Enjoy the silence at Huraa Island

If you love the Robinson-Crusoe-feeling and you like to have a secluded local island nearly all by yourself without masses of tourists, check out Huraa Island on Kaafu Atoll. It is only 850 meters long and 300 meters wide, but this is what makes it the ideal location to calm down and relax. The **atmosphere **is very **peaceful **and laid back. About 1.000 local **Maldivians **live there, most of them are fishermen or work in the tourism industry. You will hardly see any cars, most people walk or take a motorbike, and **flipflops **are the only shoes needed. These facts make **Huraa **the ideal **island **to enjoy the **silence **and **relax **from everyday life.

How to get to Huraa

With a distance of only 21 km, **Huraa Island **is easily accessible from Malé and Velana International Airport, the main international airport in the Maldives. From there, you can take a **private speedboat **transfer which is bookable with your **hotel **or guesthouse. Alternatively, you can take a regular **speedboat **or the local ferry from Malé. The **ferry **is by far the cheapest option but also the slowest. It only operates once or twice a day, except for Fridays. The **ferry **is not only used for transporting people but also all kinds of goods like food, as well as things such as refrigerators and everything **local **people might need to bring home to their island. It is the perfect opportunity to immerse into the **local culture **and daily life. The **speedboat **is faster and operates every few hours, but it is also a bit more expensive.

Stay with the locals

Once you arrive on Huraa Island, you will most likely be picked up from the **harbor **by the host of your guesthouse. Since the government of the **Maldives **made it possible for **locals **to open their own guesthouses, plenty of these accommodations are available for tourists. All of them are similar, they offer a small number of simple but clean rooms. Continental or Maldivian breakfast is included, you should definitely try the famous tuna salad. Most often, the **guesthouses **also offer free rent of snorkelling equipment and bath towels. Also, **excursions **like snorkelling, **fishing **or private **BBQ **can be booked by guesthouses. For travellers preferring more luxury, there is even a 4-star hotel with a spa area and a private beach.

Try the local cuisine while watching the sunset

Although Huraa Island is quite small, there is a variety of different options for dining. If you want to save money and taste local cuisine, just order lunch or dinner in your guesthouse. The meals are basic and mostly rice or noodles with different fish, but they taste very **delicious **and are rather cheap. A nice **restaurant **with high-quality food and a laid back atmosphere is 'The Harbor'. The place allows you to **relax **under a palm tree while watching the boats at the small harbor nearby. For alcohol-free **cocktails **(alcohol is forbidden on local islands), visit the 'Blue Terrace Restaurant'. It offers the most beautiful view of the sunset and also a good variety of **local **and international dishes. For a short coffee break, the 'Caffeine Hub' is a cute little place offering milkshakes, juices and coffee in a relaxed atmosphere. 

Relax on Bikini Beach or in a nearby resort

Huraa Island offers everything you need for a relaxing holiday. Bikini Beach, the only place on the **island **where tourists are allowed to wear short swimwear only, is just some minutes away from most **guesthouses **and provides some free sunbeds and parasols. The highlights are the fine white sand on the **beach **and the beautiful colour of the water. The beach, just as the whole island, is very tranquil with hardly any other tourists. The main attraction is the house reef just next to the shore with some corals and fish – if you are lucky you can also spot some small reef sharks and stingrays. Bikini Beach is located very close to the neighbouring island, a 4-star resort with typical overwater-bungalows. If you have the desire to visit this **paradise **only some 100 metres away and maybe enjoy some alcoholic cocktails, you can book a day trip with your **guesthouse **and spend a day at the resort. After a day on the beach, there is a small **shopping street **that invites tourists to buy **souvenirs, **but there are also some stores where you can buy food, drinks and other helpful things like towels, snorkelling equipment and sunscreen.

Find your inner peace at Huraa Island

With charming guesthouses, nice **restaurants **and proximity to the international airport of the Maldives, Huraa Island is the perfect location for a **relaxing **getaway from everyday life. With a **paradisiac beach **and **snorkelling **options nearby, the **island **offers everything you can think of for an exciting vacation in a calm environment. No matter if you choose to stay two weeks or just a few days after an exciting tour through Asia, Huraa Island allows you to enjoy the silence and find your inner peace without ever getting bored.