Rasdhoo (Dhivehi: ރަސްދޫ) (Rasdu in the Admiralty Charts) is an inhabited island of the Maldives. It is also the capital of the Alif Alif Atoll administrative division. It is the only inhabited island of a small natural atoll known as Rasdhoo, Rasdu or Ross Atoll located a few miles off NE Ari Atoll. As of September 2016 Rasdhoo island boasts 16 guesthouses.
There is public ferry from Malé on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday that takes 3 hours and 19 minutes.
Rasdhoo Island is one of the most popular destinations among diving amateurs. The island is located in Alif Alif Atoll 56 kilometers west from Male. Rasdhoo is a rather small island, it’s about 500 m in length and approximately 600 meters in width. The population of Rasdhoo today is 1500 people. Yes, the number of people on such a small piece of land is large, but you don’t really notice it.
I visited the island for the second time during my tour across the islands, which I’ve already mentioned in my post about Thoddoo and Ukulhas. I felt as if I came back home. It’s probably because of the fact that the memories about my previous trip were so deep in my mind that I still remember every detail.
On the dock I was met by – I didn’t believe my eyes – a manager of the hotel I had stayed in last year! This is really a small world. As I was told later, he moved to Sri Lanka with his family. But then he came back to Maldives to continue doing his business. Now he’s working at Ras Beach Inn. I’ve heard a lot of good responses about this guest house. I’ll tell more about this guest house in another post.
This huge fish (its weight is about 1.5-2 kg) was caught before our eyes by a local, who used just a ledger rig and live baits. By the way, it’s said that there you can even try bare hook fishing. The best time for fishing is either early in the morning, or before sunset, when fish come to the surface for feeding.
Throughout the day there are not so many people on the streets.
WHAT TO DO IN RASDHOO?
The island offers quite a number of activities. Let’s consider the most popular of them.
UNINHABITED ISLANDS
You can travel to the neighbouring islands either for the half of the day, or for the whole day with barbeque or without it. Read more about these islands in the post Madivaru and Madivaru Finolhu.
SNORKELING
Rasdhoo is known for its home reef. It’s located a stone’s throw away from the shore. It’s better to swim there at full sea. There is a strong current on the edge of the reef, so it’s better to swim towards one of the points (it depends on the direction of the current), to lie and not to move – the current will carry you. One square marks the pole sticking out from the water, and another square is in front of the place where the beach ends (near the hotel).
Apart from that you can take a guided tour around the three dive points. Trust me, the points are really cool! Besides, there are manta ray points, where you can observe giant manta rays. That’s breathtaking! You can also see turtles, sharks, and devilfish.
DIVING
The atoll is really famous for its dive points. These places are considered to be the best in Maldives. The underwater world is really worth exploring. Diving schools offer to take an instruction and to dive together with an instructor. So even beginners can enjoy the magnificent beauty of the underwater world.
FISHING
To catch fish, you don’t always need a cool fishing rod with expensive bobbin and line. Only a line, a hook and ledger bait will be enough. That’s a simple way how to catch a fish for dinner. Real fishing amateurs can go to Big Game Fishing on a fully-equipped boat.
INFRASTRUCTURE
All in all, the island itself is very neat. The locals clean the area near their houses every day. Something new appears, something old is being improved. I’m glad that Maldives are getting better and better.
In Rasdhoo tourists can find all necessary infrastructure:
– groceries & hardware stores. There you can buy fruit and drinks, and also beach gear. It’s very convenient for those, who left something at home.
– gift shops. There are 5 or 6 gift shops on the island; one of them, as far as I understood, practically does not work. There are lots of various souvenirs, everyone can find something to his liking.
– several cafes. There are 5 cafes on the island, and what’s more, most of them are intended for tourists.
– dive centres. There are 4 constantly functioning dive centres on the island. Moreover, in one of them you can even stay (it’s aimed at not picky divers). In another one, which has changed its location (it’s owned by Rasdhoo Beach Inn), there will also be rooms for divers.
– a bank;
– ATM (gives out only rufiyaas; when taking out cash, the service fee is 100 ryfiyaas, and it does not matter how much money you’re going to take out);
– a branch office of the mobile network operator. Here you can also buy a SIM-card with mobile internet, however there is free Wi-Fi in every guest house.
– a hospital. You can apply there for help in case you have got a minor illness. Otherwise you’ll have to go to Male by speedboat.
– a post office;
– a police station.
In our country it’s sometimes difficult to find all this in towns of a similar size, but here you see that a lot of facilities are available to the tourists and to the locals on such a small island! This island reminds me our regional centre. You can find all these facilities by far not on every island.
Using a drone, you can take the best photos of Maldives.
Here is a top view of the harbor, where the ferry from Male arrives. There you can also take a ferry to the neighbouring Thoddoo or Ukulhas.
There are 2 uninhabited islands nearby – Madivaru and Madivaru Finolhu. These islands are a distinctive feature of Rasdhoo, because by far not every inhabited island has such beautiful picnic islands. To one of them, Madivaru, you can be taken by boat. And from this island you can go to Madivaru Finolhu on foot.
One of the diving centers of the island. It is owned by South Africas. In the Maldives, foreigners are allowed to do business in a limited number of spheres. For example, if you want to open a guest house on the island, you will definitely need a partner, who is a citizen of Maldives, and it is obligatory for setting up the business. But if you want to open a hotel (the difference between a hotel and a guest house is in the number of rooms), you don’t need to have a Maldivian partner.
One of the shops is owned by a man from Bangladesh. By the way, there are a lot of Bangladeshis in Maldives. They are usually engaged in donkey work, which is not done by the Maldivians. Their number is constantly growing (according to some reports, there are approximately 100 thousand of them, and the total population today is about 450 thousand).
They are actively getting integrated into the society, take their families here, establish new families (with Maldivian citizens), but so far they lead a quiet life. Well, we’ll see what will be in future. Their English is not fluent, though they learn Dhivehi (the Maldivian language). They are quite hard-working guys, though you need to explain everything at the elementary level. Some difficulties arise, but that’s life.
LOCAL LAWS AND CUSTOMS
On Fridays many Maldivians attend mosque. Remember that ferries are not available on Fridays. I would not say that the Maldivians are very religious (in comparison with, for example, Saudi Arabia). Yes, women go completely covered up, but their faces are open. When a muezzin begins to call to prayer, the music and TV volume are turned down.
On this island (as well as on any inhabited island) it is forbidden to appear in a bathing suit in public. This restriction does NOT apply to the beaches and areas near the guest houses. Nobody will beat you or say something bad, if you suddenly decide to go outside in a bathing suit. Yet it’s necessary to respect the local laws.
Such hammocks (the locals call it ‘a joli’, like Angelina Jolie, easy to remember) are ideal for relaxation. A nice thing, I’d say.
So far I’ve seen it only on Rasdhoo, how women smoke a local Maldivian hookah. Last time I did not have the heart to try it, so I decided to do it now. The peculiarity of this hookah lies in the fact that tobacco leaves are put into the bowl, and then coconut hookah coals are added above. It’s difficult to describe the taste of it, it’s not so sweet as in the hookah familiar to us. The effect is stronger, and you can already feel it just after few drags. The men were surprised that I decided to smoke it, because in their country hookah smoking is popular only among women.
The most popular place among the locals is a stadium. And it should be noticed that all the games there are held according to a strict schedule:
– early in the morning (till 9.00am) – cricket;
– from 16.00pm till 19.00pm – Junior Football League;
– from 19.00pm till 22.00pm – Adult Football League.
Changes on the island
Just one year passed after my last visit to this wonderful island. What changes can be seen here?
Wastes
The island has obviously become cleaner, than it was a year ago. And it’s all thanks to the special program on wastes collecting, sorting and disposal, which was organized by the local authorities. Today every citizen cleans up the area near their houses. But, what’s more important, every week special voluntary clean-ups are organized. A separate area on the island is chosen, and everyone cleans it.
There used to be a landfill site near Ras Beach Inn guest house. Now they have practically got rid of it. Till the end of 2016 this place will be used as another tourist beach. It’s great that the citizens understand the importance of keeping the island clean.
Bikini beach
The beach has not been extended so far, but it got deeper and bigger, now you can easily have a rest under trees and escape from scorching sunshine. They also promise that this year (2016) the beach will be extended. So by the beginning of the next season the beaches on the island will have been as good as those on Thoddoo and Ukulhas.
Snorkeling here is as great as always!
For tourists
3-4 new guest houses were opened on the island. By the end of the year there will be more of them. I would not say that it’s good (though I’m only for effective competition). But it significantly affects prices, they are getting lower, the service is not being improved, and the image of the island is getting worse. The problem is that when one Maldivian opens a guest house and starts making money, other Maldivians see it and begin to do the same. And by doing it, they don’t understand that the more guest houses appear, the more difficult it is to do business. It is not applied to everyone, but still…
A dive center was closed on the island, and another one appeared at once. Now there are 4 dive centres. Some of them in one way or another are associated with particular guest houses. But it does not mean that you are to go only there. It’s your choice.
A new café opposite to Rasdhoo Inn was also opened. Unfortunately, I had no time to visit it, but it looks really nice, and it’s intended for tourists. In my favorite Café Ole there were few changes. When being there, pleasant memories swept over me. It was a pleasure to come back there again.
Transfer to Rasdhoo
The ferry runs from the airport to the capital every 15-20 minutes. The ticket price is $3. There is a taxi service in Male, the taxi fares are fixed – $2.5, or 40 rufiyaas at any place. Actually, here are all the possible means of transport from and to the island:
Public ferry.
Male – Rasdhoo. Duration is 3 hours, $4 per person, available on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00am from Villingili Terminal (southwest of Male).
Rasdhoo – Male. Duration is 3 hours, $4 per person, available on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday at 11.00am to Villingili Terminal (southwest of Male).
Scheduled speedboat
Runs daily, there are 3 speedboats right now. Departure point from Male depends on boat. Contact your guest house. Duration is 1 hour 20 minutes, $40 per person.
Male-Rasdhoo at 11:00 and 15.30 – 16.00, on Friday at 9:30
Rasdhoo – Male at 7:30 and 16:30, on Friday only at 7:30.
Transfer upon request
Private speed boat: the travelling time is about 1 hour 20 minutes, the cost is $550-650.
Seaplane: the travelling time is about 15 minutes, the return ticket is $348.
Full ferry schedule can be found here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasdhoo
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