Dhawa Ihuru

1 Restaurant & 1 Bar

Two venues for forty-five villas, and that is rather the point. Riveli sits on the beach with the Indian Ocean straight in front of it, working across Asian, Mediterranean and Maldivian plates in buffet or à la carte. Velaavani is the sand-floored bar under thatch. Beyond them sit a lagoon breakfast, the Ihuru Grill, a Fisherman Beach Dinner and, by ferry, the four venues of sister island Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru.

Riveli Restaurant

International

The island's only restaurant, raised above the beach with panoramic ocean views on three sides. International cooking that ranges through Asian, Mediterranean and Maldivian plates alongside the day's catch, served buffet or à la carte at every meal.

SettingBeachfront · all-day dining

Our tipBuffet and à la carte run side by side — the à la carte side is quieter.

All plans

Velaavani Bar

Cocktails

A thatched, sand-floored pavilion at the water's edge, its curved bar front painted as a coral reef and hung with jellyfish lamps. Snacks and drinks through the day, aperitifs as the sun drops, and the island's after-dinner gathering point.

SettingBeachfront · sand floor

Our tipThe reef-painted bar front lights up after dark — time a drink for it.

AI Drinks

Dining Inclusions

Two all-inclusive plans, split by how far dinner travels. Dine, the plan the resort's own engine sells, takes 20% off food at Vabbinfaru's Madi Hiyaa and Saffron. Premium adds premium drinks, an in-villa meal a day, Sangu Garden lunches and buffet nights, and drinks at Naiboli Bar and Madi Hiyaa, a short ferry away.

Rates carry service charge, GST and a Green Tax of $12 per person per night.

Meal plan prices are a guide only — generally an average across the year. Resorts can change them at any time, they often vary by season, and a plan sold in one season may not be offered in another. We'll confirm what's available and the exact price for your dates.

Your Days on the Island

A PADI 5-Star Gold Palm dive centre, the Rannamaari wreck a few fin-kicks past the reef edge, and a Marine Lab that will put you on a coral frame. Snorkel gear, kayaks and guided house-reef swims cost nothing; jet skis, parasails and the dolphin cruise are chargeable. Evenings run to bodu beru drums, a cooking class and the bar.

Family-Friendly Features

Days here run on the water. Children collect snorkel gear from the Marine Centre and swim onto a reef that starts a few strokes off the sand, then take banana boat and fun tube rides in the afternoon. The Dhawa Kids Club handles treasure hunts, beach games and arts and crafts between nine and five, and the Marine Lab runs coral planting that children can genuinely join in. Under-fours stay and dine free in existing bedding.

House Reef & Underwater

The reef is why people book Ihuru. It rings the whole island — barely 200 metres across — a short swim off the sand, and the resort's own map marks the channels where you cross it and the single stretch where you don't swim. More than 300 fish species, with turtles and eagle rays on an ordinary morning. Just beyond the drop-off lies the Rannamaari, a dredger scuttled here in 1999 to seed an artificial reef and now sitting coral-grown at about 26 metres. Travel + Leisure Asia named this among the best house reefs in the Maldives in 2025.

Marine life observations sourced from dive logs and guest reports.

Transfer from Malé

Ihuru sits 18 km north of Malé and there is only one way there — a 25-minute speedboat from Velana International. No domestic flight, no seaplane daylight window to plan a long-haul arrival around. The resort advertises a complimentary return transfer on its own direct bookings; packaged and third-party rates have priced it separately, so we confirm what your booking carries in writing with your quote.

Resort island map — Dhawa Ihuru

Who This Resort is For

Reviewed by Tym Lewtak, founder of LuxAtolls ·Updated Oct 04, 2026

Dhawa Ihuru is a reef with a resort attached, and it is honest about that. Forty-five beach villas, one restaurant, one bar and two all-inclusive plans on an island you can walk around before your coffee cools — plus a house reef good enough that Travel + Leisure Asia put it on a 2025 best-of list. If you want an overwater villa, five restaurants and a lagoon pool, this is the wrong island. If you want to be in the water a minute after leaving your veranda, twenty-five minutes after landing, very little in North Malé beats it.

Dhawa Ihuru — FAQ