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Ari Atoll Resorts in December
Good month: December is at the start of the recommended season (December – April). Plan around: Festive Peak: Minimum Stays and Gala Dinners. Christmas and New Year peak can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of April, 4 months away. South-West Monsoon: Seaplanes Held in Storms usually starts in May, 5 months away.
4 days in Ari Atoll Resorts in December · from ₹1,83,114 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book December
Closures, crowds and rules at Ari Atoll Resorts this month.
Worth knowing
Seaplanes Fly in Daylight Only
Seaplanes fly only in daylight, with the last departures from Malé around 16:00. If your flight lands later, sleep in Hulhumalé or Malé and fly to the resort in the morning, or ask the resort for a domestic flight and speedboat instead, which run after dark. On the way home, the morning seaplane suits flights leaving after about 14:00.
Heads up
Festive Peak: Minimum Stays and Gala Dinners
Over Christmas and New Year resorts charge their highest rates, set minimum stays (often five to seven nights) and bill compulsory gala dinners on 24 and 31 December. Seaplane seats sell out: book by September.
What’s on in December
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Christmas and New Year peak
The resorts' dearest fortnight: minimum stays of five to seven nights, compulsory gala dinners on 24 and 31 December billed on top, and seaplane seats that sell out. Book by September, or come in early December or mid-January for the same dry weather at lower prices.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 4 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹1,83,114 for two
- Room a night₹31,380
- Food a day, each₹4,940
Mid-range
₹3,49,866 for two
- Room a night₹64,670
- Food a day, each₹11,400
Luxury
₹7,96,046 for two
- Room a night₹1,56,920
- Food a day, each₹26,600
What December does to prices
- Over Christmas and New Year resorts charge their highest rates, set minimum stays (often five to seven nights) and bill compulsory gala dinners on 24 and 31 December.
- The resorts' dearest fortnight: minimum stays of five to seven nights, compulsory gala dinners on 24 and 31 December billed on top, and seaplane seats that sell out.
- Book by September, or come in early December or mid-January for the same dry weather at lower prices.
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for the Maldives yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Male (MLE), 82 km away
Then: Flight · 1h 30m (Seaplane (Trans Maldivian), between the airport and the resort)
Flights from India: from 8 cities, one way from ₹9,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
Visa on arrival for up to 30 days
- Within 96 hours before you land, fill in the free IMUGA traveller declaration at imuga.immigration.gov.mv (one per traveller) and save the QR code. Nothing is needed to leave: the departure declaration was dropped in August 2024.
- At immigration in Malé, show your passport, your confirmed resort, hotel or guesthouse booking for the whole stay, and your return ticket: you are given a free 30-day tourist visa on arrival. No visa is needed in advance.
- Don't pack alcohol, pork products or idols for worship: customs prohibits them, and alcohol is held at the airport until you leave.
- The departure tax (US$50 in economy) is already in your air fare; there is nothing to pay at the airport.
Carry: Passport valid for at least 6 months from the day you arrive, with a blank page (most airlines ask for this); Confirmed booking at a resort, hotel or registered guesthouse for every night; Confirmed return or onward ticket out of the Maldives; IMUGA traveller declaration QR code; Enough money for the stay (a card or cash in US dollars).
Free for every nationality, but immigration can refuse entry without a booking at a registered place to stay: an Airbnb or a friend's address without one is not enough. Re-checked in October 2026 from news and guide summaries, as the official site could not be opened: confirm on immigration.gov.mv before you fly.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in the Maldives in December
Also in season this month.
- Baa Atoll Resorts · good month
- Dhigurah · good month
- Fulidhoo · good month
- Gulhi · good month
- Hulhumale · good month
- Lhaviyani Atoll Resorts · good month
- Maafushi · good month
- Male · good month
Nearby in Ari & Rasdhoo Atolls:
Want this as a real plan?
Ari Atoll Resorts in December, day by day, priced for your group.