FAQ & FACTS

Yes! Guesthouses on local islands in the Maldives reopened in November 2020 (resorts slightly earlier). Consisting out of 1,192 small islands, an outbreak has been prevented! The only island ‘off limits’ is our capital Male’ at this moment

No. Not at this moment

Travelers from South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) were restricted last month(s). However, these restrictions are lifted from the 30th of July onwards.

With the naturally isolated islands, we believe it is unlikely that our borders will close again. However, if there is an outbreak in your own country, please double check with us or with the government if you will be allowed to travel.

Yes! Dhigurah (and Bliss) is reopened since November 2020! Recently additional restrictions have been implemented on local islands, to which Dhigurah complies: 60% of the total island population is vaccinated, 90% of the 65+ age group, and over 95% of all tourism workers.
We welcome you!

1. PCR TEST: Within 96 hours prior to departure you’ll have to get tested. With the negative test result, you will be allowed into the Maldives. Vaccinated or not, you will have to get a PCR test.
2. HEALTH DECLARATION: An online form to fill in within 24 hours prior to departure to the Maldives, which takes about 30 minutes and you can find here.
3. CONFIRMED BOOKING: At a registered tourism facility, which Bliss Dhigurah is! The full list of approved facilities can be found here.

When staying on a local island:

• Negative PCR test < 72 hours prior to departure (even if fully vaccinated)
• Filled health declaration form <24 hours prior to departure

No. Recent (July ’21) additional restrictions have been laid on local islands: In order for our guests to travel to local islands without being fully vaccinated, the inhabitants on the island needs to be vaccinated. On Dhigurah over 60% of the total island population is vaccinated, 90% of the 65+ age group, and over 95% of all tourism workers.
We welcome you!

Yes. Even though testing positive is highly unlikely, as everyone is tested before arrival and many travelers are vaccinated, it might be something you would like to be insured for. The Maldives’ national insurance company, Allied, provides this insurance from $25 per person per stay onward, which we highly recommend you to take.

Due to the additional rules and regulations by the government as well as the local island council, there hasn’t been any community spread on Dhigurah. Let us guide you to the additional guidelines on our island:

Face masks

• When walking through the village area, wearing a face mask is mandatory
• On the beach, face masks are not required. The bikini beach (2.5 KM), which is located about 100 meters from our front door, is open on all days of the week.
• At Bliss, as long as social distance is maintained in open areas, we do not require our guests to wear a face mask. Even though we do ourselves at all times.

Shops

• Some souvenir shops are open! You can visit them when wearing a face mask maintaining distance
• Super markets are open, but for “window shopping” only. We can also help you out with some local groceries during your stay
• The Health Center and Pharmacy are open

Activities

• Excursions: Snorkeling and fishing trips are organized as usual
• Diving: The dive center is open and operates as usual
• Local cooking class: At this moment it is unfortunately not possible to organize a local cooking class
• Resort day trip: Also, not possible. At the moment resorts do not accept day visitors. However, if you do want to experience both worlds, most resorts do accept a “split stay”. As long as you book a night with them. Please do verify this with the resort you set your eyes on prior to booking.

Yes! We can arrange your PCR test on Dhigurah for $80 per person. The test is taken within 72 hours prior to your international departure and you’ll receive your results usually within 24 hours, but no later than 48 hours.

Yes. Vaccinated or not, required by the airline or not.. if you stay on a local island in the Maldives, you will have to get a PCR prior to departure. A rule set by the Health Protection Agency.

We want to reassure you about any travel plans you may have with us. We are committed to full flexibility with booking terms and conditions and have further adjusted our policies accordingly. This means, for new direct bookings made till September 2021, we offer:

• Free cancellation or the opportunity to rebook for a later date.
• Book now – Pay on arrival. No need for any pre-payment of your trip.
• If you did choose to pre-pay your direct booking but find yourself unable to travel based on Government travel advice, we will provide a full refund.

If you need to adjust a reservation made through another travel site (such as Booking or Expedia), please contact them directly for assistance and cancellation policies.

Testing positive is unlikely: Everyone visiting Dhigurah will be tested prior to arrival and the majority of the island is vaccinated. However, it might of course happen! When tested positive, or if you’re identified as a close contact (when sharing the room with someone who tested positive), the following will happen:

Positive yourself:

• You’ll have to quarantine in a dedicated ‘quarantine room/home’ on Dhigurah for 14 days
• After the completion of 14 days, you will be free to leave

Close contact:

• You’ll have to quarantine in a dedicated ‘quarantine room/home’ on Dhigurah for 14 days
• You can request a mid-term PCR test on day #5. If this test comes back negative, nothing will change. If it comes back positive, the 14 day count restarts
• After the completion of 14 days, on day 15, there will be PCR test. When the result is negative, you are free to leave

The Maldives’ national insurance company, Allied, provides insurance covering quarantine accommodation from $25 per person per stay onward, which we recommend you to take.

Yes! Provided that neither of the islands you will stay at is “under monitoring” due to a recent COVID case. This does not happen often though (knock on wood). A “split stay form” will have to be completed prior to moving from one place to the other. All open tourist facilities are familiar with this process and will take care of the paperwork for you.

If you are splitting your stay between a local island and a resort, please make sure to check with the resort if they accept split stays. Most do, but some are more restrictive.

Yes. However, only for a transit.
As the capital is very densely populated, there are restrictions on sightseeing and duration of stay in Male’ and Hulhumale’.

There are two main transfer options from Velana International Airport (MLE) to our hotel, either by domestic flight or by speedboat.
1) Flight: Domestic flight to Maamigili (20 minutes) + Speedboat to Dhigurah (20 minutes). The departure dates and times are flexible. Price: $140 per adult, one way, $70 for children <12 at the time of traveling.
2) Speedboat: Direct speedboat to Dhigurah. Departure at 3 or 4PM from Male’/Airport to Dhigurah (depending on the day and weather conditions), 6:30AM from Dhigurah to Male’/Airport. Duration: ~2 hours. Price: $60 per person, one way, from the airport, $50 from Male’.
Please let us know which option works best for you and we will take care of booking it. You’ll be able to pay for the transportation costs upon your arrival.

The cost of transportation will be added to your room bill, which will be settled upon check out of Bliss.

We would like to book your transport at least 3 days in advance to secure your seats in high season. During low season it is possible to book your spots last minute, though we cannot make guarantees.

Yes. We will meet you at Dhigurah’s harbor to pick you up!

• Speedboat: We do not need any other information. Please inform the speedboat crew that you’re staying at Bliss and you will be set!
• Flight: To book the flight for you we need the following details: Mr/Mrs/Ms, First name(s), Last name, Nationality, Date of birth, Passport number, Date of passport expiry, International flight number connecting to domestic flight.

The speedboat leaves Male’ at 3 or 4PM (depending on the day and weather conditions), it will be at the jetty from around 3:40PM onwards. If you prefer to be picked up from the airport, that would be possible too, by latest at 3:05 or 4:05PM after it leaves Male’. The price will be US $10 more for an airport pickup. The speedboat from Dhigurah to Male’/Airport leaves at 06:30AM.

No. Unfortunately the speedboat goes only once per day, leaving Dhigurah at 6:30AM and returning from Male’ at 3 or 4PM. If you would like to come earlier and not spend the day in Male’, it would be possible to take the domestic flight. The airline will schedule your flight according to your international flight arrival time.

The speedboat leaves from Jetty Number 1 at 4PM, though it will be waiting there from around 3:40PM. We can send you a map showing how to get from the airport to the departure point. In case you face any issues, please call us on: +960 720 1234.

If arriving before 2:30PM and departing after 11AM, you should be able to catch the connecting speedboat on arrival and international flight on departure. For more information, please send us an email.

We can book your domestic flights + speedboat transport to Dhigurah. To make this booking we need the following details: 1) Full names of all passengers, 2) International flight number connecting to domestic flight, 3) If any kids <12 years old traveling: Date of Birth.
The airline will book seats as closely connecting as possible to your international flight. We will receive your booking information quite quickly after booking and will communicate it to you. However, the airline might make some minor changes to flight times up to the day before traveling. We will get back in touch with you in case of changes.

Current online displayed schedule can be found here. Though, the airline makes quite some changes throughout the year.
Nevertheless, they will book seats as closely connecting as possible to your international flight.

To guarantee your spot on the plane and assure a favorable flight connection, we need to book your tickets at least 3 days in advance. Even though we might be able to get spots with a shorter notice, we cannot make any guarantees anymore.

We can easily arrange private speedboat transportation from Dhigurah to nearby islands. The price would depend on the proximity of the island. Let us know if you would like us to check (current) prices to specific islands and we will find out.

Alternatively if you’re traveling to a nearby local islands, you could take the public ferry.
MTCC Route 304 travels: Fenfushi, Maamigili, Dhidhdhoo, Dhigurah (~8AM), Dhangethi, Mahibadhoo – Dhangethi, Dhigurah (~15:20PM), Dhidhdhoo, Maamigili, Fenfushi.
NOTE: Bliss does not take responsibility for arranging tickets (bought on the boat) and possible delays/no shows.

Unfortunately, transportation to further islands is quite difficult. Public transportation is limited and private transportation might get quite costly. We could find out what a private speedboat to the island will cost you, but are quite certain that it will be a more affordable to travel back to Male’ by public speedboat and go to different islands from there.
If you would still like to know the price of a private speedboat, please do let us know and we will find out!

Please drop us an email at [email protected]

Please fill in our group contact form and we’ll get back in touch with you shortly.

Example packing lists are made because we receive a regular question of what to pack to the Maldives. Feel free to keep our lists as guidelines but keep in mind that a packing list changes drastically per person. You might want to add or subtract items for your own list.

You can find the lists here.

We have universal sockets next to your bed and in quite some public spaces (like the coffee bar and rooftop) Most of these sockets have a USB charging point as well. For the other sockets in the room and building we have Type G (British/ Square 3-pin).

We love to stay connected ourselves and therefore invested in a 50mbps internet line for our guests as well! There are rarely issues with the internet and hardly any power cuts.

We always have some special deals going on! If you book through us directly by sending an email, we might be able to offer you a secret deal depending on the season and duration of your stay! Just drop us an email.

We have limited space in our rooms and therefore it is not possible in most of our rooms to add an extra bed.

It is possible for a third person to sleep in the Suite. We recommend the connecting family rooms (4 pax) for families. It would be possible to add an extra bed to the family room if there is a family of 5 people (3 children), however this would limit moving space significantly.

Children under 6 years old could share the same bed with the parents.

The official policy is as follows: “The guest can cancel free of charge until 14 days before arrival. The guest will be charged the first night if they cancel in the 14 days before arrival. If the guest doesn’t show up they will be charged the total price.”

However, we are usually very flexible with our cancellation policy for direct bookings. Nevertheless, we hope for your understanding in cancelling your booking. If you indeed do need to cancel, it would help us if you let us know as soon as possible (preferably 14 days or more in advance).

Note: Bookings for Christmas and New Year’s are non refundable.

We’re happy to share our menus! Though, please keep in mind that the menu and prices might slightly change over time and season. If you have specific dietary restrictions, please let us know. We’re very flexible, but would need a heads up if we need to order special ingredients.

You can find our current menus here.

Currently you can pick off the a la carte menu if you book a room + meal plan, as we do not have buffet style restaurant. For Half Board, breakfast + one meal per day is covered by us. Commonly this is dinner, but if you prefer you could swap it for lunch. For Full Board, we cover breakfast, lunch and dinner.

You can pick any main dish and dessert from the menu. Please keep in mind that the menu might change slightly over time. The meal plan includes bottled drinking water, additional drinks are chargeable.

In time we might develop set (equally delicious) menus for meal plans.

There will be a set menu or buffet for group bookings on meal plans.

We spot Whale sharks throughout the year. It depends a bit on the weather how easy they are to spot from the boat. The calmer the sea and sunnier it is, the easier it is to see them.

Other sharks are always around as well. Other (harmless) sharks we frequently see are: Black tip, White tip and Grey reef sharks. You’ll see nurse sharks more on dives than during snorkeling. Occasionally a different shark species visits, after which the snorkel/dive community goes out of their way to find them.

It’s possible to spot Mantas throughout the year when diving. There is a cleaning station nearby that is frequently visited. For snorkeling there are some months with a lot of activity where the manta rays can also be spotted in our lagoon. Last year this was from January to about April, and it might repeat itself before the end of the year. However, it is harder to predict.

Yes. Most of the beach surrounding Dhigurah has soft white sand, with occasionally some coral. Definitely good to swim from!

Our ‘go-to’ resort is Amaya Kuda Rah, they currently (2020) charge an entry fee of $50 per person of which you can consume food, drinks and other facilities the resort provides (e.g. massages). Other neighboring resorts charge a higher entry fee, of which you cannot consume. For updated transport prices, drop us an email at [email protected]

There are blocks of coral with fish and occasionally a turtle near the beach. The nearest reef is the inner reef (arches) further in the lagoon, which might be accessible by canoe or SUP, though it is quite the paddle.
The outer reef is on the other side of the island, and since the reef forms a natural protection wall for the island, it is only accessible going around it by boat. The outside reef has both more fish and coral and is nicer to snorkel on.

We are happy to share our dive price list with you. All prices are inclusive of taxes, drinks and applicable boat fees. Please send an email to [email protected]

No. Though it’s safer to inform us about possible dive plans so that we can plan the dives accordingly, especially if you’re staying for a short period of time. Usually you can book while you are here, but in high season it is easier if we reserve a spot on the boat and plan the dives according to the dive certification (e.g. depth).

We accept a wide variety of card payments (among which Amex, VISA, Mastercard and Union Pay). Cash payments are preferred to be in US Dollars or Maldivian Ruffiyaa. Though Euros are also accepted.

!Please note that the Maldivian bank is very particular about the condition of the USD notes. Old and/or lightly damaged notes, even though still accepted in other countries, will be refused by the national bank of the Maldives.

Please don’t take offense, it is purely that the note will have no worth to the individual to whom you are paying.

Particularly the old US$100 bill is refused. The new $100 bills can be identified by the blue stripe that runs across.

Yes! Since 2020 we have an MVR (Maldivian Rufiyaa) ATM on Dhigurah

No, for direct bookings there is no need for a deposit. If you confirm your arrival, we will block your room in our reservation system and send you the confirmation via email. You can pay for everything on your arrival or upon check out.

For group bookings a partial advance payment is required.

No, the local shops only accept cash. The souvenir shops accept USD as well as MVR, whereas the local grocery shops usually accept only Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR). Furthermore, the pharmacy only accepts payments in cash in MVR.

Yes. We can prepare the bill in advance and you can make a payment transfer. The bank charges $15 as a transfer fee, which will be added to the bill.

Yes. There is a designated bikini beach within a few minutes walk from Bliss. The beach itself starts only 20 meters from our front door, but the official ‘bikini beach’ starts from the boat yard, about 50 meters further.

There are two networks, Ooredoo and Dhiraagu. Both can be found at the airport and both are working equally well on the island. Though, rumor has it that Ooredoo has a slightly larger 4G coverage.

No. Unfortunately alcohol is not allowed on any local island in the Maldives. However, we can easily arrange a trip to a nearby resort for a day where you can have a drink!

No. The mosque is not near the hotel and loudspeakers can’t be heard.

Yes. There are a few souvenir shops on the main street of the island. There’s a handful of convenience stores, a pharmacy and a medical center.