Samura Maldives Guest House

Meals here happen together, mostly on the sand, rather than at a private table. Fish appears five nights a week, chicken twice, and there is no red meat on the list. A beach barbecue is held twice weekly, weather allowing, and Friday lunch starts later than usual, after midday prayers. The property holds two guest houses, each with air conditioning and a private bathroom, plus a garden, a bar, and Wi-Fi throughout. Rooms are plain and comfortable rather than dressed up. There is no suitcase of resort formality to unpack: no gala dinners, no evening entertainers. Instead, guests sit out after dark and listen to the sea. Thulusdhoo itself is a working island, with a few hundred residents, colourful houses, small unstocked shops, and no alcohol sold anywhere on it. You can hear the call to prayer several times a day drifting over the guesthouse garden. Visitors are asked to cover shoulders and knees when walking through the village, and to keep plastic to a minimum given the island's limited waste facilities. It suits travellers happy to eat what is put in front of them and talk to strangers at the next table, less so those wanting a private terrace and turndown service.