Fulhadhoo

Fulhadhoo lies in Goidhoo Atoll, an isolated group at the southern edge of Baa, and it is one of the quietest inhabited islands with visitor accommodation: a village of a couple of hundred people, a long sandbank running off one end and a beach that appears on lists of the country's best. The atoll is where a French ship was wrecked in 1602 and its survivors, including François Pyrard, spent years before returning to write about it.

What you actually see

• The sandbank - the long strip of sand running from the island's end.
• The beach - the stretch that appears on lists of the country's finest.
• The isolation - a village of a couple of hundred people well off the ferry routes.
• The 1602 wreck - the French shipwreck whose survivors wrote the first European account of the islands.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and calmest. Ferries run on very limited days. The monsoon makes crossings rough.

Honest expectations

Ferry connections are infrequent and getting stuck is a real possibility. There are only a handful of guesthouses. Local island rules apply outside the designated beach.

Nearby

Thulhaadhoo is north, and Malé is southeast.