Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru Review (formerly LTI)

This is the review of my stay at the Maafushivaru resort in the Maldives, now the OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort. I spent 4 days at this resort in the South Ari Atoll in September. The resort was completely rebuilt and reopened in 2020. Find out if it is really one of the best resorts in the South Ari Atoll and how to plan the best possible trip to the Maldives.

Review of the resort facilities at Outrigger Maafushivaru Resort Maldives

The location of the Maafushivaru Maldives resort & spa is absolutely beautiful. It is located in the South Ari Atoll, one of the most interesting atolls in the Maldives for its marine life, as you can encounter sharks, manta rays, and humongous whale sharks!

The island is in the middle of a large lagoon. It has a few stunning beaches. When you see the pristine white sand, you’ll understand why the Maldives is “the dream beach destination.” What amazed me was all the shades of blue you could find in the sea. I could not stop looking at it.

The Maafushivaru resort was completely rebuilt and reopened in 2020. I didn’t associate the LTI brand with ultra-luxury back then, but this resort definitely holds its place amongst the best hotels — and under the Outrigger flag, that quality has a name to match. From the architecture to the lighting or good service, the place is a delight to stay in.

I enjoyed my villa so much that it was hard to drag myself away from it. I did it from time to time, and it was rewarding. The island is small, and it takes about 10 minutes to walk around. The infinity pool is divine. It is large and great for swimming laps. It has a pool bar, which is convenient to get drinks and food while lounging around.

There are a few pristine white sand beaches around the island.

As I walked back to my room during sunset, a stork was catching fish on the beach while baby sharks were hunting!! Maafushivaru is surrounded by incredible nature.

Review of the water villa at Outrigger Maafushivaru Resort, Maldives

The resort is built on a sandy outcrop surrounded by nothing but amazing blue waters. Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru has five types of accommodation across its 81 villas: the beach villas, beach pool villas, and duplex pool villas are located on the island; the water villas are built over the water in an interesting leaf shape; and the water pool villas, also located over the water, offer a private pool. If you want to splurge, choose a water villa with a pool, as it is the ultimate experience in the Maldives — though if you are weighing a resort against a dive boat, read my guide on the best way to dive the Maldives: liveaboard or resort. I stayed in the water villa 218. Each water villa covers a sizeable 95 square meters (including the spacious balcony). I was traveling alone, so I had plenty of space! The water villas are made up of a small bedroom, a dressing area, a large wrap-around balcony, and a bathroom. The bedroom houses a large and comfortable king-size bed for couples, with side tables.

If you, unfortunately, have to work while on holiday, there is a desk with a beautiful sea view that will make work more acceptable. However, it doesn’t have a plug for your laptop, so I had to use the plug from the bedside table.

The bedroom also comes with a large LCD TV, a ceiling fan, air conditioning, and lighting. The lighting was very sophisticated, with plenty of different light options depending on your mood. It took me a few minutes to understand it and figure out how to turn off all the lights on my first night. The bedroom is painted white with wooden accents, and the floors are made with beautiful wooden tiles. It all looks fresh, natural, and relaxing! There is a Teufel speaker to play your own music.

Behind the bedroom is a dressing room with plenty of cupboards, including bathrobes, an iron, a safety box, and everything else you might need.

Complimentary drinking water is available. The resort uses glass bottles instead of plastic bottles to reduce its environmental impact — a program that was being piloted during my stay. Small gestures like this make a big difference for our planet over time!

The spacious bathrooms are beautifully lined in white marble-style tiles and kept pristinely clean by the resort staff. It features a shower, bathtub, and hairdryer. The view from the bathtub over the ocean was mesmerizing, and I loved soaking in it after a day on the beach.

The water villas might not be the biggest in the Maldives, but they are extremely well designed and offer an amazing view of the atoll.

TIP: If you are like me and like to watch the sunset, get a water villa with an even number, as this is the side facing the sunset. Also, the villas at the end of the pier offer quiet and privacy. So, in my opinion, the best villas in the Maafushivaru resort are 216, 218, 220, and 221. For the overwater pool villas, ask for villas 329, 331 or 333.

The balcony, meanwhile, has a spectacular open view of the ocean. The front features two lounge chairs and a coffee table with two chairs, while the back sports a bench with a small table. To gain access to the clear blue water, there’s a platform accessible from the balcony. What a treat to be able to swim directly from your balcony! So while my water villa didn’t have a pool, I felt like I had the biggest pool in the world at my doorstep, and I went and swam in the ocean many times during my stay.

Review of the spa at Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru

The spa is a beautiful, curvy building by the edge of the sea. I was greeted with a cold towel and fragrant juice, which was a bit too sweet for my taste. I was blown away by the design of the chill-out area and the plunge pool.

TIP: If you book a spa treatment, make sure you come at least 30 minutes before so that you can enjoy the sauna, steam room, and plunge pool.

While I was in the sauna, there was a fish frenzy going on in the sea below, with plenty of fish jumping out of the water. This has to be the best view you can get from a spa anywhere in the world! The massage room is gorgeous, with a wide door that opens up to the sea. When I arrived, the window was closed, so I asked my therapist to open it so that I could have my massage by the sound of the sea. I had a Swedish massage, and the technique of my therapist, Yuli, was good. I had been waking up before 6 am every day of the last week to dive while on the Blue Force liveaboard, so I needed a bit of relaxation… The massage was perfect for removing any tensions I had and put me in the right mood for this holiday. A massage is also the perfect thing to do after a long flight on your arrival day!

Review of the food at Outrigger Maafushivaru Resort Maldives

Maafushivaru resort has four restaurants. Most people going to the Maldives complain about the quality of the food. The food at Maafushivaru was diverse and delicious. I looked forward to every meal.

The main restaurant is the Cuisine Gallery

Most guests booking at Maafushivaru include breakfast and dinner at the main restaurant. It is buffet-style. The breakfast is extensive, with many cooked options — from Asian to Indian or European, all cuisines are represented. It was missing fresh fruit juices, but they have a healthy corner if you want to make your breakfast salad.

Cielo is an Italian restaurant

This is on the upper floor of the Water Bar and enjoys a panoramic view over the sea. They call it an Italian restaurant, but the menu is much broader than that. Yes, it has pizzas and pasta, but also burgers and Asian food. I wasn’t convinced by the Italian food, but the chocolate mousse dessert was delicious.

The signature restaurant is Moodhu Grill

It serves Indian food and grilled meats and fish. It was my favorite restaurant in the resort for both the setting and the food. The building is stunning, standing out over the water.

TIP: make sure you book this restaurant in advance, as it is often fully booked. Ask for one of the tables on its individual round platforms over the water.

I had the tuna tartare and the butter paneer. The butter paneer was absolutely delicious. It is the best I’ve had in the last few months!

Las Tapas is the poolside restaurant

It is open for lunch, and you can choose from a whole range of small bites. It is not high gastronomy, but it was tasty and filling.

Koto (formerly Umi) is the Japanese restaurant

You have two options here. The traditional Japanese menu with sushi and other traditional dishes or the teppanyaki experience. (Under Outrigger, this restaurant has been renamed from Umi to Koto — the overwater teppanyaki concept remains.) I did the traditional menu on the first night. The tuna tataki was delicious. I usually try to avoid eating tuna, as it is one of the endangered fish species. But it is a locally available fish here in the Maldives. I saw many tunas diving in the Maldives archipelago in my last two weeks, so I felt it was OK to order it. It was delicious.

The next day, I went back to try the teppanyaki. This is an experience in itself, as the cook is very entertaining. All the guests sit around the grill, so it is also a great way to meet other guests in the resort. The food was delicious.

Are there all-inclusive resorts in the Maldives?

Yes, and Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru offers you the option to go all-inclusive and is one of the top all-inclusive resorts in the Maldives. The resort offers three meal plan options. 1) The Half Board plan includes breakfast and dinner at the buffet restaurant. It also includes drinking water in the room. 2) The Half Board Plus package is the basic package + selected standard drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic). The range of drinks included was quite impressive, with tens of cocktails, liquors, and plenty of wines to choose from. I was underwhelmed by the beer selection, with only Lion beer and Carlsberg available. I also wish they would offer more fresh juices as part of the plan. The only things not included were champagne, premium wines, fresh juices, and premium alcohol. 3) The Dine Around All-Inclusive package allows you to eat in any of Maafushivaru’s restaurants for lunch and dinner and also includes all standard drinks. I recommend going for their all-inclusive package. Food and drink prices in the Maldives are generally high, and the last thing you want to do is spend your holiday worrying about the cost of what you eat and drink. Being able to eat at the specialty restaurants in the evening also adds to the resort experience, as the food is delicious. Maafushivaru has its place amongst the best all-inclusive resorts in the Maldives.

How much does Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru cost?

Beach villas sit at the lower end of the price range, with water villas above that and the overwater pool villas at the top of the range — and the Dine Around All-Inclusive plan adding a per-person daily supplement that, in my view, is the best money you will spend on the trip. Remember that Maldives prices are always advertised “++”: tax and service add roughly 23% to everything, and the 25-minute seaplane transfer costs extra (around €300 return when I visited). Even so, for a fully rebuilt island with this house reef and this food, Maafushivaru remains one of the best-value luxury all-inclusives in the Maldives.

Compare Maafushivaru rates & plans →

Review of the activities at Outrigger Maafushivaru Resort

Most people go to the Maldives for a relaxing holiday on the beach, but there is plenty to do at Maafushivaru. It is one of the best resorts in the Maldives for underwater activities and marine life.

TIP: Maafushivaru has developed an app that you can download from the Google Play store or the Apple App Store. The app is great. It lists all the restaurants and their menus and also has all the weekly events and activities. Download it before your stay to make sure you don’t miss out.

Whale shark tour

If there is one activity that you shouldn’t miss while at Maafushivaru, it is the whale shark tour. This is a half-day tour and cost 130 USD when I visited (it has since risen to 195 USD per person, per Outrigger’s current activity pricing). The trip takes you along the South Ari Atoll — one of the only places on earth where whale sharks can be encountered year-round. When it comes to the animal kingdom, it’s often assumed that bigger creatures are more dangerous than smaller ones. In the ocean, few creatures are as gentle as whale sharks. However, gentle as they are, the sheer size of whale sharks provides a sense of excitement and awe among those who have had the honor of swimming with these gentle giants. By staying at Maafushivaru, you get a chance to do just that. A 50-minute boat ride from the resort lies Maamigili Beyru, where whale sharks congregate.

Tip: if you get seasick, take seasickness tablets before the trip. Four passengers on our boat got seasick, and it was not a pleasant trip for them.

In the past two weeks, I had been on whale shark trips at the same place with the Blue Force liveaboard and the Scubaspa liveaboard, and I didn’t see any. I was starting to question whether the Maldives was really a place to see whale sharks. The boat ride was smooth as we made our way to Maamigili Beyru. There were twelve of us on the tour. We quickly found a small whale shark near Maamigili Beyru and went swimming with it. It was a small one, about 4 meters. We got to swim with it for about 10 minutes, and it was fantastic. But after that, all the other boats showed up, and it became overcrowded. There were 10 boats and close to 100 people in the water. It was crazy, and I got kicked with fins a few times, so I gave up. We went back on the boat and started to look for another whale shark. We were super lucky and found another bigger one, and we again got to swim with it alone. It was about 7 meters! Unfortunately, the other boats caught up with us, and it became too crowded again. Big congrats to the team of Maafushivaru spotters, who were able to find the two whale sharks.

TIP: if you are not used to snorkeling, I suggest that you practice on the house reef for a few days before doing this tour. It is in the open sea with some waves, and some inexperienced guests were struggling. The tour also comes with free water and fruit salad.

Snorkeling the Maafushivaru house reef and around

The reef around Maafushivaru is astonishing and made for great snorkeling: schools of fish greet you the moment you enter the clear waters of the lagoon around the resort.

TIP: Maafushivaru resort can lend you snorkels and fins free of charge for the duration of your stay.

Past the drop-off, you get on top of the wall, where you can encounter bigger pelagic fish. I went snorkeling on my own in the morning and saw three longnose devil rays gracefully gliding around, two large blacktip sharks, a great barracuda, and many tunas and jacks. Not bad for a pre-breakfast snorkel… The coral around the resort and in most shallow places in the Maldives is in bad shape. Most of it is dead following the last El Niño events. There is, however, hope as we can start to see small corals growing back from place to place. Schools of fusiliers and unicorn fish were there en masse. I was accompanied during my swim by a school of hundreds of butterflyfish. It was stunning.

TIP 1: If you like snorkeling, don’t miss your morning snorkel at Maafushivaru. The best place is the drop-off that starts near the end of the pier with all the water pool villas. TIP 2: Don’t go when the tide is at its lowest. If you see bits of coral sticking out of the water, wait for a couple of hours to make sure there is enough water for you to swim above the reef.

I also joined the snorkeling safari that the Maafushivaru team organizes a few times a week. This is a two-hour adventure to go and explore two other reefs. We first went to Villamandhoo reef, which was about a 20-minute boat ride away. Visibility was not great on that day, most of the corals were broken, and I didn’t see many fish, so I was not a fan of this reef. We then went to Turtle reef, which looked a bit better. We hung out with two turtles and a moray eel, and then it was time to get back to the resort. Honestly, I preferred the snorkeling just outside the Maafushivaru resort.

Diving the South Ari Atoll

If you are into diving, some of the best dive sites in the Maldives are located near Maafushivaru. I didn’t dive with the resort, but I did spend the previous two weeks diving liveaboards. You can find out about the dive sites in my reviews of the Scubaspa liveaboard and the Blue Force liveaboard.

Watersports

Water sports on offer included kayaking, windsurfing, banana boating, and paddle boats.

Yoga and gym

I will be honest, I was so busy relaxing that I didn’t get to try the gym. However, it looks great with a splendid sea view and plenty of cardio machines.

Maafushivaru offers complimentary yoga classes a few times per week. The sunset yoga class was a great way to end the day. For families, Outrigger has also added the Treehouse Kids Retreat kids’ club since taking over — something the island didn’t have during my stay.

Getting to the Maafushivaru resort by seaplane

I was a bit worried about booking a resort away from Malé airport, as it would make the transfer more complicated.

I should not have been. The transfer to get there was seamless, and taking a seaplane was fun! It was actually much smoother than small private planes. The landing on the water was very smooth. The plane ride over all the beautiful islands of the Maldives was an experience in itself.

Maafushivaru is located in the South Ari Atoll and accessible via a 25-minute seaplane flight. The resort organizes the seaplane transfer, which cost about 300 EUR round trip when I visited. I arrived at the airport and was greeted by one of their staff. They have a booth at counter number 5. From there, they took my bag and escorted me to the Trans Maldivian check-in counter. It is a mere one-minute walk from the international arrival door, so it is very easy.

I got a boarding pass, and we made our way in a minibus to the Maafushivaru airport lounge. It was a nicer place to wait for the plane than the Malé airport. Once in the lounge, I waited about 70 minutes for the seaplane, as we were waiting for passengers from another flight.

Review of the Maafushivaru lounge at Malé airport seaplane terminal

Maafushivaru has its own private lounge at the airport and is a comfortable place to wait for the flight, especially if you come from a long overnight flight. It is large and furnished with plush white sofas. There is a smoking area outside and a few lounge chairs if you want to start with the holiday vibe. Soft drinks, water, tea, and coffee are available. There is wifi, but it is very, very slow.

Luggage allowance on Trans Maldivian Airways seaplanes

Trans Maldivian Airways allows only 20 kg of luggage and 5 kg of carry-on, so pack light. They weighed all my bags. My carry-on was a bit heavier as I was transporting cameras, but it was small, so they let it pass. I had a lot of luggage. I had been doing the Scubaspa liveaboard and the Blue Force diving liveaboard and had all my diving gear, which I would not need at the resort. The Maafushivaru team offered to store it in the lounge during my trip free of charge so that my luggage would remain within the seaplane allowance.

Seaplane trip back to Malé, Maldives

The return to the airport was a bit more painful. The last seaplane of the day was departing Maafushivaru at 3 pm, so I got to Malé airport at 4 pm, while my Emirates flight was at 11 pm. I, therefore, had 7 hours to wait, and I could not enter the airport as they only allow check-in three hours before the flight departure time. The Malé airport has a limited seating area and was very crowded. It is loud and unpleasant to wait there for a few hours. Update: Velana International Airport opened a new terminal in 2025, so waiting conditions may well have improved since my visit.

TIP: Book an afternoon return flight no later than 8 pm. This way, you don’t have to spend too much time waiting for your flight but leave enough time at the airport. See my review of the Emirates Business Class flight to the Maldives.

FAQ: Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru

Is LTI Maafushivaru the same as Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru?

Yes. Outrigger took over the former LTI Maafushivaru, and the resort is now the OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort. It is the same island, the same 81 villas, and the same South Ari Atoll location — with some additions under Outrigger such as the Treehouse Kids Retreat and the renaming of the Umi restaurant to Koto.

Is Outrigger Maafushivaru all-inclusive?

It offers three plans: Half Board, Half Board Plus (adds standard drinks), and the Dine Around All-Inclusive, which covers lunch and dinner at any restaurant plus standard drinks. I recommend the Dine Around plan — Maldives food and drink prices are high, and the specialty restaurants are a big part of the experience.

How do you get to Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru?

Via a scenic 25-minute seaplane flight from Malé (Velana International Airport) with Trans Maldivian Airways, arranged by the resort. Luggage is limited to 20 kg plus 5 kg carry-on, and the resort has its own comfortable lounge at the seaplane terminal.

Can you see whale sharks at Maafushivaru?

Yes — the resort sits in the South Ari Atoll, one of the only places in the world where whale sharks are present year-round. The resort’s half-day whale shark tour to Maamigili Beyru found two for us; manta rays are also frequently encountered in the atoll.

Which are the best water villas at Maafushivaru?

Choose an even-numbered water villa for sunset views, ideally at the end of the pier for privacy — villas 216, 218, 220, and 221 are my picks, or overwater pool villas 329, 331, and 333.

In conclusion of my review of Outrigger Maldives Maafushivaru

Maafushivaru is a splendid resort that has a lot to offer. It might not offer large or multi-room suites or butler services, like some top-end hotels in the Maldives, but it does hit all the marks where it matters: gorgeous beaches, stunning architecture, comfortable rooms, and great food. It offers splendid value for money and is one of the best Maldives all-inclusive resorts if you choose their Dine Around plan. The location in the South Ari Atoll allows you to get a glimpse of the splendid underwater world of the Maldives, with frequent manta and whale shark sightings nearby. I absolutely loved my stay at Maafushivaru and wish I could have stayed longer. For more information and bookings, check the Maafushivaru website.

Check Outrigger Maafushivaru availability →

Water villas and the December–April high season book out earliest — whale sharks, though, are here year-round.

Related reading

Planning the full Maldives trip? Read my reviews of the Scubaspa liveaboard and the Blue Force liveaboard in the Maldives, my guide to liveaboard vs resort diving in the Maldives, and my Emirates Business Class review for getting there in style. You can browse everything Maldives in my Maldives section.