Whitetip Reef Sharks
• Nurse Sharks
• Octopus
• Spotted Eagle Rays
• Stingrays
• Lobsters
• Moray Eel
• Feather Stars
• Sea Clams
• Sea Turtles
• Sea Stars
• Whale Shark (occasionally)
• Manta Rays (occasionally)

Vilamendhoo Snorkeling Photos

Enjoy a selection of our underwater pictures taken while snorkeling around Vilamendhoo. We indicated where the photos were taken so you can see what the reef looks like in the different parts of the island.

Southeastern Reef

Northeast Reef

Northeast Lagoon

Southwest Reef

North/Northwest Reef

How To Get To Vilamendhoo House Reef

The fringing reef around Vilamendhoo is easily accessible from the shore through a sandy beach. At high tide, the water level is high enough to swim over the shallow, flat reef and get to the reef drop-off at any side of the island.

At low tide, do not swim over the reef flat, as you can injure yourself and kick the corals; use the designated access points. Twelve passages (channels dug in the reef) provide safe entry/exit.

As you approach the island edges, red marker buoys indicate the points until snorkeling is safe/allowed. Pay attention to these buoys, as the current can get strong past these points, and you could risk drifting away.

Vilamendhoo Snorkeling Tours

You can snorkel all day long at the house reef on your own and see new creatures every day, but if you want, you can join guided tours. Vilamendhoo offers various excursions to experience more of the area’s magical underwater world; here are some examples:

Whale shark watching: If you are not lucky enough to see a whale shark while snorkeling on the house reef, join a whale shark snorkeling trip. The Maldives’ primest whale shark area is not far away from Vilamendhoo. These gentle giants can be seen all year round around the South Ari Atoll (mostly around Dhigurah and Maamigli, which are popular budget-friendly Maldives islands for this reason), with the highest chance between May and December.

Manta ray snorkeling: although the best place to see manta rays in the Maldives is Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll, which is their main feeding area during the southwest monsoon, there are always a few around the manta points in South Ari Atoll too. If you want to see these elegant creatures, don’t miss out on going on a manta trip!

Night snorkeling: Have you ever gone snorkeling at night? It is not only exciting, but you can see interesting creatures that are hiding during the day, so if you want to try this experience, join a night snorkel session!

Family adventure: What else is better than spending a fun day with your family exploring the Maldives’ finest coral reefs, swimming with turtles, manta rays, and maybe even whale sharks? Experience this by signing up for a full-day family snorkeling trip onboard a traditional Maldivian Dhoni!

Turtle snorkeling: although you can encounter turtles on the island’s house reef, if you want to see more, visit the nearby Turtle Reef.

Nurse Shark and shipwreck excursion: on this half-day trip, you can snorkel with nurse sharks and visit a nearby wreckage.

About Vilamendhoo Island Resort – Helpful Information & Questions

As snorkeling the Vilamendhoo reef is only possible if you are staying at the resort, you probably want to know some information to decide if this island will suit you or not, so here are the most important things to know:

Where is Vilamendhoo Island Resort?

Vilamendhoo is in South Ari Atoll in the Republic of Maldives, about 88 km (54 miles) from Velana International Airport.

How do you get to Vilamendhoo Maldives?

The resort is accessible by an approximately 25-minute seaplane transfer from Maldives International Airport, followed by a short boat ride from the seaplane platform to the arrival jetty.

In most cases, the seaplane transfer is not included in the cost of your stay, but it is in certain cases (for example, when booking complete travel packages through travel agencies), so make sure to clarify this with your agent or directly with the resort’s reception.

Note that seaplanes only fly between 6 am and 6 pm (during daylight hours), so if your international flight arrives late in the evening or you have an early morning departure, you must spend one night in a Male hotel. Read more on the Tma site.

What Type Of Rooms Can You Choose From?

The resort has 194 rooms, divided into three categories: garden rooms, beach bungalows, and water villas.

Garden Rooms: the most affordable room type to book in Vilamendhoo is the garden room (Nr 247-269). These rooms are in blocks in the garden, steps away from the beach, not directly on it. In terms of amenities, they are the same as the beach villas.

Beach Bungalows: three types of beach bungalows are available to book at Vilamendhoo Island Resort. There are adjoining beach villas (double stand beach villas), standalone beach villas (detached beach villas between Nr 101-196 and 227-241), and jacuzzi beach villas (private bungalows with sundeck and jacuzzi for two between Nr 197-226).

Water Bungalows: For the most exclusive vacation experience, stay in one of the overwater villas (Nr 301-330). Each villa features a private sundeck, stairs leading into the sea, and a jacuzzi.

We stayed in a garden bungalow. It was OK for us as we didn’t spend too much time there; we were busy with snorkeling! The room was not too big but comfortable, with a vast outdoor bathroom.

However, the garden bungalows are a bit ‘tucked away’ between the trees and bushes. You should choose a beach or water bungalow if you’d like an ocean view and a direct beach connection. I think the best rooms are on the island’s North side, where the beach is the biggest and nicest, and in the Southeast, where you can enjoy both sunrise and sunset and quickly get into the water to swim or snorkel.

Conclusion – What Was Our Personal Experience?

We chose to stay at Vilamendhoo because we heard and read that it has a beautiful house reef with fantastic snorkeling, the resort is one of the best in the upper-medium price range and we can say that the island exceeded our expectations. If you follow our blog, you probably know that we tried several Maldives hotels with House Reef, so we say this based on hands-on experience.

Even if the reef is not as lively as before the bleaching events, we found it exceptionally good for snorkeling. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to bump into a whale shark on the house reef, so maybe we should come back one day!

Speaking of the resort, the service level was one of the highest we have experienced in the Maldives so far, and the food/drink selection was more than satisfying. Given the island’s characteristics and facilities, it can be a good choice for all travelers, including families, couples, and solos. If you are looking for a reasonably priced paradise to spend your Maldives snorkeling holiday, look no further than Vilamendhoo Island Resort and Spa.

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