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Addu Atoll

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The far south of the Maldives, just below the equator: islands joined by road, an old RAF airfield turned international airport, and a wartime wreck on the reef.

Fly to Addu Atoll All of Maldives
Arrival
Gan International · GAN
To the resort
About 10 minutes by speedboat to Villingili
Private jets
Land at Gan, an airport of entry
Best time
January to March

The city

South of the line.

Addu is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives, and traces of settlement on Meedhoo go back to 2000 BCE. In 1942 the British built an air base on Gan; a Walrus seaplane was the first aircraft to land, in February 1943, and the Royal Air Force stayed until 1976. The old sergeants’ mess is now a hotel, and the runway takes international flights.

Alone in the Maldives, four of Addu’s islands, Gan, Feydhoo, Maradhoo and Hithadhoo, are joined by a 14 km causeway, so the atoll can be explored by car as well as by boat. Shangri-La’s resort on Villingili, closed in 2020, took its first guests again at the end of December 2025.

  • British Loyalty The largest wreck in the Maldives, a wartime tanker now covered in hard coral and visited by giant mantas.
  • Addu Nature Park Wetlands, mangrove channels and the protected Koattey area on Hithadhoo, home to more than 28 bird species.
  • Gan The former RAF station, where the old cinema and a row of British cannons are still on show.

Arriving

An old air base, an hour south of Malé.

Gan International Airport sits on the former RAF airfield, at the southern rim of the atoll. Most visitors reach it on a domestic flight from Velana International in Malé, about 70 minutes; the two resorts are a short speedboat ride from the terminal.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights Maldivian flies to Gan from Malé every day, and Manta Air adds weekly services. SriLankan Airlines flies direct from Colombo, so Addu can be reached without passing through Malé. Business & First fares Private Jet Private jets Gan is an airport of entry with customs, so a private jet can clear in at Addu itself, without stopping at Malé. Slots are required, and landing permits may be needed for private and charter flights. Charter a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet
  • Malé 1 h 05
  • Colombo 1 h 50
  • Kathmandu 4 h 45
  • Bahrain 5 h 20
  • Geneva 11 h 00 long-range jet

When to go

January to March.

Highs of 30 to 31 °C all year and a sea at 28 to 30 °C. The southern atolls are the wettest in the country, and no month in Addu is dry; January to March, the north-east monsoon that the Maldives Meteorological Service calls the dry season, brings the calmest spell, while October is the wettest month.

  1. 31° J 198 28°
  2. 31° F 140 29°
  3. 31° M 143 29°
  4. 31° A 171 30°
  5. 31° M 223 30°
  6. 31° J 186 29°
  7. 31° J 174 29°
  8. 30° A 192 29°
  9. 30° S 216 29°
  10. 30° O 276 29°
  11. 31° N 201 28°
  12. 31° D 248 28°
Best months weather2travel.com, long-term averages (Seenu Atoll)

Where to stay

Two resorts at the end of the Maldives.

Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.

Where to dine

Dinner on Villingili.

No MICHELIN Guide covers the Maldives. This is the signature restaurant of Shangri-La’s Villingili, which reopened at the end of 2025.

  • Fashala Signature restaurant, Shangri-La’s Villingili Seafood, Mediterranean Shangri-La’s Villingili, at the tip of the island, about 10 minutes by boat from Gan

Elsewhere in Maldives

More reasons to come.

All of Maldives

Flying to Addu Atoll?

Choose how you arrive.

A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.

Business & First Private Jet