Surfing Maldives North Male Atoll (Trip VLOG) - Jailbreak | Sultans | Chickens

Trip VLOG of my surf holiday to the North Male Atoll in the Maldives June 2023.
I have given a bit of info on transfers, accom and associated costs etc. and also some info on the spots i surfed and where they are located. This was a bucket list trip i finally got to tick off my list and i highly recommend it as a surf destination for every surfer however two things to note.
1. It can get busy at certain spots at times due to wind direction issues & bad currents at other spots(this can get hellish) or plain dumb luck that many boats turned up at the same spot at the same time.
2. Because access is so easy off the boats and big safe reef pass channels many beginners/novices were out at spots when the waves were clearly well above their ability level and their shoulder hopping, lazy paddling, board ditching and refusal to duck dive the white water caused many issues for those taking off at the peak and surfing the spot correctly.
But aside from this I had a tonne of surfs in perfect empty waves with only our boat on it(luck can swing both ways!) and just one of these sessions will make your entire trip there worth it :)

[@joshsmith7999]

Sick trip bro, how did you find the crowds, a bit more mellow and chilled vibes compared with other parts of Indo etc ? Or were the crowd still pretty heavy at some spots like Cokes ?

[@wingman7nz]

Cheers was an insane trip tbh! Crowd wise its way diff to Indo definitely more chilled in water and even though numbers wise some spots get as busy its mainly full of lower intermediate or beginners with only a handful of guys that are experienced. This causes a diff issue where instead of the usual mad jockeying for the peak you are usually taking off and having to avoid all the surfers on the inside which can really ruin your rides at times. This only happened a few times though when all the boats turned up at the same spot at same time. I had many epic sessions with just our boat or one other on it so was definitely worth doing the trip there for those 100% :) ..the locals all surf to a reasonable standard with some sponsored rippers in the mix now too but found them all very welcoming if you respected the lineup!

[@FluffyAlpaca81]

Looks amazing. How shallow/deep are the reefs where these waves are breaking?

[@wingman7nz]

Cheers def one of the best surf trips ive done! the reefs are not super shallow like indo slabs(ie-less than knee deep) on the outside sections and this allows for more roll ins although it does get fairly shallow on the inside sections of each reef(where its barreling). Cokes is prob the most shallow of all of the Nth Male Atoll waves and also the most powerful. I felt like that was the spot you had to be more selective so as not to end up on the reef esp if bigger swell and lower tide.

[@action24061974]

Where did you stay? You didn't need to buy a surf pass?

[@wingman7nz]

I stayed at Jailbreak Surf Inn, Himmafushi no need for a surf pass at Jails, Sultans Cokes or Chickens as they are not private spots. Only Pasta and Lohis you need to be a resort guest to surf there.

[@action24061974]

@@wingman7nz I'm looking to stay right on cokes Reef edge Inn, as I'd like a right hander. So no alcohol on those public islands? Is it easy to organise transport to surf breaks? How was jailbreaks to surf?

[@wingman7nz]

@@action24061974 the Maldives is a Moslem country so no Alcohol unless your at a resort. Cokes is a great wave perhaps the best in the Nth Male Atoll although i didn't score it good on my trip. Boats to the surf spots are easily organized through your accommodation and they usually offer 2 x transfers per day(unless goes flat or onshore). I found Jails a super fun high performance wave if you get the right one from the outside point it will wall up through 3 long sections offering 6+ turns and up to 300m rides. It can barrel at jails too like cokes but i think the better barrels are found at cokes that's why it is regarded the premier wave in the area.

[@matteociccozzi2385]

I'm trying to decide whether it would be better for me to stay on Himmafushi or Thulusdhoo (planning on going beginning of august). I'm a somewhat experienced surfer and it seems cokes is a better wave and could be less crowded but also more exposed to winds. I did some research and I think I can surf jails/sultans/honkys even if I don't stay near himmafushi by finding a boat that takes me there. Having just been there, would you recommend himmafushi?

[@wingman7nz]

good question! i would def have split my trip into a week on both islands had i known that chickens is about the only left in the nth male atoll that deals with the predominate trade from the wsw/wnw(all the others rely on no wind/glassy or nth winds. Being a goofy foot i was craving lefts by the second week and stayin in thulusdhoo would have been great for access to chickens which is a really underrated wave. Also Cokes is the heaviest and most hollow wave there and if your looking to get barreled that would be the wave to pitch camp at but as you said it does face the wind more up there and jails/sultans are really sheltered. You can get there from Himmafushi but its a long boat trip up and some resorts will only do it once a week. I would split my trip between both.

[@matteociccozzi2385]

@@wingman7nz Thank you for the detailed reply!

[@wingman7nz]

@@matteociccozzi2385 no worries glad i could help.. enjoy paradise !!