It was interesting to get a feeling of how people live in this city. We were also given historical information as well as religious history of the locals. We also visited the vegetable market and fish market. The tuna were huge. We had a wonderful time and this tour could have been longer.

On the Male' city tour, you will get a great walking tour with a lot of history. There is a good mix of historical and modern Male' with a friendly and knowledgeable guide who loves the city and country. I don't remember his name, but he was a great tour guide. The park was great, and the houses were beautiful!! Very strongly recommended!

So glad we found Secret Paradise. We booked with them to plan a few days before we embarked on a surf trip and they made the whole experience seamless. This included airport pick up, transfer and tour on Gulhi, Mafuushi tour, meeting Save the Beach outside Male. UB, our guide, was super knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Accommodations were fine. Appreciate their efforts to support local guesthouses and also to encourage more sustainable travel, including understanding and offsetting the carbon of travel. Highly recommend- whether for your full stay or as an add on so you can get a much better sense of real life in the Maldives!

Secret Paradise provided two great days on a recent round the world cruise, with 29 ports where I and friends (up to 46 of us) did tours with local operators. In each port I read scores of reviews, to find the best tour operator, and Secret Paradise was easily the one in Male, Maldives. But BOOK EARLY as they are so good, they fill up. I was happy to be the beneficiary of a cancellation, which allowed us to do their 3 Point Snorkeling Tour, as well as their Full Day Walking Tour. We were a group of two on their 3 Point Snorkeling tour, and three on their Full Day walking tour, with Ub, our excellent guide, leading both tours. He's been with Secret Paradise eight years, and we were happy to have him. On the day I saw 9 black tipped reef sharks, one within three meters, many many unicorn fish - similar to a pencil above their forehead, and a favorite were the Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips ... horizontally zebra striped in black and white ... with the front, tail, and fins, all bright yellow with black polka dots. At the second spot, there were a few cold places in the water, soon followed by overly hot cells. UB explained this as upwelling, which brings nutrient and food, the lifeblood of the reef. The best views were just before we got out at the last stop, around desalination intake tubes. Thousands of fish were seen on the day. A mini school of small brown fish, perhaps eight centimeters, came together, then were fast away, dispersed in a flash. Kudos to Ruth and her team, a quality operation. She was a pleasure to work with in planning and communication. And a special thanks for keeping their group sizes small, with a focus on the environment. I much look forward to returning in the future, when I and my group will do their Full Day North Malé Island Hopping with Ruth & Mash.

We had booked our flights and were looking for an appropriate trip. Considering the vast options from being very remote to island bustle as well as the „unusual“ means of mobility I felt overwhelmed and super relieved when I was referred to Ruth for our budget trip plans. She helped us decide on a suitable itinerary and booked accordingly. Everything from pick-up at the airport, acommodations, transfers was covered. Upon airport arrival we met our guide, who made sure we get onto the right boat and helped us with things like purchasing SIM cards and the like. The guide was giving us interesting cultural information too and was answering all our questions. She was available for any questions during our trip via whatsapp and shared confirmed transfer dates each prior evening. All the patience (in finding the best itinerary) and the service throughout was impeccable. While writing this, worth to mention that we did a budget trip to remote local islands and no 5-star resorts. However we felt treated also from the guesthouses like 5-star guests, while getting a glimpse at local life which was one of our trip goals. All the guesthouses Ruth works with have been audited by herself and she is well known to each of the guesthouse owners. Overall it felt great to tap into her network and be known as one of her customers. Needless to say, if I had booked transfers and acommodations myself, I couldn‘t even match the price she was quoting. For any future trip to Maldives, no matter what kind, I will always book throught Ruth and highly recommend her agency services.

The team at Secret Paradise are passionate about showcasing these incredible islands, and providing genuine local experiences. We picked the 7 night North Ari Island hopping which had a great mix of snorkelling / meeting locals over tea / self exploring local islands and beaches / eating / a bit of artwork on the beach / and hanging out! Our guides Shark and Nafsha were fantastic, and the organization and communication from Ruth and the office team prior to the trip was top notch. We feel so lucky that we had this experience, and that we selected Secret Paradise to make this happen. One highlight for us was identifying turtles which we saw snorkelling, and sending the images to the Olive Ridley Project database. We even got to name a turtle! Following the island hopping we stayed 4 days at Reethi Beach Resort which Ruth had suggested, and it was a great place to stay with a nice beachfront villa, and a wide range of food experiences. All the transfers to and from the resort were seamless. We hope our future travels include another Secret Paradise experience!

Maldives trip was really an amazing on. Hulhumale, Male were so good. Shopping was quite expensive. But the real fun was the resort island Medufushi.

This was a really informative and educational tour of Male' by guide Ahmed Shaffaf that covered a lot in four hours - from taste-testing at the local farmers and fish markets (spotting stingrays), political history, religious history, history of local currency, visiting monuments and local beaches, and a well-timed glass of fresh mango juice mid-tour. The tour is expertly mapped out to make good use of landmarks across Male'. I found it helpful to visit the national museum ahead of the tour for context, and do a bit of reading ahead to set the context for Maldives' rich history.

On April 20, 2024 I did this tour with Nafsha. The tour was amazing. We went snorkeling in two spots where I saw the beautiful reefs, a reef shark, and many stingrays. Knowing the tide was descent high, I wasn’t expecting much of the sandbank but was pleasantly surprised to find it quite enjoyable since the water was pretty shallow. Nafsha really took great care of me, showing me tips for snorkeling and helping me with the snorkeling tube. She was very knowledgeable about the religious practices, cultural traditions, and the marine life in Maldives. She also brought me a delicious coconut while I was staying on the sandbank. Even though I forgot to bring my dry clothing which I packed in my luggage, Nafsha went out of her way to help with my transport back to Malé to ensure that I could catch my flight and onward trip. The highlight of the trip was definitely the surprise spotting of Dolphins on our way back to Hulhumale. It was genuinely a beautiful scene to see! I would definitely recommend the tour if you are untested in doing some offshore activities around Malé.

I did the tour with Archie on April 19, 2024 and it was amazing! Archie was very knowledgeable about the history of Maldives and the landmarks known the Malé island. At no point was I in any rush. Archie really made sure that I had a good amount of time for each site. The tour is ideal for learning about the history, culture, and politics of Maldives if you have like half a day’s time on the Malé island.

My husband and I did a customised tour with Secret Paradise in April, and we could not have asked for anything better! From the moment I contacted Ruth, she took care to understand what we were looking for and created a tour which included a Male city tour, eco island tour of Vilingili, a 3 day stay at Dhigurah and a 2 night stay at a resort of our choice. With each guide we felt like we were catching up with a friend who showed us around. We were taken from airport to hotel with care and conversation. The city tour of landmarks and markets was an explosion of sights, history, architecture, politics, religion, geography and more. The eco island and what Beybe has been able to achieve as a grassroots activist is awe inspiring. And words fail to express how beautiful it was to stay at Dhigurah, walk on the white powder sands, snorkel in crystal clear waters and be able to swim with the majestic whale shark and manta ray. The manta ray tour wasn't even on our itinerary, but our guide organised it when we had a free morning and really wanted to give it a go. It is impressive that nearly every guide we met has also had the opportunity to join marine researchers in their activities and can speak with authority on these gracious creatures, the coral, the environment and much more. I had always wanted to go to Maldives, but wary of being stuck on a resort detached from the local culture and coming back pampered but without any of the exploration and broadened perspective that I really love about travel. I am thankful for the Maldives government opening up local islands to tourists, and for Secret Paradise for creating the possibility of safely and reliably undertaking responsible travel in this fragile and stunningly beautiful ecosystem. Also as an aside - can I just say how very comprehensive their Welcome Pack is and how holistic their pricing is. No hidden speedboat transfer fees or unknown expensive food costs etc. We spent nearly nothing on top of what was quoted to us upfront. This was my most hassle free overseas travel ever, that too in a country with a closed currency.

We visited Male from a cruise ship during Ramadan, and so many of the food tours during the day weren't available. We booked the afternoon 4-hour walking tour and learned we could take Iftar with our guide at a local restaurant. Our guide, Ahmed Shaffaf, met us at the Presidential Jetty, where the ships' tender boats landed. Very convenient! Ahmed Shaffaf took us through the nearby markets. His English is excellent, and he was able to explain everything we saw and get us samples of the various products. All the shopkeepers were very friendly and open. We felt very welcome. The markets were clean and well kept—no odor or foul floors. Afterward, Ahmed led us on a 2-mile loop through the city with frequent stops with time to duck into an airconditioned shop from time to time. Along the way, we learned about life in Male and better understood the local culture. The highlight of our tour was the opportunity to share Iftar with many residents. Afterward, it was quite dark, and Ahmed was careful to lead us down the dark seawall sidewalks safely. Ruth, from the Secret Paradise Office, was always prompt in responding to emails. Her company offers various excursions in the Maldives, and I highly recommend using Secret Paradise to plan your entire visit.

The tour was tailored to have interaction with the locals, to visit the island and have water sport activities. Great experience. Thanks Ruth and our guide Archie for the wonderful experience.

Don’t even think twice and go for it! This is a must-do if you want to look beyond the shiny surface of Maldive’s sandy beaches and resort life to understand more of the local reality and have a glimpse of the island’s daily life. Hamti and Archie, my your guides, were extremely kind, genuine, and knowledgeable - it felt like a walk with two friends. They answered all my questions and gave me interesting perspectives on Maldive’s society, environment, and history. I will definitely take more tours with them in the future. Highly recommended!

Secret Paradise Maldives is one of the best companies we have had the pleasure of using and THE best for those with a conservation interest and minimising carbon footprint. We took part in an 8 day conservation snorkelling live aboard cruise where we were privileged to see a whale shark, dolphins, manta rays, reef sharks and a whole host of other marine life. We took part in conservation activities such as a reef fish count as well as educational workshops ran by our guides and partner organisations. The facilities on board MV Felicity were fantastic and the crew were so friendly and helpful. Delicious food was served up every meal. The guides were simply outstanding and and took great care to ensure a very memorable experience. Secret Paradise also arranged our stay at 2 different local islands either side of the cruise. Ruth (co-founder) could not have been more helpful when it came to narrowing down which islands to visit. All transfers between islands were organised by Secret Paradise which helped facilitate a stress free holiday at all times. I cannot recommend Secret Paradise enough if you are interested in finding out about the real Maldives and supporting their local economy.