What is Kandooma Right, and how does the access work?

Kandooma Right (also called Kandooma Point) is a long, walling right-hand reef break that peels off the southern edge of Kandooma island for about 150 metres on a good southern-hemisphere swell. It is rare here: most of the country's well-known breaks are left-handers (Lohi's, Pasta Point, Sultans, Honkys, Jailbreaks, Cokes are all North Malé lefts), which makes Kandooma Right the most accessible right-hander to surf from a single resort. Holiday Inn Kandooma runs a surf operation with board hire, a surf guide, dawn boat runs, and board repair. November to April is the peak swell window. The line-up tends to be less crowded than the contested North Malé breaks, partly because right-footed surfers are a smaller group, and partly because access is from this one resort rather than boated in from neighbours.

How does the dive-and-surf trip work at Kandooma?

Holiday Inn Kandooma is one of the few Maldives resorts where you can do both surf and dive from one island. A typical day runs dawn surf at Kandooma Right during the swell window, then dive routes through the late morning and afternoon (Kandooma Thila next door, plus the wider sites), and sundowners back at the resort. If your trip is built around both surf and dive, this combination is hard to find elsewhere. The trade-off against a dive-specialist resort like Bandos in North Malé (with its PADI 5-star centre and hyperbaric chamber) is dive-school depth; for dive-only depth, Bandos, and for the dive-and-surf combination, Kandooma.

South Malé Atoll · mid range resort · opened 2009

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives

IHG Holiday Inn mid-range all-inclusive on Kandooma island, South Malé Atoll. 160 villas, the rare Maldives resort with a right-hand reef break (Kandooma Right) off its edge, the Kandooma Thila dive site next door, IHG One Rewards loyalty, a family all-inclusive plan, and a 40-minute speedboat at the mid-range routing.

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Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives sits on Kandooma island in southern South Malé Atoll, opened in 2009 under IHG's Holiday Inn flag. Its real distinction is the surf. Kandooma Right (also called Kandooma Point), a long, walling right-hand reef break, peels off the southern edge of the island. That matters because most of the country's well-known breaks are left-handers (Lohi's, Pasta Point, Sultans), so Kandooma Right is the most accessible right-hander you can surf from a single resort outside the South Ari cluster. The resort runs a proper surf operation (board hire, a surf guide, dawn boat runs) through the November-to-April swell window. The Holiday Inn flag puts it at the mid-range, chain-hotel tier, with IHG One Rewards loyalty and a standard, predictable family all-inclusive, a different feel from the area's Maldivian-owned and boutique resorts. And the marquee dive site Kandooma Thila sits a short boat ride away, which makes a combined dive-and-surf trip possible in a way few resorts here can match.

Setting

Kandooma is a natural island in southern South Malé Atoll, with the 160 villas across the beach and the over-water cluster on the lagoon side. Kandooma Right peels off the southern edge of the island, and Kandooma Thila sits a short boat ride away.

The southern position puts the area's marquee surf and dive sites right at hand; the 40-minute speedboat sits at the mid-range routing.

Critique: at 160 villas with a family programme and a surf crowd, it reads functional rather than boutique.

Who it's for

Surf travellers who want a right-hander off the resort. Kandooma Right is rare here, where most breaks are lefts; for a natural-footed right-hander wanting resort access on a mid-range all-inclusive, this is the answer.
Families who want the consistency of a big hotel chain. The Holiday Inn brand, the standard family programme, and IHG One Rewards loyalty make for a predictable stay, different from the area's Maldivian-owned resorts.
Dive-and-surf travellers who want both in one trip. Kandooma Thila is a short boat ride away and Kandooma Right is off the beach, a combination almost no other resort here offers.
IHG One Rewards members who want to use points in the Maldives.

Who it isn't for

Travellers who want premium or ultra-luxury polish. Holiday Inn Kandooma is at the mid-range Holiday Inn tier, below the area's premium resorts.
Travellers who want a quiet, boutique feel. At 160 villas with a family programme and a surf crowd, it reads busy at peak season.
Couples who want a firmly adults-only resort. Holiday Inn Kandooma is family-friendly; for the 18+ rule nearby, Adaaran Prestige Vadoo.
Travellers who want the quickest arrival. At 40 minutes Kandooma is at the mid-range routing; for the quickest, Adaaran Prestige Vadoo or Hard Rock Hotel Maldives at 15 minutes.

The villas

The 160 villas span Beach Villa, Family Beach Villa, Beach House, Sunset Beach House, Water Villa, and Sunset Over Water Villa types along the Kandooma shoreline and the over-water cluster. Sizes vary by category; confirm at booking.

Villa	Size	Sleeps	Pool
Beach Villa	70 m²	2	No
Family Beach Villa	110 m²	4	No
Sunset Beach House	95 m²	3	No
Water Villa	80 m²	2	No
Sunset Over Water Villa	95 m²	2	No

Food & drink

Four venues anchor the Holiday Inn all-inclusive plan. The main all-day pavilion, Kandooma Cafe, runs a rotating international buffet plus à-la-carte across breakfast to dinner, with a Tuesday Maldivian night and a Bodu Beru troupe; The Asian Kitchen, the signature restaurant, does Asian and fresh seafood, including a Thursday seafood-and-grill night; the beach-side grill handles the barbecue lunch and dinner; and the pool-deck bar runs lunch and sundowners. The plan covers the main pavilion plus rotating à-la-carte upgrades.

The Holiday Inn kitchen and bar run to a consistent chain standard across the venues; the wine and cocktails are at the mid-range all-inclusive level.

Honest read on the food: four venues is solid for the mid-range tier, and the cooking is at the dependable chain-hotel standard rather than destination-dining depth.

Diving and the house reef

The on-property dive operation runs at the mid-range level, and the southern position puts Kandooma right next to Kandooma Thila, the area's marquee channel dive, where reef sharks and grey reef sharks are regular at the thila edge. The wider sites (Vaagali Beyru, Embudhoo Express, the Kuda Giri wreck) are within boat range. The Dive Free programme gives certified divers two free dives a day on stays of three nights or more, which few resorts here match at this tier.

Certification courses run from Open Water through Divemaster; with a surf-and-dive crowd, the diving is accessible and capable.

Honest caveat: for a specialist dive operation, Bandos has the hyperbaric chamber and a PADI 5-star centre; Kandooma's strength is being next to Kandooma Thila and pairing diving with the surf.

Spa and wellness

The on-property spa runs at the mid-range level, with massages, facials, body scrubs, and Ayurvedic-influenced treatments.

At 160 villas with a family crowd, spa appointments at peak season are moderately available; book treatments when you confirm.

Honest caveat: if wellness is the whole point of the trip, the area's dedicated wellness islands are well ahead.

Activities and the on-island programme

The activity programme is built around surf and dive. Kandooma Right runs through the November-to-April swell window, with board hire, a surf guide, and dawn boat runs; the dive school works Kandooma Thila and the wider sites.

Beyond that, the usual watersports (stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing, guided snorkel trips) cover the non-surf days, and the family setting supports a structured kids' programme.

Smaller offerings: a dolphin-watching cruise, a sunset cruise, a private-sandbank trip, and wedding and vow-renewal coordination.

Getting there

The standard route from Velana International is about a 40-minute speedboat straight to the Kandooma jetty.

The speedboat runs on a wide daily schedule, with late-night runs by prior arrangement. At 40 minutes it sits at the mid-range routing.

Visa: most nationalities receive a 30-day free visa on arrival. The Tourism GST adds 17 percent to the total bill.

Best time to visit

South Malé's seasons follow the standard Maldivian pattern. December through April is the dry season, with the European peak; for surfers, the same window is the peak for Kandooma Right.

May through November carries the southwest monsoon, with more frequent showers; the August Italian and German school holidays bring a second spike.

Contrarian's pick: late January into early February for the best mix of surf and weather; late September into October for value.

Sustainability, the numbers

IHG's Green Engage sustainability programme covers the basics: energy efficiency, waste segregation, and marine stewardship around the island.

The surf-and-dive operation keeps staff on the reef daily, with the usual reef monitoring.

What is absent: a published, independently audited annual impact report of the kind Soneva produces.

Our take

What sets Holiday Inn Kandooma apart is having a right-hand surf break off the property. It is the only resort in the area where you can do that: the other surf resorts here, Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi (Lohi's) and Cinnamon Dhonveli (Pasta Point) at North Malé, both sit on left-handers. Pair that with Kandooma Thila next door and you get a dive-and-surf week that almost no other resort in the area can offer.

The underrated part is the chain-hotel consistency. IHG runs only two resorts in the Maldives (this one and InterContinental Maamunagau in Raa), so for IHG One Rewards members it is the mid-range, family choice. The standard Holiday Inn programme makes for a predictable, easy stay, which is exactly what some travellers want.

Our recommendation: book a Sunset Over Water Villa or a Family Beach Villa for a seven-night dive-and-surf week in late January, when the surf and weather line up; run the day around the dawn surf and an afternoon dive at Kandooma Thila, use the 40-minute speedboat for arrival and departure, and use IHG One Rewards if you have it.

Maldives Idylls editorial·last revised 2026-05-11

Verdict

For surf travellers who want a right-hander off the resort, families who want the consistency of a big hotel chain, dive-and-surf travellers who want both in one trip, and IHG One Rewards members who want to use points in the Maldives, Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives is the right answer at South Malé's surf-and-dive, mid-range end. The 160 villas across Beach, Family Beach, Beach House, Sunset Beach House, Water, and Sunset Over Water types, the four-venue all-inclusive plan, the Kandooma Right surf break off the edge, the Kandooma Thila dive site next door, and the 40-minute speedboat from Velana are the headline features. The mid-range Holiday Inn polish sitting below the area's premium resorts, the 160-villa family scale rather than boutique quiet, the 40-minute crossing rather than the quickest arrival, and a working rather than audited approach to sustainability are the honest trade-offs.

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Lagoon conditions

29°Csea 29°C

Wind

20.6 m/s W

Source: Open-Meteo · cached 6h

Quick facts

Villas: 160 villas: Beach Villa, Family Beach Villa, Beach House, Sunset Beach House, Water Villa, and Sunset Over Water Villa
Restaurants: Four venues on the all-inclusive plan: Kandooma Cafe main pavilion, The Asian Kitchen, a beach-side grill, and a pool-deck bar
Transfer: 40-min speedboat direct from Velana International (mid-range routing)
Dive centre: On-property dive operation; Kandooma Thila next door and the wider South Malé sites within boat range, with a Dive Free programme (two dives a day for stays of three nights or more)
Opened: 2009 (IHG, Holiday Inn flag)
Island: Kandooma, South Malé Atoll (southern; Kandooma Right reef break off the edge)
Brand framework: IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), Holiday Inn flag (one of two IHG resorts in the Maldives, with InterContinental Maamunagau in Raa); IHG One Rewards loyalty and the Green Engage sustainability programme
Distinctive feature: The rare right-hand reef break off the resort (Kandooma Right; the area's other surf resorts sit on left-handers); a dive-and-surf island, with Kandooma Thila a short boat ride away; IHG One Rewards loyalty and a standard Holiday Inn family programme

Gallery

Photographs come from each resort's own communications and operator-supplied media kits. Operators retain ownership; takedown requests are honoured on email. Click any tile to view it full size.

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives, villa overwater, South Malé Atoll, Maldives, Over Water Villa decks at sunset, the row of private wooden terraces extending down the jetty with white sun-loungers, glass-bottom view panels set into the deck planks, palm-fringed island shore reflected on the glassy lagoon across the water. — Over Water Villa decks at sunset, the row of private wooden terraces extending down the jetty with white sun-loungers, glass-bottom view panels set into the deck planks, palm-fringed island shore reflected on the glassy lagoon across the water.

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives, aerial, South Malé Atoll, Maldives, Sunrise aerial of Holiday Inn Kandooma: white flat-roof beach villas in the palm-fringed foreground, the long boardwalk reaching out to the over-water villa cluster on the right, the Kandooma Right reef break visibly peeling on the horizon at the property's southern edge, golden sunrise light raking across the lagoon. — Sunrise aerial of Holiday Inn Kandooma: white flat-roof beach villas in the palm-fringed foreground, the long boardwalk reaching out to the over-water villa cluster on the right, the Kandooma Right reef break visibly peeling on the horizon at the property's southern edge, golden sunrise light raking across the lagoon.

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives, activity, South Malé Atoll, Maldives, Coral propagation activity in the shallow house-reef lagoon: a family in swimwear bending over a metal rebar coral-frame structure, tying living coral fragments to the steel grid, the visible sustainability programme that runs across the property's marine-conservation calendar. — Coral propagation activity in the shallow house-reef lagoon: a family in swimwear bending over a metal rebar coral-frame structure, tying living coral fragments to the steel grid, the visible sustainability programme that runs across the property's marine-conservation calendar.

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives, activity, South Malé Atoll, Maldives, Underwater scene on a Kandooma Thila adjacent dive site: three scuba divers cruising over a vibrant coral bommie thickly clustered with bright-orange anthias schooling around the soft-coral arms, the property's Dive Free programme product (certified divers receive two complimentary dives per day for stays of three nights or more). — Underwater scene on a Kandooma Thila adjacent dive site: three scuba divers cruising over a vibrant coral bommie thickly clustered with bright-orange anthias schooling around the soft-coral arms, the property's Dive Free programme product (certified divers receive two complimentary dives per day for stays of three nights or more).

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives, lifestyle, South Malé Atoll, Maldives, Beach concert at night under stage lighting: a singer on a low stage with arms raised, the crowd of guests packed onto the sand with arms up and phones held out, keyboard and amp stack flanking the stage, the documentary face of the Kandooma 2026 concert series that runs multiple sold-out weeks each year. — Beach concert at night under stage lighting: a singer on a low stage with arms raised, the crowd of guests packed onto the sand with arms up and phones held out, keyboard and amp stack flanking the stage, the documentary face of the Kandooma 2026 concert series that runs multiple sold-out weeks each year.

Alternatives we would also recommend

North Malé Atoll

Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi

North Malé's left-hand surf resort, from Aitken Spence's Adaaran Select range: a larger island beside the Lohi's break, with a 35-minute speedboat.

North Malé Atoll

Cinnamon Dhonveli Maldives

North Malé's exclusive-access surf resort: Cinnamon's island with the Pasta Point left-hander, surfed under permit since 1991, 156 villas, a 30-minute speedboat.

Frequently asked

What is Kandooma Right, and how does the access work?: Kandooma Right (also called Kandooma Point) is a long, walling right-hand reef break that peels off the southern edge of Kandooma island for about 150 metres on a good southern-hemisphere swell. It is rare here: most of the country's well-known breaks are left-handers (Lohi's, Pasta Point, Sultans, Honkys, Jailbreaks, Cokes are all North Malé lefts), which makes Kandooma Right the most accessible right-hander to surf from a single resort. Holiday Inn Kandooma runs a surf operation with board hire, a surf guide, dawn boat runs, and board repair. November to April is the peak swell window. The line-up tends to be less crowded than the contested North Malé breaks, partly because right-footed surfers are a smaller group, and partly because access is from this one resort rather than boated in from neighbours.
How does the dive-and-surf trip work at Kandooma?: Holiday Inn Kandooma is one of the few Maldives resorts where you can do both surf and dive from one island. A typical day runs dawn surf at Kandooma Right during the swell window, then dive routes through the late morning and afternoon (Kandooma Thila next door, plus the wider sites), and sundowners back at the resort. If your trip is built around both surf and dive, this combination is hard to find elsewhere. The trade-off against a dive-specialist resort like Bandos in North Malé (with its PADI 5-star centre and hyperbaric chamber) is dive-school depth; for dive-only depth, Bandos, and for the dive-and-surf combination, Kandooma.

Verification

Last verified 2026-05-28. Next refresh 2026-08-28. Edited by Linus Halberg.