The island is located 67 km west of the capital Male. And 20 km north of the administrative center of North Ari Atoll – Rasdhoo. Thoddoo is a fairly large island by Maldivian standards – about 2 x 1 km. Moreover, a third of the island is reserved for farms, another third is the village, and the rest is the jungle. The population of the island is about 1400 people. Thoddoo is considered one of the largest producers of agricultural products in the country and is mainly known for its sweet watermelons.
Unlike many other islands, it is located as if separately.
The island is quite large and it will take a time to explore it on foot. Therefore, a good way is cycling. During morning or evening time you can easily go around the island and see what it is outside of the tourist beach.
Like other local islands, wildlife on Thoddoo is not very diverse. On the shore, there are many crabs and hermit crabs of various sizes. I saw how hermit crabs used a coconut shell, glass bottom, a bottle cap. In general, what they find is used as a home.
Due to its size, Thoddoo offers magnificent beaches for tourists. Nowadays, there are two tourist beaches on the island located on opposite sides of the island.
The first beach is located in the southern part of the island. It takes about 15 min from the nearest hotel to reach, the path passes through fruit farms. A great option, in this case, is a bicycle. Almost every hotel provides it.
The boundaries of the beach are conventionally marked by a fence of dry palm leaves. The beach is very clean and well maintained, but small. During high season it can be crowded. Therefore, everyone lacks sun loungers and hammocks (unlike Ukulhas, where there are many more). It’s very convenient to have a shower and toilet on the beach as well.
Tropical trees grow along the coast, through which numerous paths lead to the water. The sand itself is so white and you can walk on it without fear of cutting yourself on glass or dead coral. The water is clean and with almost no floating debris.
Thoddoo house reef is very long. A small reef is located very close to the bikini beach. A truly beautiful reef with many fish (and even stingrays and sharks) is located off the coast – about 400 m.
We don’t recommend for you to go alone and without fins because you get tired while you swim back and forth. And if there is also a side stream, then spend all your energy while you swim to the reef. But it worth it. At the same time, and corals are in better condition.
Never swim there alone! The currents can be very strong and you will not notice how quickly you move away from the coast!
The second beach is located in the north-eastern part – behind the stadium. From some hotels, it’s only 5 minutes walk. It’s smaller than the south beach, but there are also not so many tourists. There are sunbeds, hammocks for a comfortable stay. The advantage of this beach is the closeness of a house reef, which is only 200 m away. At the edge of the reef, I saw turtles, eagles, and even manta rays! But not so many fish and sharks.
