MALDIVES

An archipelago of 1,192 coral islands and 26 turquoise atolls looping across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is home to resorts that cater to every imaginable taste, from barefoot escapes to designer digs. The most convenient to reach are located in the South Malé, North Malé and Vaavu atolls, within speedboat distance of Velana International Airport, while more remote atolls are accessible by seaplane or domestic flight. With easy access to the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Baa and Raa are especially popular. Those around the Equator, including Gaafu Alifu, offer a splendid sense of isolation, abundant marine life and brilliantly starry night skies.

- LEE COBAJ

Best for design fans

ALILA KOTHAIFARU MALDIVES

Set on whale-shaped Kothaifaru Island, a 45-minute seaplane ride northwest of capital Malé, in the secluded Raa Atoll, Alila Kothaifaru Maldives has a clean-lined, low-fi aesthetic that will appeal to fans of minimalist design. A 20-minute walk around the island leads to one photogenic moment after another, from the low-rise timber villas with their landscaped rooftops to open-air restaurants set amid reflective pools, and the treetop spa and glassy infinity pool.

Because the island is free from noise-polluting motorised watersports, guests can swim, sail, kayak or paddleboard around looking out for black-tip reef sharks and stingrays. Kothaifaru is also one of only a few places in the Maldives where you can encounter marine bioluminescence, a natural phenomenon caused by trillions of tiny dinoflagellate plankton, which emit a cool blue light. Swim inside this aquatic galaxy when it's at its best between August and November.

ROOMS: From US$755 (£585), B&B. hyatt.​com

Best for romance

MILAIDHOO MALDIVES

Milaidhoo is a relaxed, intimate island in the Baa Atoll with cottony beaches, softly swaying palms and luminous lagoons. The resort's oversized villas, on the beach or stilted over the water, are set around a house reef within swimming distance of the shore. Interiors were created using local materials and have soaring thatched ceilings, blonde-wood flooring and decks with swinging sofas and swimming pools. After an afternoon snorkelling with spotted eagle rays, pink sea stars and hawksbill turtles, unwind at the spa with a couples massage. Then book a Champagne tasting in the wine cellar and eat lobster by candlelight at Ba'theli by the Reef, a Maldivian fine-dining restaurant set in a collection of decommissioned dhoni fishing boats.