Maldives events in January are mostly the last days of the festive season: early-January wind-downs at resorts that started their programs in December, plus a few longer art and wellness programs. Here is what resorts have published for January 2027. Most of these are guest programs rather than public events, so confirm the details with the resort before you plan around them. For how each program started, see our Maldives events in December page.
January 1 — New Year’s Day
January 1 is a public holiday in the Maldives. Most of the celebration happens the night before, in each resort’s New Year’s Eve program, and no separate public New Year’s Day event has been announced. In 2027 January 1 falls on a Friday, the weekly day off, so local islands get a double rest day: government offices and banks are closed, MTCC atoll ferries do not run, and only the airport ferry between Velana and Malé keeps its schedule. Plan any ferry hop to or from a local island for December 31 or January 2 instead.
January 1 — New Year Brunch and First Dive, Vakkaru
Vakkaru Maldives in Baa Atoll serves a New Year brunch at Amaany and offers certified divers a first dive of the year. The Orthodox Christmas celebrations follow: a Russian New Year tree and Matryoshka-inspired crafts, a visit from Ded Moroz on January 6, and an Orthodox Christmas cocktail event and gala dinner on Vakku Beach that evening. The program ends on January 9.
January 1 and 7 — Alila Kothaifaru
Alila Kothaifaru Maldives in Raa Atoll starts the year with the New Year Flair Sundowner at The Shack on January 1. The resort lists only general ocean and wellness activities for January 2 to 6, then closes its Tides of Wonder program on January 7 with Orthodox Christmas dining and a White Beach Party at Mirus Beach.
Through January 2 and 6 — Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
The Festive Wellness Residency with Belinda Matwali ends on January 2, and the Celestial Seas festive season runs until January 6. Its festive page lists an Orthodox Christmas gala dinner but gives no date for it, and no other activities are listed for these last days, so expect a quieter wind-down after the New Year’s Eve gala.
Through January 7 — The Festive Isle, The Standard, Maldives
The Standard, on Huruvalhi Island in Raa Atoll, keeps its festive program running until January 7. The headline events are on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, so the first week of January is the tail end rather than the main event.
January 7 — Orthodox Christmas, Ayada Maldives
Orthodox Christmas falls on Thursday, January 7. Ayada Maldives in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll marks it with a beach barbecue at Sea Salt on Zero Degree Beach from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m., priced at US$179 per person plus service charge and tax, with a US$50 credit per person for guests on a meal plan; a DJ night at Zero Degree follows until midnight. It is the last night of the resort’s festive season, which runs from December 18. Ayada is a domestic flight of about an hour south of Malé, then 25 to 50 minutes by speedboat. Both OZEN resorts in South Malé Atoll, OZEN LIFE MAADHOO and OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI, also run festive programs until January 7 that include Orthodox Christmas, about 45 minutes from the airport by speedboat.
Through January 8 — Tides of Tradition, JOALI BEING
JOALI BEING in Raa Atoll keeps its Tides of Tradition program going until January 8, one of the latest closing dates of the season. The headline events, from the tree illumination to the New Year countdown with fireworks, happen in December, so early January is the quiet tail of the program; it suits a wellness-focused stay more than a party week.
Through January 31 — Deep Blue, The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands
The resort in North Malé Atoll lists Deep Blue as running until January 31, 2027, but it has not published a separate schedule for it. Deep Blue is the name of the resort’s ocean-inspired wellness concept, the basis of its spa and wellness programming, rather than a one-off event, so expect wellness sessions rather than a dated celebration.
| Resort | Atoll | What continues in January |
|---|---|---|
| Vakkaru Maldives | Baa | Jan 1 brunch and dive, Orthodox Christmas on Jan 6, ends Jan 9 |
| Alila Kothaifaru Maldives | Raa | Jan 1 sundowner, Jan 7 White Beach Party |
| Conrad Maldives Rangali Island | South Ari | Wellness residency to Jan 2, festive season to Jan 6 |
| The Standard, Maldives | Raa | Festive Isle to Jan 7 |
| The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands | North Malé | Deep Blue to Jan 31 |
| Ayada Maldives | Gaafu Dhaalu | Orthodox Christmas beach barbecue on Jan 7, ends Jan 7 |
| JOALI BEING | Raa | Tides of Tradition to Jan 8 |
Planning a January Trip
January is dry season and still busy, so confirm availability early. Ramadan is expected to begin around February 8–9, 2027, depending on the moon sighting, so a trip that runs into February on a local island will meet daytime cafe closures and shorter shop hours. If your trip is built around catching the last days of a festive program, check with the resort first: these are wind-down weeks, not the main event. See the best time to visit the Maldives for how January compares with other months and our guide to money in the Maldives for what a typical trip costs. If you want to save after the December splurge, a local-island itinerary is more forgiving than another resort week.
January 2 and 7 — InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort
The resort’s 12 Pearls of the Ocean program, which began on December 20, ends on January 7. The Pearl of the Maldives beach festival on January 2 focuses on Maldivian culture; the resort lists no dates for the remaining pearls. No prices are published.