People should know the full picture before booking Kandima, because the low price can be misleading. To get there, you need a domestic flight arranged by the hotel, costing $450 USD per person. Commercial flights exist, but their schedules don’t match well, and you still have to take a bus and boat afterward. For the return, they almost always book the 6am flight, so expect to be leaving your room at 3am, losing valuable vacation time.
The island looks nice, but the service was frustrating. Staff smile, but they also entered our room without warning—even with the Do Not Disturb sign up—and called us multiple times for unimportant reasons. The water is pretty, but the beach is extremely rocky, especially by the Aqua Villas, and the lagoon is so shallow that you can barely get past your knees.
There’s only one small market, and the restaurants are very expensive, with everything in USD. Since you have no other dining options, they take advantage of it. We experienced constant attempts to charge extra, from tips already included to ignoring discounts unless we insisted.
My honest advice: choose a resort closer to Malé. It might cost more initially, but you’ll avoid the travel hassle and likely have a better stay.