Is it illegal to wear a bikini on the beach in the Maldives?
Executive summary
Wearing a bikini in the Maldives is not universally illegal, but it is restricted: bikinis and other revealing swimwear are commonly prohibited on public beaches and local inhabited islands and are permitted mainly on private resort beaches and designated "bikini beaches" [1] [2] [3]. Enforcement varies by island — tourists have been arrested historically for indecent exposure on local beaches, and signage and local custom are used to mark where bikinis are allowed [4] [3].
1. The legal line: public beaches vs resort islands
Multiple travel guides and local reporting state that local laws or customs do not permit bikinis on public beaches or inhabited islands, whereas private resort islands generally allow Western swimwear, effectively creating two legal/behavioral spheres: local islands where modest clothing is expected and resort islands where bikinis are tolerated or accepted [1] [2] [5].
2. Enforcement and real-world consequences
Enforcement has been more than advisory in at least some cases: reporting notes arrests for indecent exposure tied to wearing a bikini on a local/public beach, showing that the prohibition can carry criminal consequences in practice and is not merely social pressure [4]. At the same time, enforcement is uneven—forum reports and travel accounts describe tourists being told off or asked to leave local beaches rather than formally charged in other instances, indicating variability across islands and incidents [6] [7].
3. Where bikinis are permitted: bikini beaches and resorts
There are designated “bikini beaches” on some inhabited islands and numerous private resort islands where bikinis are allowed; travel resources repeatedly list Maafushi and other named spots as areas where revealing swimwear is acceptable, and advise people to seek out those beaches or stay on resort property if they want to sunbathe in a bikini [3] [4] [5] [1].
4. Cultural and legal rationale behind the rules
Reporting situates the restrictions in the Maldives’ status as a conservative Muslim country where public modesty norms are codified into local expectations — guidance often says shoulders and knees should be covered on inhabited islands — and frames the bikini rules as efforts to preserve cultural and religious traditions while accommodating tourist resorts separately [8] [5] [9] [10].
5. Practical guidance for visitors and limits of available reporting
Visitors are advised to check signs at beaches, use designated bikini beaches or resort areas for revealing swimwear, and cover up when travelling between beaches and villages; travel guides stress respecting local norms to avoid confrontation and possible legal trouble [3] [4] [9]. It should be acknowledged that the sources consulted are travel sites, forums and news summaries rather than primary Maldivian legal texts; these sources consistently report a public-beach prohibition and resort exemptions, but the precise statutory language and penalties in Maldivian law are not provided in the available reporting [1] [10].