Vakkaru Maldives

Vakkaru sits inside the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which means the house reef comes stocked with turtles, rays, and nurse sharks, and Hanifaru Bay's manta aggregations are a short boat ride away. It's a private-island resort with 113 overwater and beach villas, all thatched and stone-clad, all facing an ocean with no neighboring island close enough to interrupt the view. Even by Maldivian standards, the quiet here is conspicuous.