MapMaldivesLhaviyani AtollHinnavaruLhaviyani Atoll

Hinnavaru

South Miladhunmadulu · Naifaru (Lhaviyani Atoll capital, pop. 4,832 at 2022 census), on the same atoll

Part of Lhaviyani Atoll →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

lagoonbeginner-friendlylow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Hazards
- Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12 knots

Room to launch

room to launch not rated

access rules on record, below

Water

lagoon

28–29 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to intermediate

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds

Schools

none named here

From the airport

Madivaru Airport (LMV)

no transfer time published

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Kuredu8 km

The spot

Hinnavaru is the second-most-populous island in Lhaviyani Atoll, 2,286 residents at the 2022 census, and it sits in the same protected reef lagoon as Kuredu resort next door, separated from it by open water. The flat water is the same water: large, shallow, held calm on the Kuredu side by a jetty of roughly 300 m.

Facilities and rules

What Hinnavaru does not have is Kuredu's kite setup. No kite school, rental fleet or rescue boat has been confirmed here, only a working local harbour, rebuilt with Kuwait Fund help and inaugurated in November 2010, and the ordinary local-island rules of modest dress and no alcohol.

Wind and water

Every wind figure comes from Kuredu's station because Hinnavaru has none of its own: 7-12 knots on average across the year, June, July and September the windiest at 25-28 days a month over 12 knots, March the flattest at a 7 knots average and just 9 days over that line. The season list is contested, with January, February and June through September named on one side and the raw monthly counts pointing about as hard at May and October, so treat any month list as approximate.

Water sits at 27-29°C all year and you will not want a wetsuit. Madivaru Airport opened on the neighbouring island in February 2022 and replaced the boat-only approach from Malé.

The wind

locals call it NE trade winds / SW monsoon

Direction

Kite sizes

78910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

9-14m

Typical strength

7-12 (Kuredu station average, month-by-month range across the year; see contradictions re: the higher figure in the prior thin record)

Inconsistent. The Maldives is not a strong-wind country, though Kuredu logs roughly 246 days/year over 12 knots.

All the wind here is Kuredu's: the resort island shares the lagoon and holds the only station, and Hinnavaru has none.

One month list names Jan/Feb/Jun-Sep as the season, but Kuredu's own month-by-month counts of days over 12 knots put May and October about level with several of those months, and February below May, June, July, August, September and October.

Treat the named best months as approximate.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month68
Feb, riders' month67
Mar33
Apr29
May85
Jun, riders' month91
Jul, riders' month85
Aug, riders' month69
Sep, riders' month72
Oct66
Nov32
Dec60

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

13 ktJan29°
13 ktFeb29°
10 ktMar30°
9 ktApr31°
16 ktMay31°
16 ktJun30°
15 ktJul30°
14 ktAug30°
14 ktSep29°
14 ktOct30°
10 ktNov30°
13 ktDec29°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	68%	13.3 kt	ENE	27.3 °C	28.5 °C
Feb	67%	13 kt	ENE	27.7 °C	28.9 °C
Mar	33%	10.4 kt	E	28.3 °C	29.8 °C
Apr	29%	9.2 kt	W	28.7 °C	31.2 °C
May	85%	16.1 kt	W	28.5 °C	30.5 °C
Jun	91%	15.5 kt	W	28.4 °C	29.6 °C
Jul	85%	15 kt	W	27.9 °C	29.6 °C
Aug	69%	14.3 kt	WNW	27.7 °C	29.5 °C
Sep	72%	13.5 kt	WNW	27.4 °C	29.3 °C
Oct	66%	13.6 kt	W	27.3 °C	29.5 °C
Nov	32%	9.7 kt	WNW	27.4 °C	29.9 °C
Dec	60%	12.6 kt	ENE	27.5 °C	29.2 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

lagoon

Standing depth

large area of flat, shallow water inside the reef, shared with the adjacent Kuredu lagoon system

Temperature

28–29 °C summer · 27 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 29–31 °C

Wetsuit

boardshorts

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for advanceds here

Flat shallow lagoon water shared with the Kuredu reef system, which suits beginners and anyone drilling flat-water tricks. No wave or reef-break zone is documented here, unlike other Maldives spots, though that was never independently confirmed for Hinnavaru itself.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat water

Who it suitsbeginner

Quiet local Maldivian island, a budget guesthouse alternative to resort-only Kuredu next door; not marketed or documented as a kite destination in its own right.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch is not rated

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

1 spot nearby

Kuredu8 km

The one spot within 40 km is under Nearby

Hazards riders report 5 reported

Crowds and zones

No kite school, rental fleet or rescue boat has been confirmed on Hinnavaru itself, unlike Kuredu next door.

Bottom

reef

Other

Local-island guesthouse etiquette applies: modest dress away from any designated tourist beach, no alcohol on the island.
no resident kite school, rental fleet or rescue confirmed on Hinnavaru itself (unlike Kuredu next door)
local-island guesthouse etiquette applies (modest dress away from any designated tourist beach, no alcohol on the island)

Rules & access

1 min read

as an inhabited local island, standard Maldivian local-island rules apply (modest swimwear away from designated bikini beach, no alcohol)

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Read the wind off Kuredu next door; Hinnavaru has no station of its own.
Bring everything, spare bar included, because no rental fleet has been confirmed on the island.
Dress modestly away from any designated beach and do not expect to buy alcohol here.
Fly to Madivaru Airport and take the short boat hop over instead of running the whole way from Malé.
Aim for June, July or September for the most days over 12 knots, and skip March.

Getting there

Airport

Madivaru Airport (LMV), Lhaviyani Atoll — opened February 2022, developed by Kuredu Holdings, operated by Island Aviation Services

Route

Short boat hop from Madivaru Airport or from Kuredu resort to Hinnavaru

Cost level

budget

Staying

budget local-island guesthouses

FAQ

Is Hinnavaru suitable for beginners?

Yes, the shallow flat lagoon shared with neighboring Kuredu suits beginners, though the island has no confirmed resident kite school, rental fleet or rescue service.

When is the best time to kite at Hinnavaru?

Wind follows Kuredu's atoll-wide pattern, with the northeast trade season from December to February (January strongest) and a southwest monsoon window from May to September.

What is the wind like at Hinnavaru?

Wind is thermal and seasonal, averaging roughly 12-25 knots, with kite sizes typically 9-14 m.

What are the hazards at Hinnavaru?

Hazards include the surrounding reef and the lack of a confirmed resident kite school or rescue; as an inhabited local island, modest dress and no alcohol rules apply.

The bigger pictureEverything about Lhaviyani Atoll

Last updated: August 2026