I’m 55, I’ve been to more than 80 countries, and until this October I had never set foot in the Maldives. That wasn’t an accident. I’d always had a nagging feeling it might be a bit, well, boring. Beautiful, obviously. But I pictured a lovely villa, a pool, a buffet and a lot of lying around wondering what to do with myself by day three. Basically an all-inclusive hotel with a nicer view.
I was completely wrong. I spent four nights at Siyam World in Noonu Atoll and there wasn’t a single moment when I wondered what to do next. If anything, I left with a list of things I didn’t get round to. So if you’ve been putting off the Maldives for the same reason I did, this one’s for you.
Is the Maldives boring? Not at Siyam World
Here’s the short answer. Siyam World is the largest resort in the Maldives, set on a 54-hectare natural island with more than 4km of beach and 6km of house reef. It has over 20 places to eat and drink, the country’s only resort horse ranch, the Maldives’ biggest floating waterpark, a go-kart track, a spa, a dive centre, a working farm and a calendar of cultural experiences that actually teach you something about the Maldives. It runs on a 24-hour premium all-inclusive plan, so you can try most of it without worrying about the bill. It opened in October 2021 and is the newest resort from the Maldivian-owned Sun Siyam group.
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Where is Siyam World and how do you get there?
I flew from London to Malé with Qatar Airways, changing in Doha. As soon as I’d collected my luggage in Malé, the Sun Siyam team was there waiting, and from then on everything was taken care of. We were driven a couple of minutes round to the seaplane terminal on the other side of the airport, where Sun Siyam has its own lounge.
Siyam World is on the island of Dhigurah in Noonu Atoll, in the north of the Maldives. Like a lot of Maldives resorts, the easiest way to get there is by seaplane, which takes about 45 minutes. You can also take a 30-minute domestic flight to Maafaru and then a 15-minute speedboat ride.
I’d recommend the seaplane if you can. It isn’t just a transfer, it’s a sightseeing trip in its own right. Having never been to the Maldives before, I couldn’t believe the colours. Every shade of blue you can imagine, with little islands and reefs scattered below you. And I just found being on a seaplane really fun.
A proper Maldivian welcome
When we landed there was a whole line of staff waiting on the jetty. There were drums playing, people clapping, and a man blowing a conch shell to welcome us in. We were each given a little necklace made with local embroidery, which was a lovely touch.
We were taken to Good Vibrations, a covered beach bar with swings and beanbags for a non-alcoholic welcome drink while we checked in. That part was quick, thanks to the Sun Siyam app.
My top tip: download the Sun Siyam app before you go. You can upload your passport details and preferences before you arrive, so check-in is literally just being handed your key. You can also use it to book restaurants and activities, and the popular ones do fill up.
Getting around the island
Siyam World is a decent size, so little buses loop round the island with stops along the way. Each stop is named after a world city and decorated to match. Mine was Delhi. You can of course walk, which is perfectly safe, and you can also rent one of the resort’s Mini Mokes.
My favourite way to get around was by bike. We picked ours up on the first day and used them for the whole stay. Cycling along the sandy paths under the trees was one of my favourite parts of the trip, and it meant I could stop and explore whenever something caught my eye. There is an additional charge to hire a bike for your stay eg it is not part of the all inclusive package.
My overwater villa (yes, it has its own slide)
All the villa areas at Siyam World are named after famous bridges, and I was on Golden Gate Bridge. When I walked down the deck to my overwater villa, there was a wooden sign outside with my name engraved on it. Off to a good start.
I stayed in a Water Villa with Pool and Slide, and honestly it was stunning. It’s cool and modern, with a high ceiling and fan, wooden floorboards and a really clean, relaxing feel. The air conditioning was blasting, which I loved, and my bed had a “welcome home” decoration waiting on it. There’s a big window seat that doubles as a daybed, perfect for reading.
The bathroom is big and open, with a walk-in shower, two sinks and, best of all, a large bathtub. It’s glassed in, so you can lie in the bath and look out to the highlight of the villa: the private deck.
Out on the deck you’ve got your own plunge pool, two sun loungers with an umbrella, a little table, and a ladder straight down into the sea. And then there’s the slide. Yes, your own slide. You turn the water on first (going down it dry wouldn’t be much fun) and whoosh, you’re in the lagoon. The good news is that every water villa has its own pool and slide so it is impossible to miss out.
Even though there are villas either side, they’ve been designed so cleverly that it feels completely private. Let’s just say I was confident enough to hop into my plunge pool without a swimsuit, and nobody was any the wiser.
Even from inside the villa I could see the sea life: brightly coloured fish and little crabs, just by looking out of the window. And every night the turndown service left a different treat. They were personal and a bit quirky, which I loved. The first night it was a bowl of fresh aloe vera, which is exactly what you want after a day in the sun.
The Water Villa with Pool and Slide is the most common villa type at Siyam World, but there are 16 categories in total, from beach villas to four-bedroom residences, so there’s something for couples, friends and families.
What’s included in the WOW All-Inclusive plan?
This is the bit that makes Siyam World work so well for trying everything. The WOW All-Inclusive plan runs 24 hours a day and includes:
- Breakfast and lunch at Tempo, afternoon tea at the Together Bar
- Lunch “Dine Around” option at Tempo, Together Bar, Shipwrecke and Jungali
- A “Dine Around the World” dinner each night at the buffet or one of six specialty restaurants: Takrai (Thai), Andalucia (Spanish), Kurry Leaf (Indian), The Wahoo Grill, Del Mare (Italian) and Kaage (Maldivian)
- Drinks at eight bars, including unlimited champagne, around 100 wine labels, 100 cocktails and premium spirits
- A 24-hour sports bar, Kulhivaru, and a minibar topped up daily
- One excursion from a sunset cruise, snorkelling safari or local island visit
- Access to Siyam Water World, non-motorised watersports, snorkel gear, tennis, padel and the gym
- A US$50 spa credit per adult and daily fitness classes like sunset meditation and aqua aerobics
A few things cost extra, including dinner at The Cube, Karaoke by Moonlight and some of the special experiences. Arigato, the Japanese restaurant, is 50% off for most guests although if you’re staying in a Residence it is included. Specialty restaurants need booking ahead, which is where the app comes in handy. As a wine lover, I was impressed that the wine list wasn’t an afterthought.
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Eating my way around Siyam World
One of my worries about all-inclusive resorts is that the restaurants all end up serving the same thing with a different name over the door. Not here. The restaurants at Siyam World are each completely different, and I ate at nearly all of them.
Breakfast at Tempo
Tempo is the main buffet restaurant, set outdoors looking out onto the beach, and it’s where I had breakfast every morning. I could write pages about it. This is definitely a three-course breakfast kind of place. There was dim sum, an Asian-style chicken soup, eggs Benedict, crepes made to order, fresh juices, and any fruit you fancied chopped up in front of you. I ate there four mornings in a row and never got bored.
Andalucia
Our first dinner was at Andalucia, the Spanish restaurant, which has a beautiful water feature in the middle. We started with pan con tomate and garlic prawns, and of course patatas bravas. Then came a fantastic paella made with squid ink rice, followed by plenty of mussels and prawns. I also had more fish, because I’m a bit obsessed with eating the local catch when I’m on an island. To finish, Basque cheesecake, which I love.
Cooking Maldivian food at Kaage
Kaage is the Maldivian restaurant, right on the beach, and it’s where we did a cooking class. We were dressed in Maldivian sarongs, handed fresh coconut juice and introduced to all the ingredients. The chefs explained what makes Maldivian food Maldivian: lots of spice, lots of coconut, and lots of tuna, including a delicious dried tuna.
I can’t eat spicy food, and when I mentioned it, it was no problem at all. They adjusted everything for me. The dish we cooked was dhonriha ravioli, which was fascinating because it’s such a Maldivian take on an Italian classic. It’s filled with pumpkin, and the sauce uses coriander powder and coconut cream, which you’d never find on pasta in Italy. We ate it for lunch and it was delicious.
Takrai
Takrai is the overwater Thai restaurant. We had por pia pak, crispy homemade vegetable spring rolls, and satay gai, Thai herb-marinated chicken skewers. Both were excellent.
Kurry Leaf
Kurry Leaf, the Indian restaurant, gave me one of my favourite meals of the trip. We sat outside on the deck overlooking the water. There were delicious prawns, cauliflower and a whole mix of dishes, but the star was the butter chicken. One of the group who’d been before had told me how good it was, and they made it without spice for me. It was, without question, the best butter chicken I’ve ever eaten.
The Cube
The Cube is a glass box sitting right on the beach, with flowers hanging from the ceiling, and it seats just eight guests a night. It’s a chef’s table with rotating guest chefs, and when it opened in 2022 the first residency was Claude Bosi of Bibendum in London. It’s a very special, intimate way to have dinner.
We started with dips and local bread, then an amuse-bouche called Fish and Chip 2.0, which is what you’d get if you turned fish and chips into a croquette. Absolutely delicious. Next was beef carpaccio so soft it fell apart, then a herb-crusted rack of lamb with oriental couscous, baked tomatoes and tomato ragu. Dessert was a coconut milk cake. The Cube costs extra and needs booking well ahead, but if you’re celebrating something, it’s worth it.
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Wine and painting in an underground cellar at Barrique
Barrique is Siyam World’s wine cellar, and you’d walk straight past the small entrance if you didn’t know it was there. Head down the stairs, though, and you find a beautiful underground cellar.
We were there for a sip and paint session. We started with Ruinart champagne, moved on to a French white and then a New Zealand Pinot Noir, with some lovely little bites, including a gorgeous scallop with caviar. While we sipped, we painted wooden coasters. Mine was a coconut with a green shoot sprouting out of it. I won’t be giving up the day job, but it was great fun.
Sundowners, foam parties and swim-up bars
On our first night we headed to Mint, the adults-only infinity pool bar, which was about a three-minute walk from my villa. My side of the island faces west, so you get the sunsets. Mint has little sunken booths where you can sit with a drink from the all-inclusive menu, no bills to think about, and watch the sun go down. There’s different entertainment every night. On our first evening there was a foam party with flamingos, a fire dancer and then a DJ set up right on the beach. When I went back later in the trip, there was a saxophonist playing jazz.
On one afternoon I cycled over to Jungali, which has two or three of the biggest pools I’ve ever seen, all connected. There was a foam party going on there too, with giant plush flamingos bobbing about. Jungali also has the resort’s swim-up bar, so you can sit in the pool in your swimsuit with a drink, which is always fun.
From there I went on to Shipwrecked, a beach and pool bar shaped like a ship, with a giant human-sized chessboard out front. While I was sitting there, people rode past along the beach on white horses. It was a beautiful sight.
Getting under the skin of Maldivian culture
I always want to understand a place, not just lie on its beaches, so I was really pleased that a whole day of our trip focused on Maldivian culture. It started with Maldivian storytelling, and along the way we got a bit obsessed with the island’s fruit bats. They’re everywhere, very cute, with furry little bodies and great big wings. There are also lots of cats around the island, so I got plenty of cat cuddles too.
The Maldivian High Tea
The highlight was the Maldivian High Tea, held on the beach at Together, the main pool bar. There’s food and drink, of course, but the real point is learning about Maldivian life, and there was so much going on.
People were shelling nuts, crushing spices and showing traditional weaving. There were drums, painting, hat-making, and a lesson in Dhivehi, the Maldivian language. We learnt that the Maldives once used cowrie shells as currency, and saw today’s notes, which are honestly the most beautiful bank notes I’ve ever seen. There was lots about coconut palms and how every part gets used. I had a go at grating pumpkin, and we watched spices being cooked up and a fish being prepared.
I also got to try on a dhivehi libaas, the traditional red Maldivian dress with its intricate gold embroidered collar, known as kasabu, and have my photo taken. Afterwards we stayed on the beach to watch a beautiful sunset.
Behind the scenes: recycling and the Herbatory
We also had a behind-the-scenes tour of the resort, which was fascinating. We saw a workshop where they repair furniture on the island instead of shipping it away, and make new pieces from recycled materials. They turn plastic into strips that become rubbish bins, seats and tables. Really inspiring.
One of my favourite stops was the farm, which they call the Herbatory. Sun Siyam is working towards using spare land at all its resorts to grow food, and Siyam World is the most advanced. When we visited there were radishes, an extensive herb garden, microgreens grown indoors, and tall covered planting areas growing all sorts of vegetables. I was particularly impressed by all the fresh lettuce. It’s all part of the group’s Sun Siyam Cares sustainability programme.
Snorkelling with turtles and sharks
I tried diving once and it terrified me, but I love snorkelling. On day one we picked up snorkels and fins from the dive centre, Dive Temple, and on our last full day we went out on a boat trip with Thuhu, the resort’s marine biologist, to snorkel with turtles and sharks.
The visibility was amazing. We saw so many fish, and the turtles were phenomenal. The sharks were so clear you could see them from the boat, so even if you don’t fancy getting in the water you won’t miss out. At times I could count 12 or 13 of them with my naked eye. Filming underwater isn’t easy, so it was a real bonus that Thuhu and the dive guide took video of us and sent it over afterwards. It was so much better than what I managed on my own camera.
Animal heaven at the ranch
Siyam World has the only horse ranch at a resort in the Maldives, and for an animal lover like me it was heaven. As well as the horses, there were cockatoos (which I love), a lot of very happy goats, rabbits, roosters, peacocks, turkeys, ducks and even a duckling nursery. I got to cuddle a baby kid goat, which made my day.
The ranch also has its own veterinary clinic with a dedicated vet, which looks after the ranch animals and the many cats on the island. Then we finished the afternoon with a walk along the beach with one of the beautiful white horses. Great for photos.
Veyo Spa
From the road, Veyo Spa doesn’t look like much, just a small glassed-in room. Then you walk along a lovely trail and arrive at a beautiful open building with ceiling fans turning, and you’re suddenly completely immersed in it. The name comes from the Dhivehi word for vine, inspired by the tropical greenery all around.
You can get your hair and nails done here, but for me the hydrotherapy area was the star. There’s a decent-sized hot pool and a cold pool, so you can go back and forth between them. I love a hot and cold plunge. There’s also a sauna, a steam room, and comfortable loungers and cabanas, and on the day I visited they were serving butterfly pea tea.
For my treatment I chose a massage with lavender oil and walked through the forest to the treatment room. It was one of the nicest massages I’ve ever had.
Karaoke by Moonlight
This was one of the highlights of my whole trip. Karaoke by Moonlight takes place on a boat. Upstairs there’s a big screen, plump beanbags to sink into, and all the drinks you want. You control the karaoke machine, so you can pick all your silliest songs. It was so much fun and I’d highly recommend it. Anyone can book it, but it does cost extra.
Everything else I didn’t get round to
The amazing thing is that even after all that, I barely scratched the surface. There’s Siyam Water World, a huge floating inflatable obstacle course out on the lagoon. It wasn’t really my thing, but it looked like great fun. There’s an electric go-kart track called Speed Racer, tennis and padel courts, a full-size football pitch, diving with the SSI-certified dive centre, kitesurfing, big game fishing and an art studio. If you get bored here, you’re not trying.
Is Siyam World good for travellers over 50?
I’d say yes. There’s an adults-only pool bar if you want a break from families, the food is varied enough to keep any food lover happy, the wine list is decent, and the cultural experiences mean you leave knowing more about the Maldives than when you arrived.
The one thing I’d flag is the size of the island. If you have mobility issues, getting around could be harder work, as you’ll be getting on and off the buses quite a bit, and distances between restaurants and bars can be long. It wasn’t an issue for me, but it’s worth thinking about.
On weather, I visited in October, at the end of the wet season. It was around 30°C every day and quite humid, and across my week in the Maldives we had just one day with some rain. The dry season runs from roughly December to April, which is peak season, so book early if you want those months.
So, can you get bored in the Maldives?
Not at Siyam World. I arrived half-expecting to be lying on a lounger counting the days, and instead I was cycling round an island, cooking Maldivian food, singing karaoke on a boat, cuddling baby goats and snorkelling with sharks. If, like me, you’ve been holding off on the Maldives because you thought it might be a bit dull, this is the place to prove yourself wrong.
From here I moved on to another Sun Siyam resort, Sun Siyam Vilu Reef, which I’ll be writing about soon.
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Siyam World FAQs
Where is Siyam World in the Maldives?
Siyam World is on the island of Dhigurah in Noonu Atoll, in the north of the Maldives. It’s the largest resort in the country, set on a 54-hectare natural island.
How do you get to Siyam World from Malé?
The quickest way is a seaplane from Velana International Airport in Malé, which takes around 45 minutes. Alternatively, you can take a 30-minute domestic flight to Maafaru Airport followed by a 15-minute speedboat ride.
What is included in the WOW All-Inclusive plan at Siyam World?
The 24-hour plan includes breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner at the buffet or six specialty restaurants, drinks at eight bars including champagne, a daily minibar, one excursion, access to Siyam Water World, non-motorised watersports, sports facilities and a US$50 spa credit per adult. Extras include The Cube, Karaoke by Moonlight and some special experiences.
Is there enough to do at Siyam World if you don’t like watersports?
Yes. Away from the water there’s a horse ranch, Veyo Spa, cooking classes, cultural experiences like the Maldivian High Tea, wine tasting at Barrique, go-karting, tennis, padel, bike rides around the island and nightly entertainment.
When is the best time to visit Siyam World?
The dry season, from around December to April, brings the most reliable sunshine and calm seas. I visited in October, at the end of the wet season, and it was around 30°C and humid with just one rainy day in a week.
Is Siyam World suitable for people with limited mobility?
It’s a big island, so getting around involves buses, walking or cycling, and distances between venues can be long. Travellers with mobility issues should contact the resort before booking to discuss their needs
The Boutique Adventurer was a guest of Siyam World, who covered the costs of my stay. As always, all opinions are my own.
This article contains affiliate links. That means if you click through on some of the links and end up making a purchase I may receive a small commission.
Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.
