30 minutes (120kms) by seaplane from Male International Airport (MLE)
December to April is dry and sunny while monsoon season starts in May/June and lasts until November. Downpours are however brief. April and May are the hottest months of the year.
BEST FOR QUESTING HEALTH-SEEKERS: Something to keep in mind when planning a holiday in the Maldives is that the remoteness once guaranteed by these faraway atolls can no longer be taken for granted. Resorts too close to the capital, Malé, may have views across to its high-rise skyline; others may have a neighbouring hotel within earshot or clear sight. But the gloriously isolated Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, a former coconut plantation, has no such problems. The villas are also big and well spaced for privacy, the food couldn't be healthier (catch of the day at Fuego Grill; Lebanese mezze at Al Barakat) and the spa is truly outstanding: as well as overwater treatment rooms, it has a shady Ayurvedic area in a clearing, where prayerful therapists from a Tantric Ayurvedic centre in Indonesia administer rituals lasting hours. It's also set up to provide a restorative 14- or 21-day panchakarma cleanse, which takes pounds off like nothing else. The island's Marine Discovery Centre, run by a team of biologists whose main focus is manta-ray research, could get anyone hooked on the wondrous world revealed as one sinks below the ocean surface with a snorkel or tank.
