Surfing in Maldives

Though surfing is relatively new in the Maldives, compared to activities such as diving and snorkeling, the Maldives is now acknowledged for some world recognized surf spots and has been host to the renowned O’Neil Deep Blue competition for two consecutive years.

The best time to surf in the Maldives is from April to October, with the biggest swells likely to occur in June-September. Due to the monsoonal winds from the Indian subcontinent and the swell generated from the south, the conditions during these months are predominantly off-shore all day. The surf generally ranges in size from 3 – 8 feet although bigger ones are experienced occasionally. A great variety of breaks can be found in the Maldives ranging in intensity from the quite mellow shreddable walls to gnarlier hollow pits.

There are two major surf areas in the Maldives – the North Malé Atoll (April – October) and the Outer Atolls (February – April). The North Malé Atoll sports the most popular breaks and the outer atolls’ breaks (approximately 300 miles to the south of the capital Malé) contain at least a dozen potential world class breaks that are rarely surfed.