Guraidhoo (Kaafu Atoll)

For other islands with this name, see Guraidhoo (disambiguation).

Guraidhoo ގުރައިދޫ
Inhabited island
Aerial view of Guriadhoo and surrounding atolls
Guraidhoo Location in Maldives
Coordinates: 03°54′00″N 73°28′06″E
Country	Maldives
Administrative atoll	Kaafu Atoll
Distance to Malé	30.77 km (19.12 mi)
Dimensions
• Length	0.675 km (0.419 mi)
• Width	0.500 km (0.311 mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	1,743 (including foreigners)
Time zone	UTC+05:00 (MST)

Guraidhoo (Dhivehi: ގުރައިދޫ) is one of the inhabited islands of Kaafu Atoll in the Maldives.

Geography

Guraidhoo Kandu, a protected marine area in South Male Atoll, boasts multiple dive sites, with two primary channels – Lhosfushi Kandu and Guraidhoo Kandu

The island is 30.77 km (19 mi; 17 nmi) south of the country's capital, Malé.^[2] Guraidhoo is less than 1 km (0.62 mi) long and wide. It is located in South Malé Atoll. Guraidhoo is about 31 km (19 mi) from Male Airport – the only way you can reach it is by boat.

Demography

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
2006	1,220	—
2014	1,580	+29.5%
2022	1,743	+10.3%
2006-2022: Census populations Source: [1][3]

Economy

Infrastructure

Guraidhoo has about 3000 locals (2023) Guraidhoo has the only psychiatric facility in the Maldives. On 26 March 2021 BML introduces Self-Service Banking in Kaafu Guraidhoo.

Sport

Guraidhoo is recognized for its surfing and turtle snorkeling, dolphins, sand banks, and diving spots plus wind surfing water sports and dolphin back riding.

Transport

The public MTCC ferry takes 2 hours and 15 min to reach Guraidhoo. The Escape speedboat ferry takes 45 min.

Speedboat ferry:

• Guaraidhoo to Male
• Male to Guaraidhoo

Price 2023 25 USD per person. There are 3 departures every day from both Malé and Guraidhoo

Public MTCC ferry (no. 309)

• Guraidhoo to Male
• Male to Guraidhoo

Price 2023 22 MVR per person The ferry departs from Guraidoo Saturday to Thursday at 7 am From Malé it departs Saturday to Thursday at 2.30-3 pm

References

1. "Table P3: Resident Population by place of enumeration and by island, 2014-2022" (PDF). 2022 Maldives Census. Maldives Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
2. "Coordinate Distance Calculator". Boulter.com. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
3. "Table 3.3: Total Maldivian Population by Islands" (PDF). National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 12 August 2018.