Good news: you can now visit the paradise beaches of the Maldives for just 50$-70$ a day! I know because I did it myself. Follow this Maldives travel guideline and plan a dream trip to this epic location, which may not stay tranquil heaven forever.
Find out what you need to do not to miss out, avoid some of the mistakes I made, and save valuable cash on your trip!
Located in the middle of the Ocean some 600 kilometers southwest of India, Maldives is not the easiest place to get to. Luckily, low-cost airlines now offer cheap flights to the capital Male.
The best option is the low-cost airline WizzAir, which operates frequent flights from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for around 100$ in each direction, and sometimes for less. I booked my flight out of Male for just 82$!
IndieGo offers affordable flights from Mumbai that can dip below 100$ as well. While those flying from East Asia can find some incredible deals by AirAsia from the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. You can book this four and half hour flight for less than 100$ if you get lucky!
Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, and Kuala Lumpur are all major airports flying to practically every destination and can be used as layovers. I flew from Bali to the Maldives through Kuala Lumpur. From Europe, there are cheap flights to Abu Dhabi, and Mumbai is connected to almost everywhere.
The above flights are cheaper with hand luggage only, but you don’t need to pack that much in the warm weather of the Maldives.
Picturesque resorts with private room access to the ocean are all nice and good, but cost a fortune. So for Maldives travel on a budget, you should visit the local Islands, which started offering accommodation to tourists only in 2009, after a change in government regulations.
Not only will visiting local Islands get you affordable prices, but also a glimpse of Maldivian culture and a chance to meet some very friendly locals.
These Islands are grouped together by atolls, that act as districts in the Maldives.
This is the group of islands nearest to the airport and thus very accessible by public ferry (more on that later).
This popular island is an hour and a half away from Male by public ferry, and just 20 minutes away by speedboat (20$), making it one of the go-to places for budget travelers.
The advantage of this is a plethora of accommodations and restaurant options, as well as boats that go offshore where you can drink alcohol. On the other hand, the beaches are crowded and the snorkeling is not great, making Maafushi a convenient, yet less premium option.
Guraidhoo is just south of Maafushi and accessible by public ferry. They don’t have a bikini beach, but there is a very cool footbridge that connects to a beach that is.
Guraidhoo offers some great snorkeling tours in the area, as well as dive centers, with plenty of restaurants to keep your tummy happy. Although the surf is located beyond the island’s shores, Guraidhoo is a popular surfing island.
The surfer’s island. Thulusdhoo offers a bikini beach, snorkeling, and diving, but surfing is what makes waves here. Coke’s point, named after a coca cola factory once situated there, is the prime spot for this.
This atoll is further away, over an hour by speedboat and over three hours by ferry, but it is definitely worth it.
A tranquil little local Island with a great reef that has some of the best diving and snorkeling in the Maldives. For snorkeling, you should head out to the little sandbank, known as Madivaru Finulhoo, off the coast, where a small reef seems to attract hundreds of colorful fish in the area.
The Uninhabited Island next to it is Madivaru, another place where the reef drops off and the snorkeling is amazing. You should see some nice sea turtles here.
I paid 15$ for a trip to the sandbank and 25$ for the snorkeling trip. Frankly, there should be a way to combine these, as they are right next to one another. Some people have managed to get a local fisherman to drop them off for free so ask around, and if you found a way to lower this price, leave a comment below!
I booked my activities through the guesthouse I stayed at, Rasdhoo Holiday Home. The staff is very friendly and they have a delicious dinner. You can book your stay here: https://www.booking.com/Share-hmQmmz
You can reach Ukulhas by public ferry from Rasdhoo in around one hour. This island is slightly larger and a bit more lively than Rasdhoo, and also has a great reef where you can see nurse sharks (don’t worry they are harmless!) and sea turtles.
This island has plenty of accommodation options. I stayed at the very affordable and pleasant Olhumathi View Inn for 27$ a night. Book it here https://www.booking.com/Share-xBLdCP
Like everywhere in the Maldives this Island has beautiful beaches, including a bikini beach and a reef. These are not that impressive by Maldives standards, But Thoddoo is unique because it also has a nice interior with plantations where local fruit is grown. Try out some delicious Papayas!
The best way to visit the local Islands is by public ferry, which is dirt cheap. I paid 40$ for a speedboat to Rasdhoo, but by ferry, it’s ten times less!
So how did a budget traveler like myself overpay you ask? Well, I didn’t check the ferry schedule beforehand. It doesn’t run every day, which means you need to plan your trip, and perhaps your flight, carefully, if you want to drastically cut your expenses by using the public ferry.
How to carefully plan your Maldives trip around the public ferry
First of all, you have to reach the public ferry after landing on the artificial island of Hulhumale, adjacent to the capital Male. You can catch one of the frequent ferries or buses that drive over the bridge between the two islands, for 1-2$.
You will then have to cross from the east to the Villingili terminal on the west side of Male. From here you can catch ferries to other Islands.
The tricky part is that the ferry doesn’t operate between atolls, only within them and to Male. What does that mean? You can catch a ferry from Male To Maafushi, and from Maafushi to other islands within Kaafu atoll like Guraidhoo. But there is no ferry from Maafushi to Rasdhoo for instance, which is located in the Alif Alif atoll. You would have to return to Male first and catch the ferry from there.
Since the ferry is slow, this would be incredibly tedious. So the plan should be to visit all the islands in a single atoll with the public ferry. It is not as easy as it sounds.
For example, the ferry from Male to Rasdhoo only leaves on Mondays and Thursdays at 9:00 AM. It only returns from Rasdhoo on Sundays and Wednesdays at 11:00 AM. But ferries inside the atoll from Rashoo to Ukulhas and Thodoo are more frequent. There is no ferry from Ukulhass to Thodoo.
Here is one possible Maldives travel route by public ferry: Male > Rasdhoo (Sunday), Rasdhoo > Thoddoo (Tuesday), Thoddoo > Ukulhas (Sunday, with a stop at Rasdhoo), Ukulhas > Male (Wednesday).
You can play around with other routes. Check out the ferry schedule here https://mtcc.mv/schedules-2/
It may be worth investing in a speedboat on the return trip, especially on atolls where the islands get progressively further away, as the speedboat price tends to stay the same, and it is three times faster than the ferry. You can easily book the boat through your guesthouse.
If all this planning is too much, you can also just find one island you really like and chill there!
All guesthouses offer a nice breakfast, a great start to your day. Eating out costs 5-10$ a meal. Unsurprisingly for an island nation, fish is reasonably priced, but you can also get decent curries and rice dishes. Guesthouses also offer very good and large dinners at 10$-15. You can stay afloat on cheap snacks from the supermarket in between.
Snorkeling is an easy win here. On many islands you don’t even need to book a tour, just obtain some inexpensive gear from your guesthouse and hop in. Boats to sandbanks and other snorkeling spots can get a bit pricey though, ranging between 15-50$. While diving will drive your cost up significantly.
Don’t underestimate hanging out on a beach and reading a book, or just admiring the beauty of this isolated location. You should be relaxing in the Maldives!
Maldives is a very friendly and safe place to visit, but there are some things you should know before going to have a smooth trip on your Maldives travel adventures.
Maldives is a strict Muslim country with a conservative dress code. This is why tourism was limited to resorts until recently. But there is a compromise in place now for local islands: the bikini beach. A designated strip of sand where the rules don’t apply.
Make sure you know where this beach is, and dress modestly outside of it. Men as well. Don’t walk around the island without a shirt!
Alcohol is prohibited in the Maldives, except in the resorts. Don’t try to smuggle any drinks in, you will get in trouble.
The Maldives has a warm tropical climate with frequent rain showers, so bring a rain jacket with you. Bad weather can also cause delays or even cancelations to the public ferry. This rarely happens, but it is possible so you should be aware of it.
Some islands don’t have ATMs, check this out beforehand and make sure you don’t get stuck without money. There is a 3.5% credit card fee, so you should be paying everything in cash.
By visiting local islands and making use of the public ferry, it’s now possible to visit the amazing beaches of the Maldives and see the incredible marine life, on a budget. Unfortunately, some local islands are losing their laid-back charm due to the tourism boom, so now is as good a time as ever to book that dream trip!
How much will; a week in Maldives cost?
A couple can get by with 350$ (50$ a day) for a week in the Maldives, by using the public ferry for transportation and staying at an affordable guesthouse on a local island. A solo traveler who can’t split a room will spend more like 70$
Are five days enough for Maldives?
5 days is great for visiting two islands near the airport at Male and experiencing some snorkeling and diving.
When should I visit Maldives?
November through April is the dry season when the weather is the best but the prices are high. May through October is the rainy season, but prices are cheaper.