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Yes, you can leave Velana Airport on a layover, but only by clearing immigration like any other tourist. You need the free IMUGA declaration, a prepaid booking at a registered facility, confirmed return tickets and enough money for your stay (or an approved sponsorship), and the immigration officer decides whether to let you in. The airport ferry crossing to Malé takes about 10 minutes.
Can you leave the airport during a layover in Malé?
Maldives Immigration treats a transit traveller as someone who goes to another country via the Maldives without immigration clearance. If you stay inside the airport, you never go through immigration. If you want to leave, you are no longer in transit, and you clear immigration as an arriving visitor.
If you are connecting to another international flight and not leaving, go to the Transfer Desk in the Arrivals terminal, check in there and pass through security. Bags checked through to your final destination are moved to your connecting flight for you.
Do you need a visa for a Maldives layover?
Not in advance. Tourists get a 30-day visa on arrival and do not apply before travelling. Entry rules checked in November 2026.
To leave the airport, the form you must file is the IMUGA Traveller Declaration. It is free, and you fill it in yourself online at imuga.immigration.gov.mv up to 96 hours (4 days) before you arrive in the Maldives. Present it at immigration. Every traveller files their own, including children. No agent is needed, and sites that charge for it are not official.
To be admitted as a tourist you also need:
- A passport with a machine-readable zone and at least one month of validity after the day you arrive.
- A complete travel itinerary with confirmed return journey tickets.
- A prepaid confirmed booking at a registered facility.
- Enough money to cover your stay. A sponsorship approved by Maldives Immigration can replace the itinerary, booking and proof of funds.
Immigration officers decide admissibility at the port of entry, and a complete itinerary does not guarantee entry. Entry is not granted on Israeli passports. If you arrive from, or recently passed through, a country with yellow fever transmission risk, you need a yellow fever vaccination certificate. Children under one are exempt.
How much time do you need?
Your time has to cover these steps, in this order:
- Arrivals at Terminal 1: immigration first, then baggage claim, then customs screening before the public arrivals hall.
- The crossing to Malé: the airport ferry crossing takes about 10 minutes and boats leave every 15 minutes. By road, Malé to the airport is about 5 km, about 10 minutes without traffic.
- Your time in the city. Our walking route takes about two hours at an easy pace once you are in the city, and less if you keep moving. That guide plans three hours when you start from the airport, which covers the crossing there and back.
- The crossing back, then the departure steps for your next flight.
The airport ferry runs every 15 minutes from 5:30 AM to midnight. After midnight, book a taxi through the Avas app or Quick Mv, which both run 24 hours. Work backwards from the departure time on your own ticket to set when you leave the city.
If your layover is on a Friday
Friday and Saturday are the weekend. Most restaurants stay closed through Friday morning and open after Friday prayers, and shops mostly close about 11 AM to 2 PM on Friday. The airport ferry still runs on Fridays.
Where to leave your bags
The left luggage counter is in Terminal 2, near the restrooms and prayer rooms. It is open 24 hours a day, every day, and its phone number is +960 797 2047.
Getting into Malé and back
- Airport ferry: MVR 15, cash or card, every 15 minutes from 5:30 AM to midnight. Tickets are sold at the ferry ticketing counter near Terminal 2. It lands in Malé, at the terminal MACL calls the Hulhumalé Ferry Terminal.
- Taxi: MVR 70 flat from the airport to Malé, set by the government. Taxis are available at the airport and can be pre-booked with local taxi apps; the Avas app and Quick Mv both run 24 hours. In the Avas app you can pay the driver in cash, by bank transfer or by card.
- Bus R3: MVR 10 to West Park in Malé, once an hour. Tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard to pay, or use a QR ticket from the RTL Travel app. At the airport it stops at the VIA Domestic Terminal and MACL Office stops, not at the international terminal.
Fares checked in November 2026.
Do not walk across the Sinamalé Bridge. Walking across it to Hulhulé and Hulhumalé is illegal, and police have put up signs marking where walking is prohibited.
What to check before you leave the airport
Before you leave the airport
- Your IMUGA declaration is submitted and ready to show.
- Your passport has a machine-readable zone and at least one month of validity after the day you arrive.
- You hold confirmed return tickets, a prepaid booking at a registered facility and enough money for your stay, or an approved sponsorship.
- You carry no alcohol or pork products. Customs confiscates alcohol on arrival, duty-free bottles included.
- Your bags are at the Terminal 2 left luggage counter, or you have decided to carry them.
- You have cash or a card for the ferry or taxi, and a time to be back at the airport.
If you have a long wait at the airport
Hours checked in November 2026. In Terminal 1:
- Leeli Lounge: Level 2, open 24 hours, for departing international passengers.
- 24-hour outlets in the international departure area: a Gloria Jeans kiosk, a Costa Coffee kiosk on the ground floor and KFC on the first floor.
- First-floor waiting area: opened in July 2026, 750 square metres with seating and a 136 square metre children's play area.
- Information counter: open 24 hours, with staffed help counters in arrivals and departures at Terminal 1.
Koveli Lounge is open 5 AM to 11 PM and has a shower. Access is requested online, and standard access is valid for 3 hours.
In the Terminal 2 domestic arrivals area, Green Pharmacy (clinic and pharmacy) and Hulhule' Shop (convenience shop) are open 24 hours.
Hulhule Island Hotel is the only hotel directly on the airport island. The hotel is outside the terminal, so using it means clearing immigration as described above.
- Layover Refresh package: day-use room access for up to 6 hours and a return airport transfer, with food and drink charged separately.
- Reservations: +960 333 0888, 24/7. The team coordinates a complimentary airport shuttle.
- Faru Coffee House: open 24 hours.
- Champs Bar: open 24 hours and serves cocktails.
The hotel is one of the licensed exceptions, while the city and the local islands do not serve alcohol.
Hulhule Island Hotel
Transit | Hulhulé
On the airport island, with a complimentary airport shuttle.
For the airport island itself, read the Hulhulé page.
