MapMaldivesNorth Male AtollThanburudhoo (Sultans/Honkeys)North Male Atoll

Thanburudhoo (Sultans/Honkeys)

Malé Atoll · North Male Atoll · Himmafushi

also known as Sultans, Honkeys, Honky's, Thamburudhoo, K. Than'burudhoo

Part of North Male Atoll →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

wavesnot for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

May–Oct

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-23 kt

Character: trade

Room to launch

small

access rules on record, below

Water

waves

29 °C in summerReef breaks on both sides of the island: Sultans is the right, Honkeys the left

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug Jun

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Velana International Airport (MLE)

no transfer time published

When it fills in

Trade and monsoon flow, synoptic rather than thermal, so it blows through the day and the night instead of filling in at an hour. No local onset time has been published. Mornings are the glassiest on the wave, which is the reason to take the first boat out.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Full Moon
Dhonvelino page yet
Hudhuranfushino page yet
Jails
Chickensno page yet
Cokes

The spot

Thanburudhoo is an uninhabited island in North Male/Kaafu Atoll, about 17 km from Male, with a reef break on each side: Sultans is the right, Honkeys the left. Both count as Maldives kite spots on paper; in practice the riding is waves, off small launch areas, with no kite centre behind you.

Protected status

The island and lagoon sit inside a protected-area context tied to Thanburudhoo Thila/HP Reef, so check the current EPA notices before you land, let alone launch. Swell season runs March-October and peaks June-August, while the best wind months are less clearly agreed.

For experienced riders only

Nobody should come here to learn. Reef, waves, tide, a small patch of sand to rig on and boat-only support make this a place for confident independent riders with a guide who knows the island.

The wind

locals call it Northeast trade / southwest monsoon

Direction

onshoreoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

Variable by side: when Honkeys is onshore, Sultans is offshore; NE and SW are recommended for the kite spots.

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider and derived from the monthly wind means rather than from local rider reports, since nobody publishes a quiver for this island. With averages of 7-12 kt the everyday answer is 13-15 m or a foil.A 12 m covers the reinforced southwest monsoon flow of May to October. Nine or ten metres only makes sense on the squally top end of that range, and there is no case for a 7 m here.

Character

trade

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

Typical strength

Monthly means sit between 7 and 12 kt all year, with March the flattest month at about 7 kt. Counting days that reach at least 12 kt: roughly 22-25 a month from May to October and again in January, 19 in December, and only 10-17 in February, March and November. Regional southwest-monsoon figures for the Maldives are higher, 15-23 kt, which is the flow the good months ride on.

Seasonal light-to-moderate trade and monsoon wind with squall risk, useful only when direction and swell line up and a boat can get you out there.

Sultans and Honkeys get 243 windy days per year and 22 windy days in August, with January, May-October and December rated as great; a second data set puts Sultans best in January-April/November-December and Honkeys best in May-September. As a surf spot, Sultans wants the March-October swell season, especially June-August, with west-to-north wind for wave shape.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan75
Feb79
Mar37
Apr33
May, riders' month85
Jun, riders' month84
Jul, riders' month69
Aug, riders' month66
Sep, riders' month68
Oct, riders' month71
Nov44
Dec60

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

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

14 ktJan29°
13 ktFeb29°
11 ktMar30°
10 ktApr31°
16 ktMay30°
14 ktJun29°
13 ktJul30°
14 ktAug30°
13 ktSep29°
14 ktOct29°
11 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	75%	13.6 kt	NE	27.4 °C	28.5 °C
Feb	79%	13.4 kt	ENE	27.7 °C	28.8 °C
Mar	37%	10.5 kt	ENE	28.1 °C	29.9 °C
Apr	33%	9.6 kt	WSW	28.6 °C	31.1 °C
May	85%	16.3 kt	W	28.4 °C	29.8 °C
Jun	84%	14.2 kt	W	28.5 °C	29.3 °C
Jul	69%	13.4 kt	WNW	28.1 °C	29.9 °C
Aug	66%	13.7 kt	WNW	27.8 °C	29.7 °C
Sep	68%	13.1 kt	W	27.5 °C	29.3 °C
Oct	71%	13.9 kt	W	27.6 °C	29 °C
Nov	44%	10.7 kt	WNW	27.2 °C	29.6 °C
Dec	60%	12.6 kt	WNW	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

waves

Standing depth

Tides

Sultans peaks at high tide. Honkeys wants mid to high; on a rising tide the walls run fuller and longer, and at low tide the reef there goes shallow enough to be dangerous. Reef booties are the standard precaution at the lower end of the range.

Temperature

29 °C summer · 28 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 29–31 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts/rash vest; Maldives water is warm year-round.

Currents

Strong on bigger swell and around the tide changes. A rip channel runs out through the break: it helps a surfer get seaward and it can just as easily carry you away from the island. Paddling or riding parallel to the reef is the way out of it.

Conditions

Reef breaks on both sides of the island: Sultans is the right, Honkeys the left. Sultans typically runs 4-6 ft and is best around 8 ft; for surfing it is a medium-level wave, while Honkeys is advanced. As kite spots both are medium-wave with small launch areas.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Sultans and Honkeys are rated intermediate spots that experts will enjoy, though the surf grade for Honkeys is advanced. With reef breaks on both sides and boat-only access, the combined Thanburudhoo entry is no place for beginners.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesadvancedadvanced reef-break ridingboat-access sessionssurf-and-kite trips

A surf-charter and liveaboard wave destination first; kiting is niche and condition-dependent, and who gets on the water is set by boat logistics and protected-area rules.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: small

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

The boat that brought you is the rescue and its captain is the only help on hand. No resident kite rescue, no shore station, no published number, no facilities on the island at all. Come with someone who can come and get you.

Launch

Launch and landing areas on the island are small to very small. You arrive by boat from nearby North Male islands, a resort or a liveaboard; no public beach infrastructure is on record.

Hazards riders report 19 reported

Wind

squalls and rain during the monsoon months

Crowds and zones

uninhabited island - no facilities, boat rescue only
Remote/uninhabited island conditions with boat-only support.
boat-only access to an uninhabited island with no facilities and no rescue service

Bottom

sharp coral reef
Sharp coral reef.
sharp coral reef, cuts are common

Waves and currents

strong currents and rip channels on larger swell
shallow inside sections at low tide
Medium reef-break waves at Sultans and Honkeys.
High-tide dependence and shallow reef exposure at lower tide.
shallow inside sections, and the reef at Honkeys is dangerously shallow at low tide
strong currents and a rip channel that runs seaward through the break on bigger swell

Protected areas and rules

Protected-area and reef-conservation rules cover Thanburudhoo lagoon, the island and HP Reef.
protected-area rules over Thanburudhoo lagoon, the island and HP Reef, with temporary closures possible

Other

Small or very small launch/landing areas.
Trees near the Sultans launch area are reported as a beach risk.
small to very small launch and landing areas
trees behind the Sultans launch area

Rules & access

1 min read

Protected area status

1995/2020/2026: Thanburudhoo Thila/HP Reef has been protected since 27 September 1995, and on 5 November 2020 the protected area of Thanburudhoo lagoon was extended to include Thanburudhoo Island.

Before you go

As of 2026 the Maldives EPA publishes do's-and-don'ts guidance and a protected-area information update for K. Thanburudhoo, runs a hotline for current conditions and posts temporary closure notices from time to time; check the current notice before landing, launching or kiting. The island and its beach are not exclusive to any resort, but that general access right does not override the separate EPA protected-area rules.

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

Take the earliest boat out; the first hours of the morning are the glassiest.
Aim for April-May or September-October: the swell is still good and there are fewer boats than at the July-August peak.
Book a boat and a guide who knows both reef breaks and the current protected-area access rules.
Read the tide, the swell and the wind direction together; one side is offshore while the other is onshore.
Do not read surf grades as kite grades: launching and rescue add risk the surf rating ignores.
Keep clear of dive boats, coral heads and any marked protected-area zone.
Sultans works on high tide and Honkeys on mid to high. Low water is when the reef bites.
Wear reef booties. The coral is sharp and the inside sections are shallow.
Bring the big kite. Monthly averages here are 7-12 kt and the good days are monsoon flow, not thermal.

Getting there

Airport

Velana International Airport (MLE)

Route

Boat from North Male Atoll islands, resorts, guesthouses or liveaboards. The spot is given as about 20 km from MLE, and the protected-area register places K. Thanburudhoo 17 km from Male.

Cost level

medium-high

Staying

No accommodation on Thanburudhoo; stay on nearby Himmafushi, Thulusdhoo, Hudhuranfushi, Dhonveli, Furanafushi, or a surf/kite liveaboard.

No-wind days

surfing Sultans and Honkeys with a guide · snorkeling and diving around North Male Atoll · HP Reef diving when legally open and conditions allow · resort or guesthouse excursions · Male and local-island visits

FAQ

Is Thanburudhoo suitable for beginners?

No, both Sultans and Honkeys are reef-break wave spots with small launch areas and boat-only access, making them unsuitable for beginners.

When is the best time to kite at Thanburudhoo?

Sources vary: Sultans is rated best January-April and November-December while Honkeys is rated best May-September; as a surf spot, the swell season runs March-October, peaking June-August.

What is the wind like at Thanburudhoo?

Local averages run about 7-12 knots, though regional Maldives kite sources cite 15-23 knots during the May-October southwest monsoon; the wind that cleans up one break is often offshore on the other.

How do you get to Thanburudhoo?

The island is uninhabited with no facilities, reached only by boat from nearby North Male Atoll islands, resorts or liveaboards.

What are the hazards at Thanburudhoo?

Hazards include sharp coral reef, strong currents and rip channels on bigger swell, small launch/landing areas, and protected-area rules around Thanburudhoo Thila/HP Reef in place since 1995 and extended in 2020.

The bigger pictureEverything about North Male Atoll

Last updated: August 2026