An island within an island

There’s a rhythm to island life that you can only feel once you slow down. At Baa Atoll resort Milaidhoo, the world already feels quieter, gentler. But just 15 minutes away by boat, you’ll find a place where time stretches even further: Kihadhoo, the home island of one of our beloved boat crew, Ali Niushad, known affectionately as CR.

Our new Local Island Tour is a soul-stirring invitation to step outside your own story and into a way of life shaped by simplicity, connection and centuries of tradition. For the curious and conscious traveller seeking something beyond the expected, this is where your inner and outer journeys meet. Looking for things to do in Baa Atoll with a twist? Let’s go.

Activities in Maldives island: why feelings come first

In the age of itinerary overload, we believe travel shouldn’t be about ticking off destinations, but about tuning into how you want to feel. Do you want to rest deeply? Disconnect entirely? Reconnect with what matters? Focus on planning your travels on emotional intention, not just around activities.

It should be a journey of broadening your horizons – immersing yourself in new cultures, stepping beyond your comfort zone and discovering how life is lived in different corners of the world. When you visit Kihadhoo, you’re not sightseeing. You’re slow-seeing – and you’re in good company. Research from the Virtuoso Luxury Travel Trend Watch 2025 shows the slow travel movement is gathering momentum.

Travellers are reinventing luxury by slowing down and savouring the journey, tuning into deeper connections, richer cultural experiences and exploring the world in a more mindful, sustainable way. More holidaymakers are choosing depth over speed, connection over checklists, because slow travel invites you to pause, immerse and engage with the places you visit – and the people who call them home.

Solo travel Maldives

Activities for solo travellers, like the Kihadhoo tour, offer something especially valuable: genuine connection without pressure. The growing solo travel trend celebrates travelling on your own terms — according to Forbes – and seeking depth over distraction, making friends along the way.

Our guided Local Island Tour offers a safe, soulful way to explore Maldivian culture through real human interaction, shared stories and warm welcomes. With CR as your guide and host, you’re not just observing local life – you’re momentarily part of it.

Slow travel Maldives: the Milaidhoo/Kihadhoo contrast

At Maldives luxury resort Milaidhoo, we embrace this shift through experiences like our Local Island Tour Maldives. Walking the sandy lanes of Kihadhoo, sipping coconuts with locals or listening to stories from your guide – who grew up here – encourages a rare kind of presence. It’s cultural immersion designed to restore.

You’ll see fishermen returning with the day’s catch, women gathered in the joali exchanging laughter and news and children racing barefoot along coral-strewn paths. The atmosphere is one of quiet joy – alive, authentic and deeply restorative. Even the colourful doors of Maldivian homes echo the spirit of our Milaidhoo villas: open, inviting and full of character.

It’s a beautiful contradiction: the more “local” you go, the more connected you feel to something universal. There’s no pressure to perform or participate – just an open door and an open-hearted way of life that welcomes you as you are.

Milaidhoo is designed for refined barefoot luxury – private villas, curated gastronomy and transformative spa rituals. We believe it’s essential to press pause and embrace slow living – and we talk about why in this article. But Kihadhoo offers another kind of luxury: presence. Here, life isn’t rushed. People look each other in the eye. They wave. They sit. They share.

Together, these two islands offer a unique duality.

Milaidhoo is your sanctuary. Kihadhoo is your window. One nurtures your inner stillness, the other expands your perspective. Both remind you of what it means to live slowly and live well.

Things to Do in Maldives: Kihadhoo Local Island Tour

Here are the details of your Bar Atoll island tour:

• Minimum four guests
• Includes boat transfer
• Traditional welcome by flower girls in local attire
• Welcome drinks at a local cafe (coconut or fresh juice)
• Guided tour of the island by CR, who shares his own personal connection to the island, including a visit to his home
• Visits to key landmarks such as the school, office, police station and more
• Maldivian snacks served with tea or coffee to end the visit

In a world of curated feeds and restless minds, the Local Island Tour is your invitation to return to the essence of travel: human connection, quiet wonder and the stories that stay with you long after you’ve left.

Ready to visit Maldives? Join us for a Local Island Tour to Kihadhoo and discover a piece of the Maldives that lives far beyond the pictures you take.

Speak to your island host to reserve your spot or drop us a line at [email protected] to find out more.

LET’S GO TO MILAIDHOO