How to do it: Stay at Season Paradise which has doubles from $125 (£101), room only. And the speedboat to reach them sure beats a traditional taxi. But the locals are an obliging bunch: they’ve set up floating boat-bars just offshore. If Thulusdhoo has a catch, it may be that - as on all Maldivian residential islands - booze is banned. This being the Maldives, the diving is terrific and the dinghy sailing a thing of dreams enterprising local operators offer both at lower prices than private islands. In recent years, paddleboarders have arrived to ride gentler waves and scull through the calmer waters of a turquoise lagoon. Randhaa Surf Shop provides lessons and hires out boards - no wetsuits needed in bath-warm water. Experienced wave-riders come for the twin surf breaks of Cokes and Chickens, the latter one of several waves accessible by a traditional dhoni boat. Adopted by Australian surfers in the 1970s, the capital of Kaafu Atoll has an easygoing, lived-in charm to suit its tribe of young(ish) saltwater travellers. That’s because Thulusdhoo is no stranger to tourism. But unlike those stand-alone hotels, this residential island north of the capital Malé still retains its local Maldivian life - albeit local life where Western-style swimsuits are permitted on Bikini Beach and where restaurants and activity providers are dotted around the sandy lanes. Palm trees sway in the tropical breeze here just as they do on the private-island resorts that occupy most of the Maldives’ 200 or so inhabited islands. From the pancake-flat atolls of Alphonse in the Seychelles to the wildlife haven of Comoros, here's where should be on your radar. Such desert islands - worthy of Robinson Crusoe - are easy to find in the region, offering sun, sea and perfect seclusion, far from the rigours of everyday life. Think of the Indian Ocean, and it's likely you'll conjure images of pristine sands scattered with coconut palms, surrounded on all sides by turquoise sea. This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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