Private Residence at Gili Lankanfushi, Maldives

Gili Lankanfushi

For years, travelers have viewed the Maldives as the ultimate honeymoon fantasy, defined by overwater villas, candlelit dinners and couples-only escapes. But that stereotype now looks outdated.

I interviewed seven resorts that invite families and multi-generational travelers to share how they are turning a simple beach holiday into a shared, meaningful experience families can bond over.

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort

The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort welcomes families in its John Jacob Astor Estate, a three-bedroom overwater villa for up to 12 guests. Here, families have enough space to spread out while still staying together, rather than splitting up across separate villas.

The family experiences go beyond beach time. Each member can work toward a PADI certification together in the shallow waters of the Dhaalu Atoll. Children as young as 10 can start entry-level courses.

Teens and parents can also take a Digital Underwater Photographer course, turning snorkeling and diving into a shared skill-building activity rather than just a sightseeing trip.

Through the Reefscapers partnership, guests can join the Adopt-a-Coral program. They can harvest healthy coral fragments with a marine biologist, attach them to underwater frames and follow their growth even after the trip.

By 2025, the resort had planted about 300 coral frames, restored more than 70 square meters of reef and involved 165 guests in coral adoption or marine awareness sessions.

Siyam World

Siyam World is especially well suited to multi-generational travel because it offers up to four-bedroom villas and residences on both the beach and overwater. In total, 43 villas and residences await large families to stay together.

The whole family can take part in the resort’s weekly Maldivian Day, which includes traditional board games such as Oh’valhu Gon'di and Thinhama Gon'di, Maldivian high tea, Dhivehi language learning, and demonstrations of coconut oil making, Kasabu weaving and palm-leaf weaving.

Siyam World has one of the largest sports facilities in the Maldives, called The World Sports Arena and a 16,000-square-meter working horse ranch where Marwari breed, mares and stallions as well mixed breed ponies live.

Families can bond over adopting coral frames and join guided coral planting sessions with resident marine biologists. Weekly presentations, regular beach and lagoon cleanings, and other educational activities will connect guests to reef conservation.

Siyam World launched its Coral Reef Restoration Project in June 2025 as a long-term initiative to restore and revitalize the island’s coral reefs. Led by resident marine biologists Thuhu and Chris, they attach naturally broken coral fragments to metal frames and place them into degraded reef areas.

Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru

For multi-generational groups, Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru recommends its Grand Beachfront Pool Villa as the main gathering area and the nearby separate villas for privacy.

The whole family can join marine talks with the resort’s on-site marine biologists, take part in hands-on coral planting, go on snorkels to learn about reef life, or join save-the-reef snorkels where they help collect plastic from the ocean.

Banyan Tree also offers sustainable art workshops using recycled materials like driftwood, as well as making body scrub from recycled coffee grounds. The whole family may also enjoy Maldivian cooking classes or the mocktail and cocktail workshops using leftover kitchen ingredients.

The Marine Lab, the first resort-based marine research facility in the Maldives, established in 2004, runs rope nurseries, midwater nurseries, electric reefs, spider frames and coral larval work to support reef restoration, while also monitoring megafauna and coral spawning cycles.

The resort's recent Olive Ridley turtle hatching, the first recorded there since 2015, is a powerful reminder of how important ongoing conservation work is.

Gili Lankanfushi Maldives

Gili Lankanfushi offers several family-friendly overwater options, including the Family Villa and Family Villa with Pool, each sleeping four guests in two en-suite bedrooms. Families seeking more privacy could choose the two-bedroom Residence or the Residence with Pool in a more secluded part of the island.

The whole family can join Local Hour to learn about the Maldivian culture through Dhivehi language lessons, Maldivian handicrafts and Bodu Beru drumming sessions.

To make sustainability a visible part of the stay rather than something hidden behind the scenes, families can join the Thimaaveshi environment hour to learn about local marine life and the resort’s sustainability efforts from the resident marine biologist while making ocean-life origami.

Families can also take part in the Coral Lines conservation project, where they can visit the coral nursery on ropes and even adopt a coral. Guests can even snorkel with the marine biology team to see this conservation work up close.

Sustainability is one of Gili Lankanfushi’s strongest pillars. The resort protects and monitors seagrass meadows, tracks biodiversity through quadrat-based surveys and removes invasive Crown of Thorns starfish in addition to the Coral Lines reef restoration project.

OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort

OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru offers Family Beach Villas that sleep up to five guests, while duplex pool villas add more privacy and flexibility for multi-generational stays. Children under 12 also stay and dine free.

The whole family can join hands-on coral planting sessions led by the resort’s in-house marine biologist, take part in lagoon clean-ups, and attend bi-weekly talks on marine-focused topics such as shark ecology, coral ecosystems and marine conservation.

Families can also contribute sightings to research bodies including Manta Trust and the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme, turning beach excursions into citizen science experiences.

Young explorers aged 8 and over can also try introductory diving courses alongside other family members at the resort’s PADI 5-star dive center.

The resort’s sustainability work includes long-term coral reef monitoring, recovery and restoration, and partnerships with local NGOs such as Maldives Resilient Reefs and MIYARU.

Heritance Aarah

Heritance Aarah welcomes larger family groups in its Two Bedroom Family Beach Villa and Two Bedroom Family Pool Beach Villa, both of which sleep up to six guests.

The whole family can explore the resort’s Maldivian Village together on a guided walk along the Dhandahelu Magu, a symbolic path that honors the island's history.

There, guests can see a traditional school setup, an authentic coral-stone home and try their hands at local handicrafts from coconut husking to rope-making.

Families can also enjoy together complimentary excursions, cooking demonstrations, mixology classes and snorkeling at the house reef.

The resort’s new marine biologist, Yaniu Raoof, a local Maldivian who specializes in manta rays, offers guests a deeper understanding of the Maldives' marine life.

The resort's sustainability angle also includes its Protect Our Lagoon clean-up activity, led by the Dive & Watersports teams to raise awareness of marine protection.