Planning a trip to the Maldives

I fail to find the right words to describe this beautiful country, as it’s impossible to describe heaven on earth. My mind still goes back to the crystal blue water, serene white sand beach, those washed away corals, most stunning sunrise and sunsets, and pure unadulterated beauty. From planning and almost booking a trip to the Maldives, to finally traveling, it took us good 4 years. As they say, everything happens on its own time. If you ask us now, we are so glad it happened right before the Covid’19 pandemic hit as we were able to travel to one last beautiful destination. The Maldives will always be special for us, a country where we celebrated life and our babymoon.

In this article, we talk about planning that perfect trip to the Maldives.

About the Republic of Maldives

The Republic of Maldives is a very unique island country, made up of 1200 small islands grouped in 26 coral atolls. An Atoll is a submerged island surrounded by a ring-shaped coral reef. These atolls extend over approximately 750 km in the Indian Ocean, just south of the equator.

Pristine white sand beaches, crystal clear water, overwater villas, luxurious hospitality are some of the things that have made the Maldives the ultimate getaway. It’s not hard to believe that tourism accounts for most of Maldive’s GDP. There are about 130 resorts in the Maldives. It’s unique in the way that every island is a resort i.e. the hotel owns the entire island.

There are 200 other islands are inhabited by locals. Equally beautiful and some of them have guesthouses, in case you are traveling on a budget.

When to travel: Peak vs Shoulder seasons

If I were you, I could travel to the Maldives any time of the year. Of course, like any destination, Maldives has peak and shoulder seasons. The peak season is from November to April when the Maldives experiences endless sunshine and almost no rainfall. As you can imagine, prices for everything are very high during the peak season.

If you are traveling on a budget, we would suggest traveling between May and October. It’s the wet season in the Maldives and hence a shoulder season in terms of tourism. It doesn’t rain the entire day. If you ask us, the moody effect created by black rain clouds is a sight in itself.

We traveled in January as we celebrated our babymoon in the Maldives. Choosing a resort wasn’t easy as the prices were exorbitant.

Purpose of travel: Water sports vs relaxation

If you are interested in water activities like diving, traveling between August and November would be your best bet. It’s the best time of the year to see manta rays and whale sharks. Visibility is the best between January and April, as it’s the driest season in the Maldives. You would want to stay in Ari atoll, as it has some of the best sites for diving.

When it comes to snorkeling, you can do that at any resort really. All resorts allow you to use their snorkeling gear during your stay, free of cost. There is so much magic and life happening underwater. You really need to get in there to experience it for yourself.

As we stayed in South Ari atoll, we saw a huge stingray just while strolling around the island. We also saw many varieties of fish while snorkeling, and it was such a lovely experience.

Accommodation: Resorts Vs Local Island

Influenced by Instagram, I can’t picture the Maldives without beautiful overwater villas or beach bungalows, cocktails, and romantic dining experiences on the beach. I really wanted to experience the luxury and hospitality this island nation had to offer. We booked 2 nights in an overwater villa and 1 night in a beach bungalow at Drift Thelu Veliga Retreat. It is a very very tiny island and we could cover the entire circumference in less than 5 minutes. Our stay there was amazing and an experience in itself.

There are bigger resorts that offer loads of other amenities like an underwater restaurant, an infinity pool in your overwater villa, outdoor cinema, booking a private getaway to a secluded sandbar and the list goes on. Of course, all this will come with a cost.

If you are traveling with kids, you need to keep that in mind while booking resorts. Not all resorts are kids/infant friendly and some are only for couples. We highly recommend reading the fine print while booking your stay.

It is possible to experience the beauty of this island on a budget as well. You can book a guesthouse through Airbnb or booking.com in one of the local islands like Maafushi, Guraidhoo, Fulidhoo, and Fulhadhoo. Your stay here could be as cheap as $30-50 USD per night including free breakfast and snorkeling gear. However, you will need to follow rules as the Maldives is a Muslim country. Alcohol is banned in the country and is only available in the resorts. Outside the resorts, you can wear a two-piece swimsuit only on bikini beaches.

Mode of transfer: Sea Plane, Speed Boat or Local Ferry

Another consideration while planning a trip to the Maldives is the island’s distance from Male. For resorts closer to Male, your transfer would be via a speed boat. If you choose a resort further away in the Indian Ocean, you will need to book a seaplane for your transfer.

Both seaplane and speed boat, operate only during daylight. So, it’s important to plan your arrival in the Maldives. If your flight arrives at 2-3 pm, chances are you will miss the last transfer to the resort and will have to stay the night in Male. Similarly, you will need to plan your departure from the resort based on the seaplane or speed boat transfer schedule. We also advise keeping a slight buffer, as often the transfer gets delayed.

It’s also obvious that the transfers via seaplane would be more expensive, but an experience in itself. We paid approximately $800 USD for the round trip, for the seaplane transfer. That was more expensive than our 3-night stay at the resort. Our seaplane pilot was super chilled though and flew the plane with bare feet. As we said, it was an experience in itself.

You also need to take into consideration the baggage allowance for these transfers. For example, seaplane allowed us a 20kg + 5 kg (hand luggage) per person. So, realistically we only had an allowance for one suitcase per person.

If you are on a budget and planning to stay on one of the local islands, you can take the local ferry. They are fairly inexpensive, however don’t run on a fixed schedule. We paid less than $1 USD per person from transfer from Male Airport to Male city. These local ferries don’t stop at the resort, however, so if you are planning to include a stay at a resort in your itinerary, you will need to travel via a speed boat.

Managing meals and expenses: All-inclusive, half-board, or eating at local restaurants

If you are staying in a resort, you will need to make a decision between all-inclusive and half-board packages. Since the resorts are on an island, you have no choice but choose between the facilities provided by the resort. An all-inclusive package would include all 3 meals, a couple of alcoholic beverages, a few water sports activities, etc. While a half-board package would include just breakfast and dinner and none of the water sports activities. Choose based on your needs, as everything additional will come at a cost.

If you are staying on a local island in a guest house, you can arrange one meal for $5-10 USD. Bigger islands will have few restaurants while visiting a smaller island you might need to arrange meals through the guest house you are staying in.

Just a word of caution for vegetarians traveling to the Maldives. Being an island country, it’s a bit difficult to get good vegetarian food. The resort we stayed in, wasn’t as accommodative as we were expecting them to be. At bigger resorts with multiple restaurants, you might find it easier to get a variety of vegetarian food. I would also imagine it being extremely difficult to at local islands (especially smaller ones). We would recommend carrying some quick munchies if you think food is going to be a concern during your stay.