Maafaru, in Noonu Atoll in the north of the Maldives, is home to an international airport that brings private jets far closer to the northern resorts than Malé. Several of the country’s most sought-after island resorts are a short boat or seaplane transfer away, so guests can step from the aircraft to their villa without the long seaplane flight from the capital. The atolls here offer house reefs, manta ray and whale shark sightings and quiet sandbanks. Private flights reach Maafaru directly from Dubai, Doha, India and Europe, subject to the usual Maldives arrival formalities.
