Local Bars

The lifestyle in the Maldives has a tranquil pace. There are about 400,000 people living in the Maldives and around 130,000 live in the capital city of Malé. If you go out for an evening to the local bars you will find mostly tourists (locals are prohibited from drinking alcohol due to Islamic traditions) and spend the evening engaging in pleasant conversation. Some of the bars offer entertainment provided by the locals. Just don’t invite them for an alcoholic drink after the show. They will politely decline or accept non-alcoholic drinks.

Resort Bars

Because the only access to these islands is by boat if you stay at one of these resorts your only choice for any nightlife is the resort bar. At some resorts, it is possible to have a romantic dinner of delicious lobster that is cooked and served to you on the beach. You may also find it fun to take some drinks onto the beach and them to go for a swim under the full moon. Some of the resorts have a bar located on the beach. Because the Maldives is a mostly Muslim country, nude bathing is prohibited, so resist the temptation to go “skinny-dipping.”

Sangu Beach Bar

Velassaru Resort has the Sangu Beach Bar, which offers two-for-one cocktails daily for Happy Hour from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Nautilus Bar

The Nautilus Bar is found at the Vilu Reef Resort. Once a week, the Nautilus Bar offers a local folklore show. Past guests report that “Local people dance and sing their traditional songs. There is a traditional Bodu-Beru concert – Bodu-Beru means ‘big drum.’”

Fun Events

Crab Racing is a popular event. You pick out a hermit crab, pay the entry fee (around U.S. $5) and hope it will win the race. Crabs do not have any riders to guide them, so they run all over the place in almost random directions. The first one to cross the line of a circle drawn around them wins. There is one bar on Veligandu Island that has a restaurant and offers Crab Racing every Saturday night. Other bars may also offer this type of event. You can also simply enjoy some cocktails and a fun game of darts on the beach, and some bars, like Fisherman’s Bar, offer karaoke.