Nika Island Resort

The Maldives how they used to be! Authentic experience as we first visited this island in 1997 and repeating 17 times. We will repeat fir sure. Good diving team, good service, clean and helpful in every question or matters we had. Excursions good too!

We are frequent travellers to Maldives and recently spent a blissful week at Nika Island for the first time. And it was incredible… First, let’s start with the accommodation (we are a couple with their 17 year old daughter) – we booked the deluxe family beach villa (No 4) which is wonderfully rustic, very comfortable and so very peaceful… We had 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms (the master bathroom with an additional outdoor show was just amazing!) and a large living room (The only drawback perhaps could be the seating space in the living room is not one in which you can laze or lounge…but that’s really not where we spent any time.) The most amazing part is the private stretch of beach we had…truly luxurious to have that! Deck chairs, loungers, swing, hammock and an outdoor hot tub with soft silvery sand and gorgeous water and an amazing reef to swim to just 10 meters or so away. After 3 days here we moved to the family water villa (No 41) which also had 2 bedrooms—stunning sense of open space where had beautiful views of the water from our bed..so bright and nice. This is smaller compared to the beach villa but still very spacious for 3 of us…lovely! The only drawback is you can hear the soft hum of machines/ or some industrial noise from the local island right across, and the seating in the living room is very inadequate. The reef access from this water villa was wonderful. The Food was fantastic!! We were on a Full Board Plan...decent breakfast, incredibly sumptuous lunch (buffet and live pasta / seafood stations) and lovely elegant dinners which you could choose from a set menu...when the weather is good you are seated in a lovely outdoor beach setting. They also offered complimentary snacks from 7pm onwards at the sunset beach…really thoughtful and we enjoyed that immensely. The island was gorgeous: small, green and surrounded by an incredible house reef which so easy to access right off the beach. Whilst snorkelling off the beach, we saw large sting and eagle rays, sharks, turtles, an incredible array of fish and beautiful coral forests and even 1 eel and a lionfish…truly a marine paradise! (My very frequent exploration of the island’s reef led me to the belief that the best coral formations and snorkelling experiences were opposite Beach villas 6/7 ; Water Villa 37/36 and across the water sports centre close to the first beach villa.) The gym is small but functions well for holiday maintenance workouts, complimentary sunrise yoga sessions were so rejuvenating and the spa was truly blissful. A drawback is there is no swimming pool (except for the one in the spa which can only be used with treatments)..But then again...you’re in the Maldives…with the best possible natural pool of shallow turquoise water to swim in all around! The excursions organised by the dive centre were only available if more than 4-6 guests signed on – hence we were unable to go for the snorkelling-with-nurse sharks one. The dive centre organised a local house reef excursion at a concessional rate of 30 dollars, but it was disappointing- my own independent trips were far more satisfying and I advise you to skip this. Finally…the service!! Truly an amazing team of people who are warm and friendly and ensure you are well taken care of…The staff at the reception (Stalin and the others who names I’m sorry I forgot), the coffee shop/Bar (Sashi, Ajit), the housekeeping staff (Moosa and Ali and others) that tirelessly cleaned up with a smile, the staff ,chef and especially the sous Chef (Suresh -he was just so incredible – made special dishes for my wife who is a vegetarian) at the resturant, the dive centre team (Nicole) and of course the guest relations officers (Anna looked after us so very well and really ensured our stay was perfect! Luca and Stefano were always smiling and polite). The resort has a lovely casual, barefoot ethos—and one feels at home right away… I strongly recommend this island to anyone who wants to experience paradise in a peaceful and almost-homely manner. I only wish we had stayed at least 2 weeks…

We spent 7 amazing nights on this island for our honeymoon two years ago. I only have good words because we had such a great time. The island is very quiet, you can dive and snorkel, there was a Spa, a restaurant and 2 bars. We loved the aperitivo, the food, the themed nights and the people who worked there were very nice. We booked the overwater bungalow and we couldn’t recommend it more, very private with a little glass floor and a solarium at the top. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is looking to relax and have an unforgettable honeymoon.

I went to Nika Island with my girlfriend and during the vacation I did 5 different dives, each of them absolutely great. Shattu and Fathu (the two guides with whom I went diving) are really prepared and safe to dive with, furthermore their main objective is to make your dive unique, on the last day Fathu even played with a moray eel, and was really beautiful and funny. The whole diving staff is super prepared and kind. I brought my own diving equipment from Milan, I gave it to them on the first day and for each dive my equipment was perfectly assembled on the tank, and after each day they washed it and dried it perfectly, and gave me everything back the day before my departure. Really an amazing experience, I hope to come back soon!

The diving centre on Nika is exceptional. My brother and I recieved our padi open water while we were out there, It was reasonably priced and an awesome adventure. We saw some of the most incredible sea creatures including parrot fish, turtles, sharks and corals. Although Initially nervous, Shattu put us at ease. He was an excellent instructor, very nice and kind. He guided us through the process brilliantly. We also got to go on a night dive which was out of this world to see the fluorescent corals. I would highly recommend this resort for a holiday!