We all know the Maldives as it’s famous for the perfect honeymoon- 5 star luxury hotels, sleeping stilt water bungalow, getting around on the seaplanes, sunrise breakfasts on private beaches and dining at underwater restaurants. Yes, it is absolutely incredible, however crazy expensive!!

I remember it was one of those London’s summer days in the office, dreaming of another getaway and suddenly a flight to the Maldives came up on a Facebook ad for Skyscanner I looked at it and thought- destiny! Booked.

How could I resist- 380£ return ticket for middle of November.  Sounded like a perfect escape from London’s rain and cold.

Someone told me “ but it’s expensive to stay there”. Well, being the savy traveller that I am, I made it work. I’ve remembered reading something that Maldivians got the rights to open guest houses to give budget travelers a chance to explore this dreamy islands too!

I figured I could stay in a boutique hotel or AirBnB and really experience local traditions & their culture.

This trip to the Maldives was for exploring the unknown rather than lounging on a sun-bed  24/7. After all that would get boring anyway!

Budget Traveling is all in the preparation. Here are a few things you should know!

Choosing an Island

The Maldives is a chain of 1190 islands ( yep, almost 2K tiny islands one next to each other!) located south-west of Sri Lanka and India in the Indian Ocean.

Given so many options, it was difficult to find some information about islands and their modes of transportation. (Thank GOD for Google!) As I already mentioned, I chose a less populated island to gain a greater cultural experience. If the island isn’t driving a lot of tourism the prices amongst locals aren’t as expensive. This will help you save a lot on your food and transportation around the island. Whilst, you’d be paying 3x the amount for it while on a resort.

I chose Fulidhoo island located in Vaavu Atoll, 3,5 hours away by ferry from Male airport.  This island is surrounded by the most beautiful coral reefs and picnic islands compare to the islands located around Male airport.

When to go

The best weather for the Maldives is November to April. Their highest season falls between December to March, with NYE being one of the most expensive times to go. To save money, I would shoot for the very beginning or end of season.

The monsoon runs from May to October. I think it’s better to pay a little bit more for a ticket and stick to visiting Maldives during the dry season as there’s not much to do when it’s raining. I have experienced that myself as we had one day of a proper monsoon (not fun.)

Visa

To enter Maldives no pre-arrival visa is required. A thirty day free visa is issued on arrival for all Nationalities. All you need is a valid passport (and should have at least 6 months validity.) This is great because it provides more flexibility with buying flights on sale without any restrictions.

Currency

The Maldives has a non-convertible currency- Maldivian Rufiyaa – this cannot be purchased beforehand. One US Dollar is equivalent to 15.42 Rufiyaa. Paying in dollars it’s also accepted! This is great as conversion commissions can become costly.

Local Taxes

This is mainly why the Maldives are so expensive. Taxes are literally added on everything, so read carefully while booking your accommodation and keep in mind while dining somewhere if you’re traveling on budget! What I would suggest is to double check if the taxes are already included in the price of your hotel or you will be asked to pay the taxes on a arrival in the local currency. I’ve booked mine with agoda.com and taxes where already included in the price.

In the resorts, bars and cafes on the final bill you will see added 10% service charge and 12% T-GST (Tourism Goods and Service Tax). In the hotels there will be also an extra charge of $6 USD per person per night (Environmental ‘Green’ tax).

Culture

You need to remember that Maldives is a Muslim country. It’s really important to be aware of that while planning to stay on a local islands rather than resorts. There are beaches where woman need to be covered. Usually there is a beach marked on the island as ‘Bikini Beach’ where you can wear swimsuit. Also, alcohol is prohibited (unless you’re staying at the resort of course).

Getting to the Maldives

We flew 11 hours overnight from London Heathrow to Colombo, Sri Lanka, with Sri Lankan airlines. Since booking a cheaper flight on SkyScanner, we had a long haul in Sri Lanka- almost 6 hours. I wish we could have seen more of Sri Lanka but we needed  to pay for a via Visa and felt we didn’t have much time. If the price is right, next time I’d choose a layover in Dubai as thats a common flight route and no visas are required.

The flight from Colombo to Male was only an hour. With the local time change we landed in Maldives at 9pm. Unfortunately, local ferries did not go to the islands at this time and speed boats were too expensive. I recommend checking their ferry time prior as some boats don’t even run daily. As a result, we had to spend the night in Male City.

Getting to the capital from the airport you need to take a boat from outside the airport, the ticket was 2USD for both of us with all the luggage. From there we took a taxi straight to our hotel (also 2USD).  In the morning we had a public ferry from Male Villingili ferry station to the first island- Fulidhoo. The journey took around 3,5 hours and the tickets for 2 of us cost 7USD.

The good thing about the public ferry was sitting on its rooftop and watching the beautiful islands and resorts around- incredible!

Experiencing  Fulidhoo Island

Fulidhoo looked slightly different compare to other islands I’ve passed on our way. It was actually more than I have expected. When we were getting closer with the boat I thought- ‘ If I ever called any other place a paradise before I was wrong- THIS is paradise”.

There’s no over-the-water bungalow villas, no souvenir shops, no luxury cocktail bars and no infinity pools. It’s a pure nature. Few guest houses, a mosque, one school, public beach, tiny bikini beach, tones of palm trees, tropical flowers and wild nature. Coconuts falling over your head. Smiley local families enjoying afternoon on the beach all together.  So many times I looked at them thinking “ Omg I wish that was my life”. Nothing matters when you’re there. Money has no value. It’s you, in the middle of nowhere. Heaven on Earth.

Despite the lack of results, every single corner of the island was charming and I wanted to discover more and more! Sometimes I felt like it’s my own island. I loved watching the sunrise, observing local man fishing, drinking coconut water and admiring hundreds of little white crabs running on the shore right next to me feet. Sounds of tropical birds and smell of exotic flowers. All these little things made me love this island. Made me feel like this is were I really belong and where I am feeling truly myself and really ALIVE. Me and the nature. Nothing else. Rays of sun on my face and the smell of the ocean.

Our stay at the Kinan Retreat

We’ve checked into our beautiful family-run guesthouse Kinan Retreat located right on the beach front, where we’ve been welcomed by friendly crew with a cold, freshly squeezed, tropical fruit juice and given some warm towels to refresh after the journey. It was such a perfect start of our stay!  I must admit that it was the prettiest guesthouse on the island- brand new, modern, all wooden, surrounded by coconut trees.

Worth paying few more dollars for the room with the terrace overviewing the ocean. Room prices varied between 60-80$ per night depending on the room type all with buffet style breakfast.  I fell in love their Mas huni!- typical Maldivian breakfast, composed of tuna, onion, coconut, and chili. I was obsessed with it and I am craving it everyday since I am back!  The rooms were spacious, really clean, had natural light and most importantly FREE WiFi.

They were also offering buffet style dinner for their guests. It was a proper feast! Dishes were pretty simple but incredibly tasty! I am a fish and vegetables lover so I was super satisfied and loved every dish that chef prepared for us. Look at this presentation!

There was also a water sport centre right next door to the hotel, where you could rent like boats, canoe, jet ski, snorkeling and fishing equipment. You can also book snorkeling trips as well as diving with the sharks or night fishing. KINAN RETRAT was also organizing tours around, which was great and affordable compare to Male (during our one night stay in the capital I’ve seen a the same trip we went on from Fulidhoo at 340$ per person while at Kinan the price was 4 times lower so do not even hesitate!)

Tours to do

Once I saw enough on land, It was time for the undersea action. I was thrilled to sign up for a snorkeling & boat trip to the Sand Bank and Picnic Island. 

The reef they took us to was absolutely spectacular.  I’ve never thought I’d be swimming surrounded by Nemo and Dory, Ha! As well as baby sharks, ray fish, sword fish and much more. It was was a whole new world! I almost forgot about taking photos but here are a few I captured…

After that we headed to the Sand Bank. Essentially they are little islands of sand surrounded by surreal crystal clear water. Pending on the tides, it may vary which one you visit. When one see’s pictures of the Maldives, this is what they typically imagine. Except, photos do not justify it’s beauty!

The last point of the trip we visited the local Picnic Island. After seeing this place from a little distance I already thought- omg this is TOO MUCH. This place is too perfect to be real. Too many emotions for one day!

The third day we were encouraged to swim with the whale sharks. As I am quite adventurous person of course I didn’t think twice. We got on the boat in the morning with my GoPro in hand ready to go!

The weather was pretty bad, so I was feeling super sea sick. The crew was kind enough to slow the boat for me until we spotted a whale shark! Suddenly, the crew started screaming that if we want to see the whale sharks we have to jump in to the ocean now. Within moments, I was already in the water, chasing the sharks!  OMG. I felt like I was filming an episode for National Geographic.  I kept following the whale shark, who was right underneath me- It was an experience I will forever cherish!

Some people say that Maldives is the place you visit only once in your life- I completely disagree! Remember- there’s over a thousand of islands to reveal. They are waiting for you. And we’re definitely going back.