What to Wear in the Maldives (and What to Actually Pack)
You need far less than you think for the Maldives. We’ve taken a few trips there, and on every one we lived in swimsuits, a cover-up, and bare feet. The first time, I packed eight swimsuits and came home with a sunburn because I forgot a hat.
This is the list we’d pack now. It’s built around what we go for, which is the water: snorkeling the house reef, boat trips, and long days outside. It also covers the things most outfit guides skip, like the seaplane baggage limit, what customs will take off you, and what to wear once you leave the resort.
The short version
- It’s casual. Resorts are as dressed-up or dressed-down as you want. Nobody needs heels or a suit.
- The sun is the main thing to pack for. You’re close to the equator and on the water all day.
- Dry season runs November to April. December through March is the busiest and most expensive stretch. May to October is the wet season. See our guide to the best time to visit the Maldives.
- It still rains. Resorts hand out umbrellas, so a light rain jacket is optional.
- Local islands and Malé are different. The Maldives is a Muslim country, and resort dress doesn’t apply outside the resorts.
- Seaplanes have a weight limit. Pack light if your resort is a seaplane transfer away.
What to Wear at a Maldives Resort
During the day
A swimsuit and a cover-up is the daytime outfit, every day. You’ll go from breakfast to the water to a sunbed and back, and most of it happens barefoot or in sandals.
Bring a cover-up or sarong you’re happy to eat lunch in. Most resort restaurants ask for more than a swimsuit at the table, and it doubles as sun protection.
For time in the water, a long-sleeve UPF shirt beats reapplying sunscreen every hour. We wear one for snorkeling, paddleboarding, and boat trips.
At dinner
Dinner is “beach chic” at most. Think linen shirts and loose, flowy dresses. People do dress up, and you can every night if you like, but nobody expects it.
Women will get the most use from two or three light dresses or rompers. Men are fine in a linen or short-sleeve shirt with lightweight pants or shorts.
Leave the heels at home. You’ll often walk to dinner through sand, and many resort restaurants are barefoot.
What to Wear on Local Islands and in Malé
Outside the resorts, dress conservatively. The Maldives is a Muslim country, which is easy to forget when you’ve spent a week in a swimsuit. In Malé and on inhabited local islands, keep shoulders, chest, and legs covered. That goes for men too. A t-shirt with lightweight pants or a long skirt is all you need.
Swimwear on local islands is limited to the designated tourist beaches, usually signed as “bikini beaches.” Cover up before you walk back into town.
If your trip is all resort, one modest outfit is enough for the airport and any stop in Malé. If you’re staying in guesthouses on local islands, flip the ratio and pack mostly covered clothing.
Our Maldives Packing List
These are the things we used every day. Everything fits in a carry-on or a small checked bag, which matters if you’re on a seaplane.
Reef-safe sunscreen
Bring it from home. Few resorts provide sunscreen, and the gift shops charge a premium. We saw one selling a bottle of Sun Bum for $60.
We use a reef-safe formula any time we’re going in the ocean, since conventional sunscreens contribute to coral damage. Pack a travel-size bottle if you’re flying carry-on only.
A UPF sun shirt
This is the item we’d least want to forget. A lightweight UPF 50+ long-sleeve covers your back and shoulders while you snorkel, which is exactly where people burn. The sun here is strong, so don’t underestimate it.
A sun hat
I didn’t bring one on our first trip and regretted it within a day. A wide brim that packs flat is ideal.
Polarized sunglasses
Polarized lenses cut the glare off the water and let you see the reef and the fish from a jetty or a boat. I wear Smith ChromaPop lenses.
Two or three swimsuits
You’ll want one to wear while another dries, and a third if you like options. I once brought eight, which was at least five too many.
My favorite women’s brand is Andie. Cameron gets by on two pairs of trunks and likes Quiksilver’s Amphibian shorts, which pass as regular shorts around the resort.
A cover-up or sarong
You’ll wear it more than anything else you pack. It gets you from the water to lunch and keeps the midday sun off.
Sandals
One pair is plenty. I’ve worn Rainbow Sandals for years because they last and the leather molds to your foot.
Two or three dinner outfits
For women, a couple of light dresses or a romper. A pair of loose, lightweight pants earns its place too. They work for dinner, for cooler evenings, and for covering up in Malé or on a local island. We both wear prAna: the Fernie Pant for women and the Vaha Pant for men.
Mask, snorkel, and fins
You don’t have to bring these. Most resorts lend or rent snorkel gear, sometimes free and sometimes for a few dollars a day. We pack our own anyway. We’re in and out of the water all day, and it saves checking gear in and out and using a snorkel that’s been in a hundred other mouths.
A good mask that fits your face makes the biggest difference. On our trips we’ve snorkeled with sea turtles, blacktip reef sharks, manta rays, and stingrays, often right off the house reef.
A dry bag
Boat trips, sandbank picnics, and sudden rain showers all make a dry bag worth the space. It keeps your phone and camera safe.
An underwater camera
A GoPro is the simplest way to shoot underwater. Put it on a wrist strap or a floating handle. The Indian Ocean has already taken one camera from us.
A Type G travel adapter
The Maldives uses the British three-pin plug. A universal adapter covers it. That said many of the resorts we’ve stayed at have universal sockets.
Travel insurance
We don’t travel without it, and it matters more on a trip built around the water in a country where the nearest hospital can be a boat or seaplane ride away. We use Heymondo and Cigna Global.
What to Leave at Home
- Heels. There’s nowhere to wear them. Many resorts have docks, beaches, and natural pathways.
- Suits and formalwear. Unless you’re attending a wedding, linen is as formal as it gets.
- Alcohol. You can’t bring it into the country. Duty-free bottles are held by customs at the airport and returned when you leave.
- Pork products. These can’t be imported either.
- A drone, in most cases. Flying one is legal, but most resorts have a strict no-fly policy. We only flew ours with pre-approval from the resort, and only for a few minutes. Ask your resort before you pack it.
- Dive gear, unless you’re particular. Equipment is included in most dive packages.
- A beach bag and towels. Resorts supply both.
Things to Know Before You Pack
Seaplane baggage limits
Seaplanes are strict about weight. Trans Maldivian Airways, which flies most resort transfers, allows 25 kg per person: 20 kg checked and 5 kg hand luggage. No single bag can exceed 32 kg.
Excess baggage costs USD 5 per kg plus taxes. Both your checked bag and your hand luggage get weighed, and your international airline’s allowance doesn’t carry over.
Cash
US dollars are widely accepted, so bring some small bills for tips and for local islands.
Medication
Bring everything you need from home. There’s a small pharmacy in arrivals at Velana International Airport, but the selection is limited and brands may differ from what you’re used to. Most resorts have a doctor on call.
Rain Jacket
Showers happen even in dry season. Resorts provide umbrellas, so a rain jacket is only worth packing for a wet-season trip.
Where We’ve Stayed in the Maldives
Where you stay decides how you get there, and that decides how much you can pack. Speedboat resorts near Malé have no seaplane weight limit to worry about.
Velassaru is our favorite resort in the Maldives. It’s a 20-minute speedboat ride from the airport, the food is excellent, and the overwater bungalows are bigger than my old apartment. Check prices on Agoda.
Kurumba is five minutes from the airport by speedboat, so you can land and be on the beach almost immediately. It was the first resort in the Maldives, it’s well kept, and it has a good dive shop. Check prices on Agoda.
