Maldives on a British Licence — Same Side, but You'll Barely Drive

The Maldives is the rare destination where the most useful driving advice is to set your expectations first — because for most British visitors, a car barely features.

Can a British licence holder drive in Maldives?

For the limited driving that exists, you can generally use your UK licence, with an International Driving Permit carried as a sensible precaution. But the bigger truth is that the Maldives is a scattered nation of small coral islands connected by boat and seaplane, not roads. Transfers to resorts and between atolls are by water or air; the places with genuine road networks are few, with the capital Malé and a handful of larger islands being the main ones. Many visitors never get behind a wheel at all.

The side of the road is the same

Where you do drive, the orientation is friendly: the Maldives drives on the left, exactly like the UK. There is no side switch to relearn, no reversed roundabout — your home instincts transfer directly on the short, low-speed island roads.

Alcohol is effectively banned

This is the rule to internalise: the drink-drive limit is 0.0, and alcohol is heavily restricted across the country, generally available only inside licensed resorts. Treat it as a total ban whenever you are driving. Given how compact and walkable the inhabited islands are, there is rarely a reason to mix the two anyway.

What driving is actually like

On the islands with roads, posted limits run to about 50 km/h in towns and lower in dense areas, with rural and link roads up to 80; the larger figures matter little because distances are tiny and traffic is dominated by scooters and motorbikes on narrow streets. Drive slowly, watch for pedestrians and bikes, and don’t expect open-road motoring — there isn’t any. The emergency number is 112.

If you do plan to drive on an island with roads, confirm what you need with the Driving Permit Checker, and read the full rules on our Maldives driving guide.