MALDIVES

An Island
Classroom

Home to
the world’s
warmest
ocean!

The Maldives is a nation of around 1,200 coral islands in 26 atolls, none of them more than a few metres above the sea. Students are based at Kandooma, a private island resort in the South Malé Atoll, 40 minutes by speedboat from the airport, with a surf school on the beach and a house reef off it. The week combines surf lessons in warm water with hands-on coral restoration, guided snorkelling and a day on the island of Guraidhoo, and students come home having seen a reef from the inside and done something practical to help it.

WHY CHOOSE THE MALDIVES

Private island
resort

Sandbank waves
for beginners

Hands-on
coral restoration

Turtles, reef sharks
and dolphins

May to September
season

A private island

Kandooma sits on its own island in the South Malé Atoll, ringed by a turquoise lagoon and a house reef, 40 minutes by speedboat from the airport. The whole island is the resort, which keeps the group together and supervision simple, and the air stays between 26°C and 31°C through the May to September season.

Reef and conservation

The water around Kandooma is clear enough to watch sea turtles, reef sharks and tropical fish from the surface. Students snorkel the house reef with a guide, then put something back: collecting broken coral fragments, securing them to frames with marine specialists and placing them on the reef to regrow. Later in the week they snorkel over established frames and see how transplanted coral takes hold.

Surf and adventure

The Indian Ocean is on the doorstep, with water clear enough to see the sand below. Mornings are surf lessons on the sandbank in front of the villas and the reef breaks around the island, in warm water with nobody else on the wave. In the afternoons students swap boards for masks and snorkel the lagoon, where turtles and reef fish are a regular sight.

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO SURF IN MALDIVES?

Waves for every level

Beginners learn on the sandbank and beach break directly in front of the resort, a soft, forgiving wave over sand. Progressing surfers move on to nearby reef breaks such as Quarters and Riptides by boat. Kandooma Right, the island’s fast reef break, is reserved for experienced surfers and is worth watching from the beach.

Surf coaching

Lessons are coached in small groups by a team who know every break around Kandooma, with the location chosen each morning for the conditions and the group. Mornings start with breakfast at the beachfront restaurant, then a surf lesson that runs until lunch. Afternoons alternate between coral restoration, guided snorkelling, yoga and beach games, with a sunset social before dinner and evenings of beach movie nights, quizzes, a surf bracelet workshop and a fire pit on the sand.

Quality equipment

Lessons include a soft-top surfboard, leash and rash vest, with mini-mals, longboards and shortboards for stronger surfers, and boards are matched to each student’s size and ability. The water is 27°C to 29°C, so students surf in rash vests rather than wetsuits, and the surf school sits on Kandooma’s beach in front of the villas.

OUR accommodation

Maldives

Kandooma Island Resort is a four-star private island 40 minutes by speedboat from the airport. Students share twin beach villas with air conditioning, their own bathrooms, Wi-Fi and outdoor seating. Pools, a yoga pavilion, beach volleyball and football areas and relaxed social spaces sit between the villas and the surf school, and meals are all-inclusive with soft drinks, juices, afternoon snacks and ice cream.

We have had a terrific experience with Schools Go Surfing over the past few years. Will and the team take away all of the stress of running a school trip with their organisation and adaptability throughout. The itinerary is well thought out and perfectly balances the time spent in the water with downtime to keep it enjoyable for the students.

HARROW SCHOOL

WHAT TO EXPECT

TROPICAL ISLAND RESORT

Kandooma is a secure, self-contained island, so the group stays together and supervision is straightforward. Students stay in twin-share beach villas, with the surf school, the pools and the beachfront restaurant on the same stretch of beach, and our Trip Leader stays on the island throughout. The resort has hosted school groups before, and its layout gives students room to relax between activities while staying close to staff.

Marine conservation

Working alongside marine specialists, students collect naturally broken coral fragments, secure them to frames and place them on Kandooma’s house reef, where a fragment can grow into a colony over the years that follow. Later in the week they snorkel over established frames to see how transplanted coral develops. A behind-the-scenes sustainability tour covers desalination, solar power, composting and waste on an island where every litre of fresh water has to be made.

Island life and culture

Guraidhoo, a local island a short boat ride from Kandooma, shows everyday Maldivian life beyond the resort, with a guided walk through the village and, where arrangements allow, time with pupils at the island school. The day continues with a beach clean on an uninhabited island, where students collect the marine litter that washes up on shores nobody lives on. Back at Kandooma, yoga overlooking the lagoon, kayaking, paddleboarding and beach games fill the afternoons.

FOOD & DRINK

Meals are all-inclusive across the resort’s restaurants, with a buffet breakfast each morning, lunch at one of the resort restaurants, and buffet or à la carte dinners with international favourites alongside Maldivian dishes. Soft drinks, juices, mineral water, afternoon snacks and ice cream are included, and dietary requirements are catered for once the school has sent them to us.

Ocean adventures

Guided snorkelling on the house reef introduces students to turtles, reef fish and coral close to the beach. Further out, local guides lead a choice of swimming with nurse sharks, a slow bottom-feeding species that rests on the sand by day, or exploring Turtle Point. A sunset cruise across the lagoon rounds off the week and, with a little luck, there are dolphins along the way.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

The price covers the flights, the speedboat transfers and everything from the moment the group lands: the resort, all meals with soft drinks, surf lessons and equipment, coral restoration, snorkelling, the island visit and the evenings. Free staff places at one to eight, a dedicated Trip Leader, full financial protection and travel insurance are included as standard.

Find out more

health and safety

We write a risk assessment for every destination and a health and safety audit for everywhere we stay. Before the trip the organiser receives a travel pack with both, so the school’s own paperwork, and the questions from parents, are covered.