When you search for the Maldives, a country composed of 1,192 islands that speckle the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka, on Google Maps, the names of the biggest islands appear in a blank sea.

Despite being several ­hundred yards from the shore, I was still only waist-deep – and it was another hundred yards ­before a reef turned the water from bright turquoise to dark blue.

I found there's no need to spend $1,000 a night to sleep over Maldives' blue waters. Early 2024 saw record-breaking increases in tourist arrivals to the Maldives, and I can see why. The Asian ...