Vakaru, tucked away in a remote corner in South Ari Atoll, is 90 kilometers from Male’ International Airport. Your holiday really begins as the seaplane takes off from the airport lagoon. Have your cameras ready at hand during your transfer to the resort.

The short 25 minute flight offers a breathtaking aerial view of the atolls, the islands and countless reefs glistening like gems in a sea of deep blue velvet.

Accommodation

Although you may feel like Robinson Crusoe on this tiny tropical paradise of ours, there is no lack of comforts when it comes to accommodation. Most of the 50 rooms on the island are individual bungalows, all surrounded by the lush tropical vegetation in its entire natural splendor. Spread out around the island offering complete privacy, all face the beach. Convenient family accommodation is provided by opening up the interconnecting doors between semi-detached bungalows, especially designed for the purpose. Cool tiled floor offers welcome respite after a relaxing day in the sun and the sea. Colorful tropical patterns on the drapery add a touch of color to the interiors. Large glass doors facing the beach offer an excellent view of the bright colors of the lagoon and your own area of the beach. In keeping with the simplicity of the resort the rooms are spacious and airy, tastefully furnished and with nice little details that remind you that you are in the Maldives.

All rooms are air-conditioned and features two single or one king sized bed, overhead ceiling fan, sitting area, stocked mini bar, IDD telephone, stereo CD player and hair dryer. Each room has a small verandah facing the beach where you may relax quietly in the comfortable chairs provided. If you would like to sit and relax still closer to the beach you may use your very own sun loungers placed right in front of your room on the beach. The attached bathroom, partly open air with a small garden, is equipped with bathtub and shower with hot water and bath accessories. An additional shower in the small garden offers a pleasant choice and allows stargazers to have a bath under the open sky.

Dining

Vakarufalhi only offers accommodation on full board. All meals are served in the Ilaa Restaurant and snacks are available at the Ihaa Bar in the afternoons.

Located close to each other, both are designed to create an air of simple relaxation. High conical thatched roofs, layered fine white sand under your feet and a great view of the sea creates an excellent tropical atmosphere in both the Ilaa Restaurant and the Ihaa Bar.

Out door dining is also available in the island, be it the beach in front of the room or any other location, the experience truly unique.

• Ilaa Restaurant The meals at the Ilaa Restaurant are planned out to give you an excellent variety of delicious cuisine during your stay at Vakarufalhi. While breakfast and lunch are served buffet style, a more varied programme is on offer at dinner. Four nights of buffet with a varying international cuisine including Asian, European and Maldivian with a weekly barbecue is offered. For the remaining three nights, two nights of combination buffet & a la carte and one evening of complete a la carte dinner when your complete meal will be served to your table is in our regular programme.

  There are always enough choices for vegetarians available and people with special dietary requirements are also catered for.

• Out Door Dining The remoteness of the island does not limit your dining choices, try the outdoor dining adventures offered at the island.

  Starting with simple candle lit dinner, endless journey of steamboat and BBQ dinner where your choice of food will be cooked by you on your dinner table to the very exclusive desert island couple only dinners are served.

  At Vakarufalhi, the Food & Beverage Team is ready to prepare your dream dinning experience by combining your creativity with the expertise of the team.

• Ihaa Bar Fine white sand on the floor and comfortable rattan furniture enables you to relax in total comfort. Gaze out on to the bright blue lagoon as you cool down with a cold beer after a few hours in the sun. Sit under a starlit sky on the spacious wooden deck that extends from the bar on to the beach. Sip your favorite cocktail from the extensive cocktail menu or better still enjoy the finest cocktails created by the barman specially for you. Stocked with the finest wines, champagnes nice decent beers and liquors, the bar opens in the morning and closes when the last guest leaves.

  Sunset Bar is operated daily at the sunset side of the island, to let you enjoy the tropical sunset with your feet in the water while gazing at the setting sun, enjoying your favorite cocktail in hand.

Sports & Activities

Your holiday at Vakarufalhi would obviously be one of complete relaxation. However if you feel like some action the resort offers you a few choices in land and water sports. Of course no one would want the peace to be disturbed. At Vakaru we do not offer any motorized water sports that may ruin your quite day on the beach.

• Water Sport As one of the best places in the world for water sports, the resort has a water sports centre operated by ProDivers. It offers Catamaran sailing, windsurfing and canoeing. Beginners are offered the opportunity to learn windsurfing or catamaran sailing with an experienced member from the water sports centre, while the more skilled can rent the equipment at their own leisure. For a special day’s excursion, you can hire a catamaran for an island hopping or snorkeling excursion. One of the water sports centre staff always accompanies you on such excursions
• Land Sport Table tennis, outdoor badminton court and dart board are offered for those who feel like some action. Bats and rackets are available at the resort free of charge. A volleyball court and a mini football ground provide the opportunity for those who prefer a harder game. Enjoy an afternoon game with the staff. Often mixed teams of staff and guests provide some fun not only for the players but for the onlookers as well.
• Weeding A “Sunset Wedding” at the beach, a traditional wedding ceremony on a white sandy beach, decorated with coconut palm leaves and flowers. The “Maldivian Wedding” features taste of a traditional island ceremony, truly a Maldivian experience. This package includes bridal spa treatment, double layer wedding cake, bottle of champagne, wedding dinner with wine, wedding certificate and a digital image CD. Room will be decorated to your surprise for the night.
• Half Day Cultural Center Take an expedition to Dhangethi, 30 minutes by boat. Catch a glimpse at the daily life in a typical village. Sample the clean streets and meet the friendly children. Dhangethi with a population of about 800 has a popular cultural centre which exhibits traditional Maldivian lifestyle, craftsmanship and occupations.

  The excursion is organized once a week and is a half-day excursion which takes place in the afternoon.

• Resort Island There are many other resorts in South Ari Atoll and you see some of them everyday as you stroll around the island or lie relaxing on the beach. The half-day excursion offers you the possibility of sampling for yourself the unique beauty of at least some of these. This excursion is offered weekly to islands that are about 45 minutes by dhoni and a different resort is selected for each excursion.
• Full-Day Excursion The full day excursion takes you around to two very different islands and a snorkeling point. The excursion begins in the morning after breakfast. First you are taken to a local inhibited island for sightseeing and shopping, then your taken to an uninhabited island for BBQ lunch. After lunch, you will have the chance to snorkel in total seclusion at a beautiful reef before heading back to Vakarufalhi.
• Snorkelling Safari The house reef of the island is excellent for snorkeling. However you may wish to see more of the underwater wonders that Maldives has to offer. With this in mind the resort organizes a snorkeling excursion once a week. This excursion takes you to two different reefs from amongst the many dotted around the resort. A half-day trip, on which you will depart in the morning after breakfast. This excursion could bring you some surprises such as whale sharks and Mantas Rays that are frequent at these reefs.

  Snorkeling equipment can be rented or purchased at the island.

• Early Morning Fishing Early morning fishing is for the big game enthusiast. You wake early in the morning when it is still dark. Listen to the rustle of the palms and the sound of the waves. Then you gaze up at the millions of stars twinkling in the dawn sky. You board a ‘dhoni’ local boat and head off to the outer side of the atoll reef. You feel the fresh sea breeze on your face, as the sky becomes a little lighter.

  Thick strong lines are used for this type of fishing. You hold the lines firmly as the boat starts its runs up and down along the reef. The eastern horizon becomes almost golden and the sun bursts out of the eastern horizon. A tug on the line, the captain stops the boat to let you haul in your catch. It could be a powerful Dorado, Wahoo, a Marlin or a much dreamed about Sailfish, with its huge beautiful dorsal fins that will take you by surprise. After exciting time, you will be back on the resort in time for breakfast.

• Night Fishing A more peaceful type of fishing. A time to relax and enjoy the company of your friends or your partner after an exciting day in the sun or underwater. You leave the island at five in the evening. The boat anchors at a reef in time for a magnificent sunset. The crew prepares your lines with bait, hook and sinkers. You drop your line until it almost touches the bottom. Peace and quite sets in the boat as you wait holding your line feeling the fish pecking at the bait.

  Soft murmur as people start discussing their day´s activities. After a fiery twilight sky darkness sets in with millions of twinkling stars shining above. A bite! and there is some excitement on the boat as everyone looks on to see what you are pulling in. A Snapper! A Grouper!

  See what fish tastes like when you have caught it yourself. Make a request at the reception and the chef will prepare the fish for you.

• Sunset Photo & Dolphin Cruise Based on the sea condition, chances are greater to site dolphin just 10 – 15 minutes of boat ride from the island. While enjoying watching the playful nice creature leaping and jumping at their final pray for the day, experience the unique Maldives sunset and sip on your favorite cocktail in hand.
• Entertainment Without disturbing the peace and tranquility of the island, few entertainment programs such as fortnightly soft music band with occasional disco nights, weekly underwater slide show by Dive School and weekly Maldivian Nights are organized at the resort to keep you entertained.

Diving

Many visitors come to the Maldives to enjoy the unique underwater beauty of the Maldives. With excellent dive sites in the area Vakarufalhi is the ideal location for a diving holiday. Most of the 35 dive sites or more that are visited regularly are in deeper channels towards the outer reef. The Centre can offer something for everyone; Thila diving, outreef diving with plenty of caves and walls. Some of the dive sites around Vakarufalhi are famous for their soft coral formations and the opportunity to encounter whale-sharks and Manta rays.

ProDivers Vakarufalhi

ProDivers Vakarufalhi is an internationally registered PADI 5 Star dive centre. All diving education is conducted within the PADI standards.

The Centre is well equipped with modern diving gear and support equipment. The equipment includes Bauer compressors, Atlas Copco compressor with Nitrox membrane system, aluminum tanks with DIN/INT adapters, Mares regulators with octopus and console, Seaquest BCD’s, Hartenberger lamps, Aladin computers and IQ 3mm wet suits. Backpacks, adapters and suchlike are available for those who may need these to complete their equipment.

Sony digital cameras and Sea & Sea underwater cameras are available for rent.

Nitrox diving is available at no additional charge

There is a large clean storage room in the dive centre for both rental and private equipment where fresh water is provided for rinsing of the equipment. The workshop at the centre is equipped with the necessary tools and spares.

Spa

Spa” at Vakaru is designed to enhance your satisfaction by adding further comfort and relaxation to your valuable stay. All the treatments are carefully selected combination of holistic treatments ranging from Indian Ayruveda, Oriental and Swedish Massages, body works and beauty treatments. Treat jetlag from the long flight, relax the tensioned muscles from busy and hectic life and remove the tension in your mind from work place.