Many people dream about Maldives for their fancy holiday. If you are one of those, please take a look at my guide as well as a tip for how to travel there using a cheaper option!
1. Many countries allow visa-free travel to Maldives (please check if your passport is eligible). In case you are on the visa exempt list, make sure that your passport is valid for more than 6 months counting from the date that you will arrive in Maldives.
2. Maldives has several islands and so it is quite confusing to choose where to stay (at least to me haha). You need to pick what kind of activities or special things you want to do. This will make choosing your accommodation easier. For example, I went to Maldives for a race (yes, this is quite insane to torture yourself during your beautiful holiday!). My race location was on Addu island which is close to Shangri-la resort, which is why I stayed there. Most of the luxury hotels own a whole small island so you will feel private and have your own space. My tip is try and find the hotel with many activity options if you are an active person; you might feel bored just lying down on the beach or swimming all day.
3. The main airport is Male international airport. Dependent on your hotel location, make sure you arrange transport with the hotel before going.
4. Each resort has many choices you can pick for your stay: Room only, Room+breakfast, Half board (includes breakfast and dinner but not drinks), Full board (all meals but not drinks), All inclusive (All meals+ (alcohol/drinks). To me, if you want to enjoy your holiday without worrying about extra bills, I suggest choosing the “all inclusive” option since the meals and drinks at hotels are normally expensive.
5. Don’t forget another expensive thing to pay apart from the hotel is the transportation to the hotel. Usually there are 2 options: speed boat or sea plane. (Boat is about half price cheaper). Since I had a domestic flight from Male to Gan airport, I didn’t try the sea plane (the view from my flight already satisfied me).
6. If you think you will not have a chance to come back to Maldives again, try to get an “overwater villa” that fits your budget. It is absolutely mind blowing when you wake up, see the crystal clear water and dip yourself into it from your door step.
7. Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) is the official currency used in Maldives but pretty much everywhere accepts USD as well. If you travel there prepare USD with many small bills for tips.
8. Personally I think 3-4 days was a perfect period for my trip there. You can enjoy most of the things at your resort and relax without rushing your holiday.
*Secret tip for a budget travel: you can choose cheaper accommodation like hostel or guesthouse (might cost you around 30$ or more per night, well a lot cheaper than the luxury hotel that costs you 300$+++ per night!). Then find the one-day trip package to visit the 5-star hotel. You can also enjoy the atmosphere there, taking pictures from the beautiful sites and some packages include lunch at the hotel as well. For this option you will end up paying a lot less than staying at 5-star hotel but can still experience it.
I hope you will enjoy your first holiday in the paradise that is “Maldives”. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment, I will reply as soon as I can! 😀
