Traveling to Ayada Maldives in 2021 - New Airport & Travel Advice
The Maldives was one of the first travel destinations to reopen its borders to all travelers from all countries on July 15, 2020. The reopening of the Maldives was an exceptional travel and tourism management success in 2020, and it looks like that trend is continuing for 2021, despite a few minor setbacks.
Ayada Maldives was among the very first resort that welcomed guests to its pristine paradise-like private island. We have put significant efforts into adjusting resort operations and services to meet the highest safety standards and distancing needs - while offering a truly uncompromised experience.
Traveling to Ayada Maldives from Male Airport (MLE) just got easier
Further good news to our guests is the opening of a new local airport that shortens the journey between Male & Ayada Maldives.
Ayada Maldives is located in one of the southern atolls of the Maldives, and reaching there from Male requires an additional short journey. Until now, the only option to reach Ayada Maldives was to take a 55-minutes domestic flight from Male airport to the KDM airport, followed by an approximately 50-minutes speedboat trip to Ayada Maldives. Kaadedhdhoo Airport (KDM) is a domestic airport on the island of Kaadedhdhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu atoll, Maldives.
Introducing the new Maavarulu Airport (RUL)
Mavarulu Airport, also spelled as Maavarulu Airport is a domestic airport located on Maavaarulu, one of the islands of the Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll in the Maldives. The airport is located 9.0 kilometers south of Gadhdhoo. This is a new airport, with scheduled flights started on the 4th of July 2020.
Starting from this year, Ayada Maldives guests can benefit from Maavarulu airport (RUL). It is significantly closer to Ayada Maldives than Kaadedhdhoo (KDM), which reduces the speedboat travel time to between 15 to 25 minutes instead of 50 mins.
Arriving at Ayada Maldives via Kaadedhdhoo (KDM):
Domestic flight: 55 minutes
Speedboat trip: 50 minutes
Arriving at Ayada Maldives via Maavarulu (RUL):
Domestic flight: 70 minutes
Speedboat trip: 15-25 minutes
As a guest, no additional travel arrangements are required from your end. Our resort team will organize the entire journey and arrival experience for you, which includes finding the best connecting domestic flights with the shortest transfer times, booking tickets, and reserving your seats.
Using the new Maavarulu (RUL) airport with shortened travel times does not incur any additional costs or fees.
It is noteworthy, however, that not all international flights arriving and departing to/from Male have a short connection time for the domestic flight to Maavarulu. Hence, on some occasions, the resort will still book its guests on the flight to Kaadedhdhoo as it would guarantee the shortest possible transit time in Male.
Traveling to the Maldives
The reduced travel time between Male International Airport and Ayada Maldives is a welcome change for all long-distance travelers. For those who travel to the Maldives from distant locations like the United Kingdom, Europe, United States, or Australia, flight times can be significant.
Direct flights between London Heathrow airport and Malé take between 10 and 11 hours, with the flight time on the way to the Maldives usually running a little shorter than it does on the return leg. Connecting flights can be over in as little as 12 or 13 hours, depending on the length of the layover.
Arriving from New York JFK to Malé International Airport is even longer.
18 hours with Emirates via Dubai
19 hours with Qatar Airways via Doha
22 hours via London and Bahrain with British Airways and Gulf Air
23 hours via Moscow with Aeroflot
By now, you might be thinking: Oh that is super long! However, guests who take the journey know well that it is well worth it. As one of our guests said “Getting to paradise was not easy, but hey, it is paradise! I immediately forgot the entire journey the moment the light wind hit my face while on the speed boat to your island”
What do guests need to know before traveling to Ayada Maldives?
According to government safety regulations, all arrivals must present a certificate of a negative PCR test carried out within 96 hours prior to departure (at the time of publishing this article), clearly showing the name and address of the laboratory, as well as the date of the sample taken.
The result needs to be attached to the Traveler Health Declaration form which must be submitted online within 24 hours prior to arrival. Visitors are asked to download the national contact tracing app, TraceEkee, and use it during their journey.
Some of these restrictions were temporarily discontinued for fully vaccinated travelers earlier this year but have since been reintroduced.
Tourists are allowed to split stays between hotels. However, if you spend more than 48 hours in the Greater Malé area, you must take another PCR test before moving elsewhere.
UK Foreign Travel Advice
According to the Foreign Travel Advice of the United Kingdom, the Maldives is still on the red list at the time of writing this article (25 August 2020).
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/maldives
Various analysts gave their expert predictions on which holiday destinations are likely to move from red to amber and vice-versa, in the Government’s tri-weekly update. The Maldives is positively on the list of countries that are likely to be on the amber list from the next update. So if you live in the UK, get ready to pack your bags and head to paradise!