Mikado Surf Camp (Kaafu, Maldives)

ABOUT THE SURF CAMP

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LOCATION AND SURF CONDITIONS

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MIKADO GUESTHOUSE: The guesthouse in Thimarafushi is 5-10 minutes from Mikado. Within 5 min walk from the guesthouse, you can check swell and swell from Thimarafushi reef corner (not really ridable). Thimarafushi harbor stays 5min drive from the guesthouse. The speedboat can access 5 spots within 5-10 minutes (depending on sea conditions), 2 spots being consistent (Mikado Rights, Finnimas Lefts).

ACCOMMODATION AND CATERING

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ACCOMMODATION TYPES

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MIKADO GUESTHOUSE (CENTRAL):
Mikado Guesthouse just opened its doors, some minor works still to be done (external shower, board rack). 6 rooms with individual aircon available. The guesthouse offers a nice garden area to leave boardbags and spend some time outside. Beds are king size or twin beds. You also have access to a kitchen with a fridge for breakfast and special stuff. Free 3G WIFI. Washing up : 3$ US / clothes

THULUSDHOO GUESTHOUSE (NORTH):
13 rooms available, the guesthouse features a TV theatre room for guests to hang out and mingle after a solid days surfing, snorkelling and fishing.

GURAIDHOO GUESTHOUSE (SOUTH):
The Guest-house sits on the eastern water front, with a view on Kandooma Resort. There are 7 rooms : 1 triple room, 1 double room, 5 twin double rooms. All the rooms have Aircon with hot & cold water, the management provide towel and room cleaning every other day. All meals are taken in the restaurant, where food is being a bit adapted to western standards (less spicy!). In the backyard, there is a private and totally safe area to keep your surfboards in a rack with an outdoor shower.

THE BOAT "HARIYANA 1":
Capacity :
Surfers : 14 surfers max.
Crew : 5 people
Dinghy : 6m (18ft) with 15 Hp outboard
Cabins : 7 cabins with air conditioning (6 down, 1 up) + fans, 14 beds altogether, Large bathroom
Facilities on board : Large lounge deck, Sundeck with sunbeds (shaded), TV, DVD, CD, First aid kid and oxygen, Mobile, GPS, Radio set, echosounder, Waterplant

THE BOAT "ATOLL JADE":
Capacity :
Surfers : 16 surfers max.
Crew : 5-6 people
Cabins : 9, 4 spacious double cabins with AC, 5 twin bed cabins with AC
Facilities on board : 1 dinghy with 40Hp, Large lounge decks, Inside / outside dining tables, Shaded sundeck for boardbags / Chill out, Stereo, TV, DVD,games, mobile phone, Bar

THE BOAT "OCEAN EXPLORER":
Capacity :
Surfers : 16 surfers max + surfguide
Usually 10-12 surfers onboard.
Stay with Andres Crespo (spanish surfers who live onboard) and surfguide.
Crew : 5 persons
Cabins : 8 rooms with double beds (small) and bunk beds (small and large), Private toilet (with hot & cold water), Air conditionning in the corridor going through the cabins and upper indoor spaces
Facilities on board : 1 Dinghy with 40 Hp outboard engine for 8 surfers, 1 dhoni, Shaded sundeck for boardbags, Stereo, Plasma TV, DVD, games, binoculars, mobile phone, Wide saloon, bar, WIFI : 20 US$ for unlimited use

THE BOAT "EQUATOR":
Capacity :
Surfers : 18 surfers max.
Crew : 6 people
Dinghy : 2 Dinghies with 15 Hp outboard engine for 8 surfers
Cabins : 9 guest cabins (7 down, 2 master cabins up) with attached toilet and bathroom, Air conditionning in all cabins with individual temperature control.
Facilities on board : Shaded sundeck for boardbags, Stereo, Plasma TV, DVD, games, binoculars, mobile phone, Desalinates 6000liters of fresh water per day, Wide saloon, Bar

THE BOAT : ORIZONTOO + DHONI:
Capacity :
Surfers : 1O surfers max.
Crew : 4 + 2 (dhoni) people
Cabins : 6 comfortable rooms , AIRCON, small window, private Bathroom, hot & cold water, 2 double Bedrooms (for couples, Room Nb 2 and 5) and 4 twin bedrooms.
Facilities on board : 1 dinghy with 15Hp, Inside / Outside (front) dining table, Shaded sundeck for boardbags / Chill out, Stereo, TV, DVD,games, mobile phone, 1 Evening beach BBQ, Fishing gear, Bar

THE BOAT : OOMIDOO
Number of Passengers: 12 Guests max
Number of Crew : 5 + 2 (dhoni)
Lower deck : 6 Guest cabins with self control AIRCON + 1 Crew cabin
Middle deck : wide lounge + outdoor dining table (back)
Upper deck : partly shaded sundeck (for boardbags, chill out, photos...)

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CATERING

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MIKADO GUESTHOUSE: For meals, 2 restaurants are fully opened. Adam's Café (harbor side, 5min walk) and the Beach Restaurant (Reef side, 10min walk) offer various dishes. Better ask "No Chillies" to avoid spicy food. Hard to spend more than 5-7usd for a full meal. No alcohols available (the only way to drink is to go and see "safari boats" while at anchor in Mikado or near airport. Several small shops, including one facing the guest-house : bananas, mineral water, biscuits, soft drinks...). Barbecue for 2 guests : 30$ US. If more than 2p :10$ US per additional guest.

SURF COURSE AND ACTIVITIES

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SURF COURSE DETAILS

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SPEEDBOAT: 20ft long, 150 Hp engine, 10 sheltered seats. 2 return trip surf transfers per day included.

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SURF MATERIALS

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Surf board rental and dinghy rental to travel between other surf spots.

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OTHER ACTIVITIES

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Worldclass snorkeling, worldclass fishing, table tennis, scuba diving, football and scooter rental.

MORE INFO, HOW TO GET THERE & FAQ

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SURF CONDITIONS

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Breaks directly at the main spot and at nearby spots

From THULUSDHOO GUESTHOUSE: Thulusdhoo Guesthouse faces Coke’s on Thulusdhoo island. You can see Chickens and Cokes from most of the premises (meal tables, garden area, Balcony lounge). Cola’s or Coke’s is a worldclass right, probably the most tubular wave in North Malé atoll, being well exposed to swells and winds. There is always surf there but S-SW winds can be side / onshore, W-NW is good / perfect. In summer (March-April and Oct-Nov to some extent), Coke’s is always 1ft bigger than Sultan’s, which makes it the greatest wave in North Malé at this period of the year. On the other side of the pass, Chicken’s left stands a super playful wave, that can be ridden for 500m and as big as 8-10ft face. Theoretically, you could paddle across but best is to take a short dinghy ride (10 USD to be paid there). You can also ask the dinghy to take you to other spots like Sultan’s and it’ll cost 25 USD both ways.

From GURAIDHOO GUESTHOUSE: Guraidhoo Guesthouse is located in front of Foxy's left and Riptides rights. Those are the 2 breaks adjacent to the island. Foxy’s is a fast shallow left hander, only semi-consistent, while Riptides (aka Last stop) is a super fun right. You have to cross a 40 m channel to get there. Riptides is consistent and works pretty much at all tides. There are occasional safari boats that show up but crowds are generally much lighter than North Malé. Because South Malé picks up a bit less swell than North Male, we'd recommend to get there during monsoon season : May 15- Oct 15.

From MIKADO GUESTHOUSE:
Finnimas Rights: occasionnal rights with W-SW winds and decent size swell. Wedging peaks with hollow sections and weak walls. Very rarely surfed. Visible from Thimarafushi reef corner.

Finnimas Lefts: very consistent lefts, catching any swell from SW to SSE. Best with NW-N-NE winds. Peaky sections then fast wall zipping througfh the inside reef. Can be ridden any size, even small, like a beachbreak with lefts and rights. Best high tide but ridable any tide. Hard to shoot since land access is denied (former fish factory which is now closed).

Outside Mikado: rare shallow rights. Best with N-NW winds. Safest at high tide. technical treacherous sections with fast walls on shallow reef. Rarely surfed.

Inside Mikado: the Pearl of Thaa atoll. Short right but perfectly shaped which ends in deep water. 120° amazing refraction from the maon S-SW swell direction. Hollow sections, some tubes, easy but shallow. Best with S-SW-W winds. Ridable all tides but better mid-to-high. Very well sheltered from strong monsoon winds by Kanimeedho garden island. Paradise beach facing the spot : djolis (hanged chairs); benches, cement jetty, coconuts, rabbits... even a high tide beginner spot ! Other names : Farms, Little heaven, Aquarium!

Adonis: very occasionnal rights on Veymandhoo island reef. A section can be caught. Usually noone out.

Hirilandhoo: 2h by dhoni or 30min by speedboat. Lefts in the western pass are best with SE winds (rare, summer) or no winds. Maliks offer a very long sectionny left, can be ridden from 2 to 6ft. Bowling Alley is a reef with rare lefts and rights peaks inside the pass while Kakolhas iland can produce amazing lefts. Laamu atoll is 4h cruise south, too far to reach. It may block / filter some SE swells (rare, usually S).

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JOURNEY

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Ways to get to the camp

From / To MIKADO GUESTHOUSE:
DOMESTIC FLIGHTS:
400 usd return. 2 flights per day. Generally speaking, 1 flight morning, 1 flight late afternoon.
Airport pickup by Van : 12$ US A/R per pers.

For transfers from / to airport from / to THULUSDHOO GUESTHOUSE:
- By local ferry (dhoni) : 3 USD per way (1 USD per boardbag). Ferry is available everyday except tuesday. The ferry leaves Malé at 15:30 (be there 30min before) and arrives at 17:00. The ferry leaves Thulusdhoo at 07:30 and reaches Malé at 09:00 (too sketchy for flights before 12:00).
On Fridays :
The ferry leaves Male' at 22:30 and reach Thulusdhoo at 24:00. The ferry leaves Thulusdhoo at 14:00 and reaches Malé at 15:30.
- By speed boat : (from Thulusdhoo)
For one person : 200 USD one way
For two persons : 100 USD one way per person
For three persons : 70 USD one way per person
The price depends on the booking, and how many clients there is for the day. There is a special rate of 60 USD one way per person if the boat is full.

For transfers from / to airport from / to GURAIDHOO GUESTHOUSE:
By dhoni : 30 Mrf (2€) per trip but beware with fixed schedules. Every day EXCEPT FRIDAY. Malé departute: 13:30 – Guraidhoo arrival: 15:30 (time to surf before it gets dark at 18:00). Guraidhoo departute: 07:00 – Arrival in Malé: 09:00. Expect 45 min for transfers from airport to Malé (dhoni), then from Malé airport jetty to Guraidhoo dhoni jetty (with pick up taxi for your boardbag, 3 USD). A chartered dhoni would cost 250 USD. No speedboat transfer option so far.

PACKAGES & PRICES

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MIKADO GUESTHOUSE - from 70$ US / Person

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Daily rates (room + 2 surf transfers) :

- 1 guest : 100$ US per person
- 2 guests : 90$ US per person. if same double room, then 80$ US
- 3 guests : 80$ US per person
- 4 guests : 70$ US per person. If same double room, then 60$ US

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THULUSDHOO GUESTHOUSE - from 70$ US / Person

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This package includes:

- 3 meals a day
- local surf guide assistance (Liutey, Nahu or Brian)

- Single room : 125 US$
- Double room : 110 US$ per person
- Triple room : 90 US$ per person
- Bed only : 70 US$

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GURAIDHOO GUESTHOUSE - from 50$ US / Person

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This package includes:

- 3 meals a day

- Single room : 90$ US
- Double room : 60$ US / person
- Triple room : 50$ US / person