Raa Atoll is part of the newer wave of resort development further from the capital — an atoll that, a couple of decades ago, saw far fewer tourists than it does now, and still carries a stronger local-island character alongside its resorts than the long-established central atolls.
A genuine mix
Raa has both international resorts and a meaningful number of inhabited local islands going about ordinary Maldivian life — a useful contrast if you're staying at a resort here but want a clearer sense of the country beyond the resort fence than a purely resort-dense atoll like Ari offers.
Getting there
Being further north than the central atolls, most resorts here are reached by seaplane or a short domestic flight rather than a direct speedboat transfer — factor that into arrival-day timing, since seaplanes are daylight-only (see our getting around the atolls guide).