One protected channel, no runway, and a reef structure that only works when the current is running.
MLE
Airport
November – April
Best months
Faafu has a single protected area and it is a good one. Filitheyo Kandu is a U-shaped reef running from ten to thirty metres through strong current, with a sand patch where stingrays settle, caves and cavities along the outer walls, and sharks, napoleon wrasse and eagle rays over them. Dolphin Corner, in the southern part of the channel near Maavaru Huraa, produces grey reef sharks and schooling fusiliers and snappers when the current is strong.
Read that description carefully, because it is conditional. Everything the ministry lists here depends on water moving, which makes Faafu an atoll where the diving is better on some days than others in a way a calm lagoon is not.
There is no airport. Faafu was one of four atolls this directory held back as a draft over an unconfirmed transfer route, and the answer turned out to be that there is nothing to confirm: the aerodrome register lists no runway here, so the route is a seaplane or a boat.
Three of the twenty Maldivian atolls in this directory have no runway at all, and this is one of them. Nothing can be built closer, so the journey out here is as short as it is going to get.
No runway in the atoll. Arrivals are by seaplane from Velana, or by speedboat. Seaplanes fly between sunrise and sunset only, and the operator asks guests who want to reach the resort the same day to be in the Maldives by 15:30.
Filitheyo Thila, a "U"-shaped reef with depths ranging from 10 to 30 meters, experiences strong currents and is famous for its sand patch with stingrays, abundant fish schools, and numerous caves and cavities on its outer walls, where sharks, napoleons, and eagle rays are often spotted. Filitheyo Outside, in the northern part of the kandu, features coral outcrops and hosts sweetlips. Dolphin Corner, situated in the southern region near Maavaru Huraa, offers beautiful coral formations and the opportunity to observe grey reef sharks, napoleons, eagle rays, and bustling schools of fusilier and snappers during strong currents.