We stayed at Niva Kurumba Maldives for one week in June 2026, every photo in this article is from our trip, and we paid for our own stay.
This was not a normal beach trip for us because Samantha was joining a one week Scubaspa Maldives cruise, so she spent the first day at the resort before leaving to dive while I stayed at Niva Kurumba with family.
Getting From Costa Rica to the Maldives
We flew from Liberia in Costa Rica to Los Angeles, then to Seattle, Singapore and finally Malé, which felt like traveling almost as far from home as we could possibly go.
Using normal scheduled times for each route, the four flights add up to roughly 30 hours in the air, including about six hours to Los Angeles, three hours to Seattle, more than 16 hours to Singapore and another four and a half hours to the Maldives.
That estimate only counts flying time, so the complete journey was much longer after adding airport connections, immigration, waiting and the final speedboat transfer.
I actually enjoy flying, even on trips this long, but I always carry my Sony WH 1000XM6 noise cancelling headphones because reducing the constant engine sound makes a big difference for me.
If flying makes you nervous instead of excited, you can also read how I manage travel anxiety and panic attacks on long journeys.
A Few Things to Know About Traveling to the Maldives
The Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean southwest of India and Sri Lanka, with hundreds of islands spread across a huge area even though the total amount of land is very small.
June falls during the southwest monsoon, so the weather stays hot and tropical but you should expect a better chance of rain, clouds and short storms than during the drier months.
The Maldives is a Muslim country, alcohol is not sold on local islands such as Malé, and visitors should dress modestly when leaving a resort to visit an inhabited island.
Resort islands operate under different tourism rules and can serve alcohol, which is why you will see bars and wine lists at Niva Kurumba even though you cannot simply buy alcohol in the capital.
The local currency is the Maldivian rufiyaa, but resorts price most things in United States dollars and credit cards are widely accepted, while the official Visit Maldives travel information is worth checking before your trip.
Arriving at Velana International Airport
One thing that makes arriving in the Maldives different is that the transportation area beside the airport is full of boats because water is the road system that connects many resorts.
After collecting our luggage and leaving arrivals, we found the resort representative and walked to the nearby jetty, so there was no long drive or complicated transfer.
Niva Kurumba is one of the closest resort islands to Velana International Airport and the speedboat ride normally takes about 10 minutes, with transfers available at any hour when the resort has your flight details.
The resort currently asks guests to share flight information at least 72 hours before arrival, which allows the staff to coordinate the boat even when a flight is delayed.
Why Niva Kurumba Is Important
Niva Kurumba Maldives opened in 1972 on Vihamanaafushi and is recognized as the first private resort in the Maldives, so this little island helped start the tourism industry that now defines the country.
The original resort had only 30 simple rooms built in small blocks, while the modern property has 180 rooms and villas, seven restaurants, three bars, pools, a spa, a diving center and many family activities.
The island is compact enough that I could walk all the way around it in about 20 minutes, which made it easy to explore without golf carts or waiting for transportation.
Being this close to the airport and Malé is convenient, although it also means you can see nearby buildings and sometimes hear or watch airplanes, so this is not the most isolated castaway island in the Maldives.
The island has mature tropical gardens, plenty of shade and large fruit bats that moved through the trees, which were some of the biggest bats I had ever seen.
Our Room and Ocean View
Our room was nice and comfortable, but I would describe it as a good resort room rather than the type of ultra luxury villa people sometimes imagine when they hear the word Maldives.
Our building had four rooms, and we had a balcony where Samantha could sit outside and look through the trees toward the ocean.
The beach and water were only a short walk from the room, so even without a private overwater villa we still felt that we were staying right beside the ocean.
The bathroom was very large and gave us plenty of room for a family stay, which became especially useful when I decided that the laundry prices were too high for me.
The resort delivered drinking water to the room every day, which is important on a hot island where you are outside, swimming and walking much more than you realize.
Laundry Was My Small Island Adventure
Laundry service was expensive on our meal plan, so I washed some clothes in the bathroom and created my own very basic tropical laundry operation.
The current premium Dine Around All Inclusive plan includes wash and fold service for up to 10 items for every four paid nights, but that benefit was not part of the half board plan I used.
Meal Plans at Niva Kurumba Maldives
The resort offers four main choices called Bed and Breakfast, Half Board, Full Board All Inclusive and Dine Around All Inclusive. The resort’s official meal plan factsheet explains the exact inclusions, and I have summarized the most useful differences below.
I chose Half Board, which included breakfast and dinner at Vihamanaa, the main buffet restaurant, along with tea, coffee and water during those meals.
The buffet was OK and offered enough local and international choices for a full week, although the food was not the part of the resort that impressed me the most.
Full Board All Inclusive adds lunch and drinks at the main restaurant and bars, while Dine Around All Inclusive allows lunch and dinner across more restaurants with selected drinks and extra benefits.
For a stay of seven nights or more, the Dine Around plan currently includes two choices from the glass bottom boat, guided Malé tour and dolphin cruise, while shorter stays receive one choice.
Other Restaurants and Bars
I ate almost every meal at Vihamanaa because it was included and convenient, but the island has many other options if you want more variety or choose the Dine Around plan.
Thila is the main signature restaurant for seafood and grilled dishes, Hamakaze serves Japanese food over the water, Mahal specializes in Indian cuisine, Khing Thai serves Thai food and Al Qasr focuses on Middle Eastern dishes.
There is also Café for casual meals by the pool, Kandu for snacks and drinks, Athiri for beachside drinks and sunsets, Fez for shisha and cocktails, plus private and in room dining.
Reservations are required at the restaurants with menus, so it is better to book early if there is one place you really want to try during a short stay.
Our Included Tour to Malé
Our reservation included snorkeling equipment at no extra cost and one tour, and I chose the guided Malé city tour because I wanted to see something beyond the resort island.
Those inclusions can change by room, promotion and meal plan, so confirm them before arrival instead of assuming every reservation includes the same benefits.
The greater Malé area had about 212,000 residents in the 2022 census, which was around 41 percent of the entire resident population of the Maldives, so the capital feels very busy compared with the quiet resort islands.
We walked through the city with a local guide and saw government buildings, mosques, crowded streets, the fish market and the constant flow of scooters that seems to fill every available space.