Today we compare all the available options for ferries from Malè airport (Velana international airport (MLE) towards the nearest inhabited islands of the Maldives. Particularly those islands of the Maldives reachable by ferry or speed-boat without needing to take seaplanes or internal flights.
We will not cover in this case transport towards the resort islands of the Maldives (private islands), as very often these structures organize the transfer for you to pick you up and take you back to the airport.
If you are still undecided on which island to choose for your stay, take a look at the guide on where it’s best to stay in the Maldives which will clarify things based on your tastes and budget!
The “local” ferry in the Maldives
Before starting with the list of available islands and connections, it is good to know the difference between the “local public service” ferries and the speed boats.
The local ferry is precisely the public service that connects nearby islands to each other and/or the capital Malè with boats that carry a good number of people, at a very low cost (from $1 to $8 depending on the distance), but also travelling more slowly.
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Most of these public service connections are designed to bring people from the outer islands to Malè (the island capital) in the morning, and take them home in the afternoon: consequently, it is easy to get a bit confused by the strange schedules or the fact that there is only one trip per day, the reason is the one just mentioned.
Furthermore, on Friday, which in the Maldives is considered a public holiday like Sunday for us, there might be no runs at all.
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We will see some routes with the public ferry in this guide. If you want to go into detail, MTCC is the site of the Maldivian public transport and at this link you can currently find all the existing lines and their schedules. Be careful as it can be difficult to interpret the schedules at first: they should be read from the right side (departure time) to left (arrival time).
The speedboats
Speedboats, which you might also find locally under various other names, are essentially fast boats from private companies, carrying 30-50 people on average and travelling frequently and 3 times faster than the public ferry. The price also reflects this, being much higher.
Spoiler: in 99% of cases, speedboats are the only viable option for us tourists, primarily due to schedules and frequency.
Almost all speedboat trips, after departing from the airport, make a stop at the nearby island of Malè (city), before heading towards their final destination.
Ferries from Malè airport to Maafushi
Maafushi is one of the best islands to stay on in the Maldives in terms of prices and services, a little less so for water quality.
Read also: Where it’s best to stay in the Maldives
There are ferries from Malè airport to Maafushi and vice versa both with the public service and with speedboats.
To get from the airport to Maafushi with the public ferry:
- the price is only 15 Maldivian Rufiyaa or $1, purchasable (in cash) directly at the booth at the airport exit near the piers;
- the travel time is 1h30/1h45 and it is not direct; you first need to take the ferry to the island of Malè (city) and then change;
- unfortunately, the schedules are few: 1 trip per day excluding Friday (always check the updated schedules for line 309):
- from Maafushi to Malè/airport at 7:25
- from the airport to Maafushi at 15:00
To get to Maafushi by speedboat there are two companies that provide the service:
- Icomtours with about twenty trips per day. In 2025 the fare dropped to $15 per way. The speed boat also makes the journey Malè Airport->Island of Malè->Maafushi but changing is not necessary: be careful on the Icomtours website when booking the Airport->Maafushi route because the indicated time (e.g., 9:00) is not the departure time from the airport but the time of the stop in Malè, it will depart from the airport 15 minutes earlier (8:45);
- Maafushi Tours: in this case the site still shows a price of $40, which from what I understand should have decreased, so do not book online but check on the spot or choose the next link;
- If you want to compare all schedules towards Maafushi click here for the 12go website which is a sort of skyscanner for transport in Asia and also allows online purchase. The price displayed here might sometimes be more expensive and sometimes cheaper compared to the individual companies on their official site, so once you have decided on the time, compare the prices.
Better to buy the ticket online or wait until arrival?
If you have decided to take the public ferry from the airport to Maafushi you can easily buy the ticket at the destination (also because it can’t be done online).
If instead you take a speedboat to Maafushi you can buy it online in advance without extra charges, but if you are unsure about the time or fear flight delays you can also keep an eye on the number of available seats (visible on the icomtours site), and book it even 12 hours before, perhaps while waiting the layover at the airport.
From what I have personally seen, however, they are not terribly strict and even if you had booked for a specific time but your flight was delayed, they try to accommodate you on the next boat.
For the return trip, you can purchase either way. In Maafushi in front of the port there is a large Icomtours office where you can buy the ticket if you have excess cash left, otherwise book online again.
From Malè airport to Gulhi
Also Gulhi can be reached with the local ferry for about $1: it takes about 1h30 minutes and it’s the same line just seen (309) that goes to Maafushi, just get off “at the previous stop” 🙂
The speedboats that take you from Malè airport to the small Gulhi are less frequent, about 3 or 4 trips per day for about a 25-minute journey:
- Halamaldif: $30,
- 12go: at the time of writing it costs €26 here (but always compare)
For this island too, as for all the others, the same considerations already explained for Maafushi apply, so I will not elaborate further.
If instead you are looking for a ferry to visit the island for the day, take a tour like this one, you will save both time and money.
From the airport to Fulidhoo
The island of Fulidhoo is further away from Malè airport, so travel times and costs increase compared to the previous ones.
Local ferries runs only 3 days a week in one direction (line 306) and 3 days a week in the other, it takes about 3.5 hours.
The speedboats, with a journey time of about 1 hour and 10 minutes:
- HalaMaldif: $65 at the time of writing,
- 12go: €44, but always compare prices and schedules.
From Malè airport to Thinadhoo
The beautiful island of Thinadhoo is found even further. You can get here with line 306 of the local ferry, 3 times a week in one direction and 3 days a week in the other, it takes about 5 hours.
With a journey time of about 1 hour and 10 minutes, these are some speedboats:
- HalaMaldif: $75 at the time of writing, takes 1 hour and 45 minutes,
- 12go: €55, about a 2-hour journey.
How to get to any island in the Maldives?
If the island you want to reach is not among those listed above try checking the costs on the comparator 12go, plus a search engine hit to find out if there are companies that allow booking at lower prices.
In the worst case, you can still buy the ticket locally at the airport, better have some cash in this case (Dollars or Rufiyaa?).
Travel between islands without stopping by Malè/Airport
If you are planning a multi-stop trip covering various islands of the Maldives you are surely wondering if it is possible to travel from island A to island B without passing through the airport or Malè each time.
Legitimate question. Unfortunately, almost all speedboats (and also public service ferries, if the two islands are not served by the same line) have Malè or the airport as their terminus.
To check if you are lucky and a direct boat exists you can once again try the comparator 12go or check the public lines on the MTCC site.
If you can’t find any, you can try asking locally if direct transfers to the island of your interest are available, at least 1-2 days in advance: if there are many of you, you might even find a tour operator who organizes a custom transfer if the two islands are close enough, but it won’t be cheap.
Alternatively, you might also find some daily excursions that take you to visit specific nearby islands: take a look at the activities and excursions I recommend (or not) in the Maldives.
Where is the ferry boarding point at Malè airport?
It is not difficult to reach the boarding points once you exit the terminal of Velana airport in Malè. At the end of the exit tunnel from the arrivals area you will find a road in front of you, after crossing it you are in front of the piers, some of which are covered by a canopy. Heading slightly to the left you will find the speedboat ones, approximately at this point on maps, opposite the Burger King.
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