Maldives in December
December is one of the best months of the year to visit Maldives. Superb weather colliding with the year's most expensive fortnight: Christmas through New Year books out months ahead at maximum rates.
Weather
Dry season returns, highs near 86F (30C)
Crowds
Prices
What's on in December
Dates shift yearly on the Islamic calendar
Ramadan. On local islands, cafes close in daytime and the pace slows until festive evenings; resort islands operate normally throughout.
Mid December through the first week of January
Christmas and New Year peak. The industry's maximum-price fortnight, with minimum-stay requirements and gala-dinner surcharges standard at many resorts.
Things to do in Maldives
- 1
Snorkel your house reef. The best resorts sit on living reefs where turtles and reef sharks commute past your villa steps. Ask about house-reef quality before booking; it varies enormously.
- 2
Dive the channels. Atoll channels concentrate current and life: gray reef sharks, eagle rays, and schooling fish. Dry-season months bring the calmest, clearest conditions.
- 3
Manta season at Hanifaru Bay. In Baa Atoll, roughly June through November, plankton blooms can draw dozens of feeding mantas at once. Access is regulated, snorkeling only, with daily caps.
- 4
A sandbank picnic. Being dropped on a nameless white sandbank with a cooler is the signature Maldives splurge, best in the dry season's calm seas.
- 5
Night fishing and bioluminescence. Sunset hand-line fishing is a Maldivian tradition, and on dark nights some beaches glow with bioluminescent plankton, most often reported in the wetter months.
- 6
Male and a local island. The capital's fish market and the guesthouse islands (Maafushi and others) show the actual country: mosques, cricket, and island life that resorts edit out.
- 7
A surf season trip. The southwest monsoon's swell, roughly April through October, powers the famous breaks in the Male atolls. A completely different Maldives from the honeymoon one.
- 8
A seaplane transfer in daylight. The flight to outer-atoll resorts doubles as the best scenic tour in the country. Seaplanes fly daylight hours only, which quietly dictates your flight bookings.
Beat the crowds
- →Crowds here are a booking problem, not a beach problem: the best villas and the famous resorts sell out months ahead for December through March, so the early booker wins everything.
- →Travel in November or late April for dry-ish season weather without peak-season rates or the holiday fortnight's minimum stays.
- →At regulated sites like Hanifaru Bay, go with operators who hold early slots; daily visitor caps mean the difference between swimming with mantas and watching boats queue.
Know before you go
- !Nothing seasonal ever closes: resorts run 365 days a year. What changes is access, as wet-season chop can cancel excursions, and seaplanes fly only in daylight, so late international arrivals may mean a night near Male before the transfer.
- !During Ramadan (dates shift yearly), local-island cafes and shops close in daylight hours and alcohol-free norms apply as always; resort islands, which are exempt zones, operate normally.
- !Alcohol is available only on resort islands and liveaboards, never on inhabited local islands or in Male, in any season.
Maldives in December: quick answers
Is December a good time to visit Maldives?
December is one of the best months of the year to visit Maldives. Superb weather colliding with the year's most expensive fortnight: Christmas through New Year books out months ahead at maximum rates.
What is the weather like in Maldives in December?
Dry season returns, highs near 86F (30C).
Is Maldives crowded in December?
December is peak crowd season in Maldives; expect lines at the headline sights.
What is happening in Maldives in December?
Ramadan (dates shift yearly on the islamic calendar); Christmas and New Year peak (mid december through the first week of january).