Excellent trip, well run, lots of beautiful sights, snorkelling and wildlife, local island visits and knowledgeable local guides

Our guide, Ahmed, was very charming and informative. We enjoyed learning about the history, the culture and the modern day Malé from Ahmed, who shared many personal anecdotes of his life in Malé. We had visited Malé several years ago when we just walked around the town. It is so much better to have a guide that explains his country, filling in the color and texture of the place with things you would never know without his service.

"Our trip to the Maldives with Secret Paradise was essential for our documentary project, and we were pleasantly surprised by their affordability. As journalists for an international news channel, we needed a tour operator that could handle the complexities of filming in a foreign country. Secret Paradise exceeded all expectations, and did so within our budget. They took care of all the logistics, including securing filming permits and managing our visas, which was a huge relief. We were blown away by their seamless planning and the ease with which we were able to navigate the islands. The team at Secret Paradise is exceptionally professional, and their staff are genuinely kind and knowledgeable. Their dedication to responsible tourism is truly commendable. They go beyond simply offering tours; they actively promote sustainable travel practices, ensuring that tourism benefits the local communities and preserves the natural beauty of the Maldives. They provided us with a deeper understanding of responsible travel and how our choices can make a positive impact, which was vital for our documentary. Thank you, Secret Paradise, for proving that responsible and professional travel can also be budget-friendly!"

It was a great experience. At the first stop very many sharks (black tip reef sharks), colourful butterfly fish, at the next stops - reefs full of live corals. Excellent contact, knowledgeable guide, thank you and recommend:)

Can’t recommend secret paradise enough. My first solo trip and I loved every minute. So magical to snorkel amongst so much marine life and beautiful corals. The staff on board the Felicity were so attentive and food delicious. Our guide Ub was excellent and I am very grateful to both him and the boat captain for pointing out some amazing sightings. We saw nurse sharks, different reef sharks, manta rays, turtles, so many dolphins: particularly amazing were the spinners beside our boat leaping into the air. I loved swimming with mantas as I have always wanted to have this opportunity. We sadly didn’t see a whale shark but there is always next time. The talks from local experts were so interesting I particularly enjoyed doing fish ID and being given cards to help identify them in the water. The Whale shark conservation representative was lovely and very informative. Local island visits very brilliant it was great to see the real Maldives and taste local food. The uninhabited island pineapple island was beautiful where we did a reef snorkel and beach clean. I can’t wait to look through my photos and videos from the week, definitely take an underwater camera or GoPro if you go as there are so many amazing creatures to capture. I would love to return again in future!

My husband has had "swimming with manta rays" on his bucket list for years and we had booked a Marine Wildlife Cruise back in 2020, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid. So... as it was our 30th wedding anniversary on 2nd December we decided to book a similar trip again, but with some added luxury and chill out time added. We did a bit of research and came across Secret Paradise Maldives, and Ruth Franklin. Having booked the only available spaces left for the Marine Cruise in mid December, we enquired about places to stay prior to this. Ruth was really helpful, giving us a wide selection of options in different islands, with a resume of each one to help us choose. We emailed and spoke a few times to discuss options and transfers etc. Be warned, there are so many islands covering a massive area, miles apart. We finally decided on two resort islands in Baa Atoll. We spent our first week and our wedding anniversary on Coco Palm, then moved to Reethi Beach for week two and then the Marine Wildlife Cruise for week three which visited a number of the southern atolls. Our stay at Coco Palm was amazing. We stayed in a lagoon villa. The villa was beautiful with a small deck with plunge pool and loungers, all above the crystal clear water. There was a small area of new coral just near the villa and this attracted lots of fish, the biggest of which was a Tawny reef shark, which was a bit scary even though we knew they weren't dangerous. The food was amazing, all fresh, lots of choice and the staff were lovely and friendly and couldn't have been more helpful. The house reef was good. Week 2 at Reethi Beach was not quite so luxurious but also not so expensive. We had a sunset villa overlooking the beach and sea. The house reef was fabulous, in shallow water and just off the beach. We saw amazing marine life here including shark, dolphins, turtles, stingrays, clownfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, sweetlips and a multitude of other brightly coloured fish. The food was great, again with fresh ingredients but not quite so much choice as Coco Palm. Week 3 - The marine wildlife cruise. Here we lived on-board a Turkish Gulet and cruised around the southern atolls looking for Whale Sharks. It was a small group tour and there were 10 of us in total. Luckily we all got on fine as there wasnt really anywhere you could get away from people if you wanted too. We anchored in various spots and took a smaller Dhoni to areas where mega-fauna might be. We had Kemi as our tour leader and Chloe from the Maldives Whale Shark Project on board along with a small number of crew. Kemi and Chloe knew their stuff and the crew were amazing and very helpful. We all ate together and I was amazed at the fresh and varied menu the chef and staff produced in the kitchen. Each day involved a couple of reef snorkelling sessions (some before breakfast!!!). We saw dolphins, turtles, various species of shark, Moray eels, cuttlefish, trumpet fish and large shoals of smaller fish. We also got to see / swim with manta rays. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the illusive whale shark. We visited a couple of the local islands and had a beach barbeque. The Maldivian Evening on board was definitely a night to remember with traditional Maldivian food, music and dancing, with a finale performed by the legendary Ibrahim, the Dhoni pilot. Im not giving any more details on this but lets just say it was a very unexpected end to the evening! Its worth a mention about inter island travel. International flights all come into Velana international airport (MLE) also known as Male international airport. The resort islands are either served by ferry, speedboat or seaplane, depending on how far away from Male they are. If you decide to spend time at different atolls it is likely you will have to travel back to Male to transfer to the other atoll. Because both of our resorts were in Baa Atoll, We travelled to Coco Palm by seaplane, (awesome!), then by speedboat to Reethi Beach, then seaplane back to Male to pick up the Marine Cruise. Ruth at Secret Paradise will work out all the logistics for you and keep in contact re timetables etc. which are often not confirmed until the evening before. So, that is a summary of our 3-weeks discovering a very small part of the Maldives. The weather was sunny and hot, the sea was warm, the food delicious, the Maldivians lovely and welcoming. It was wonderful. If all you want to do is chill out and swim with the fishes, then The Maldives is for you. My husband was worried he might get bored, but really, there wasn't time to be bored!! I cant wait to visit again. Maybe next time we'll get to see whale shark too!

I really enjoyed this tour guided by Ub, interesting to see the Save the Beach coral project at first hand having had such an inspiring presentation from Hassan on the Felicity. The snorkeling was well organised. Villemalé is a lovely island with only electric vehicles. The walking tour was excellent. We also really appreciated mulling over life in the Maldives, the world and everything over a cup of tea.

Secret Paradise was wonderful and thorough when organizing my Male tour with Shaffaf! He went above and beyond to ensure I had a great visit and even though we encountered a lot of rain at the beginning (he got us raincoats at a nearby shop) we were able to explore so much in a short time. He went the extra mile by making sure I got some vegan food and made my flight on time. I highly recommend this company as they really take great care of their clients.

We used secret paradise to book our accomodation and coordinate transfers to and from the island we had chosen. Highly recommend if you need any help or tours whilst you are in the Maldives.

Aishath was an excellent guide. She was able to illuminate our walk with many personal narratives. She kept the tour at the appropriate speed given the busy streets.

Fantastic Local knowledge and local history of Male. Friendly guide and local knowledge. Would use Secret Paradise Maldives again.

We booked this activity for our visit on a cruise ship. There were 4 retired couples on board a modern speed boat. We were picked up at the pier by Archie, put into 2 taxis and driven to the boat. A ten minute boat ride got us to the first snorkel spot and provided with mask, fins and floatation vest. We were well prepped as to our dive along a reef edge. There were two guides in the water with us; one leading and the other following. We spotted small sharks, clown, zebra fish and others. After about a half hour we got back into the boat to go to the second site. There we saw rays, eels and other different fish. The third spot was a leisurely drift snorkel along another reef where we just floated in a slow current along the reef to the boat. The boat driver and two divers were very attentive to our various swimming abilities. We all felt very safe, supported and enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it.

We were driven in a taxis from Male tender port to Hulhumale to board a speedboat to Huraa, This island is where the Four Seasons Resort is located. The claim to fame is that there’s a natural pond with mangrove trees. Saw lots of holes in the sandy area and was told that they were dug by small crabs. Also visited a small home production of tuna sauce. Basically tuna fish bones with some flesh still attached were boiled down in huge pots. Had lunch at a restaurant near where the speedboat was parked.

Wonderful snorkeling experience!! Saw many different schools of fish and manta rays unbelievably close. Archie and his crew were beyond helpful, knowledgeable, and kind. Highly recommend!!

The walking tour have us a good understanding of the history and culture of Maldives. Our guide is a learned young lady who has good knowledge of her country and her command of English is also very good. As we toured the city, she brought us to several spots that are significant in Maldivian history including the Mosque that was designated a UNESCO site. We also visited the dry market as well as the fish market. My husband and I learnt a lot about Maldives and that tour made it more than a touristy island. Definitely recommend this tour.