The Maldives is one of the smallest countries in the world secluded within the Indian Ocean. The scenic beauty of over 1,000 islands has made it the top exotic beach destination for people around the globe. However, with so many islands to choose from and the confusion that surrounds transportation, food and what actually to do on a small island makes trip planning to the Maldives a pretty challenging task.
Coming from personal experience of planning a trip to the Maldives, I understand how it can be very overwhelming and one may have many questions. I remember asking myself: How do I choose what island or resort to stay at? What will I do on an isolated island? How many days should I stay? How do I get to the island?
So if you’re planning a trip to the Maldives soon, keep reading as I will be sharing my complete personal experience and guide to the Maldives including the cost, transportation, things to know before going, food costs, where I stayed, what to do and more!
What You Should Know About The Maldives
The Maldives is an island country located in the south of the Indian Ocean. There are a total of 1,190 islands in the Maldives, which are divided into 26 atolls. The size of the Maldivian islands ranges from 1km to 5km on average.
The resort islands in the Maldives makes up to 106 islands, which vary from being boutique resorts to the extreme luxurious ones. There are still many unexplored and inhabited islands in the Maldives, which are often covered by the excursion companies for a day trip from the resort islands. The islands which are habited by Maldivians and are referred to as the ‘Local Islands’. The local islands are the place to visit if you want to be immersed and learn of the Maldivian culture.
Now that you have some basic knowledge of the Maldives, let’s move on…
When To Visit The Maldives?
The Maldives are hot and sunny all year round. The best weather – and the best time to visit the Maldives – is between November and April. The high season falls between December and March. The monsoon runs from May to October, peaking around June. The northern atolls have highest rainfall May-November; the southern atolls from November-March. It is worth paying the higher prices and sticking to the dry season – there’s not much to do on rainy days except drink and work out.
Are the Maldives Budget Friendly?
Straight up…..NO! If you’re on a budget or trying to travel on the cheap, than go somewhere else. The Maldives is the epitome of luxury and the prices reflect exactly that.
You should know that most overwater bungalows in the Maldives start around $1000 per night+. It is possible to find some resorts that offer cheaper accommodation, but they are not going to be the most beautiful ones that you see all over Instagram.
However, if you’re after a more ‘affordable luxury’ option, there are some ways you can save a little money on your luxury trip to the Maldives:
- Stay at a Chain Resort – We stayed at a Marriott property and used points for an overwater bungalow!
- Opt for a Beach Villa instead of an Overwater Bungalow – I know, most people who visit the Maldives want an overwater villa, but the beach villas cost less and you have more space with beach access.
- Pick a resort that’s located close to Velana International Airport – Being at a resort near the airport you will avoid the expensive seaplane ride, which can save you a minimum of 1000 USD.
Quick Round Up of Expenses In The Maldives
The Maldives is one of those bucket list destinations that everyone should visit at least once in their lives – and having visited there now one of the first things people ask me is how much does the Maldives cost?
It’s viewed by many people as a pretty high end, luxury, honeymoon destination and that pretty much is the case if you intend to stay at a resort, like I did. Here are a few things to include in your pricing when booking a trip to the Maldives:
- Over water bungalows or Beach Villas
- Food
- Alcohol (only available in resorts)
- Seaplane transfers
- Speedboat transfers (to outer Atolls)
- Extras for excursions
- 22% tax and service charge on pretty much EVERYTHING
Do I Need A Visa For The Maldives?
In order to enter the Maldives, a pre-arrival visa is not required. The Maldives has a visa-on-arrival policy for all the nationalities. However, the pre-requisite to obtaining a visa-on-arrival includes a passport with six months validity, a confirmed return ticket ensuring that you will not stay back in the country and a confirmed hotel reservation. The cost is $0!
How Long Should You Stay In The Maldives?
Like most things, this depends on your budget, most people visit the Maldives anywhere from 5-10 days. We stayed for 6 nights and it honestly went so quickly. I would have liked to stay for at least 7 nights. But if you’re on a bit of a budget and can’t afford an entire 7 nights, then 5 nights is definitely still worth it.
How To Get To The Maldives
Be prepared for a lengthy travel time in order to reach that dream overwater bungalow! You will most likely have to take several flights especially if you’re traveling from the United States, including a seaplane and/or a speed boat.
First, you will have to fly into the main airport, Velana International Airport. From there, you will take a seaplane or a speed boat to reach your resort. Your speed boat or seaplane trip can range from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the location of your resort.
Most of the flights to the Maldives are linked through the Middle East, India or Sri Lanka. There are no direct flights as of now from the United States to the Maldives, so you will have to make a stop or two. We traveled from New York City and flew with Emirates. It has always been a dream to fly on Emirates airline and experience pure luxury at 30,000 feet in the air.
Keep reading as I will share specific details on my flights and how we flew round trip Business class from the United States to the Maldives for only 1,000 USD per person.
Where To Stay In The Maldives
From local islands to luxurious five-star resorts, booking accommodation can be challenging. It all melts down to your budget and preferences that will help you in finalizing your home away from home for a vacation in the Maldives. There are several elements to think about before making that final call.
I would take into consideration what’s most important to you in a resort. Is it the atmosphere? For example, if you’re on your honeymoon maybe you want a resort with no screaming children. Are you looking for the best overwater bungalow? A villa with a private pool? Best beaches? The best scuba diving? A resort with an underwater restaurant? Do your research and see what resorts have to offer. I would suggest even emailing or calling to speak to someone on the phone at the resort as things are constantly changing.
For us, picking a hotel was narrowed down to one of the Marriott properties. One option to staying in an amazing resort is using hotel reward points. Due to the fact that all the big hotel chains are now in the Maldives, this is a huge perk to making the trip more affordable. For example, if you are a Marriott Bonvoy member and show loyalty to their company by always staying in Marriott owned properties you earn points, which can be used towards hotels when you travel. Because of this option, I was able to visit the Maldives and and stay in an overwater bungalow for free!
Transportation to Your Resort
If you are going the resort route, like I did, then speed boats and seaplanes are going to be the only mode of transportation to get from the Velana (Malè) International Airport to your resort. Now these can vary in price depending on the location of your resort from the airport so when deciding on where to stay in the Maldives make sure you look into the additional speed boat or seaplane transportation costs for the resort.
Speed boat is certainly the easiest and more budget friendly option, however if you’re staying a good distance from Malè Airport then be prepared for a long boat ride and make sure to take a few sea sickness tablets if boats aren’t your friend!
The fastest and most expensive option is a seaplane transfer. Depending on what resort you choose, a seaplane maybe your only option to reach your final destination. Some resorts may require a seaplane and then a speedboat ride too. It is important that you figure out transportation options and pricing prior to booking, especially if you’re on a budget, you may need to choose a different resort closer to the Malè airport with more affordable transportation options.
Eating and Drinking In The Maldives
Due to no land for plantation and cultivation in the Maldives, the local Maldivian food is mostly comprised of fish and coconut. For obvious reasons, these are the only two food items that are available in the Maldives; everything else has to be imported from Sri Lanka or India. Alcohol is served without any issues at the resort islands but you may or may not be able to get it on the local islands. Also, bringing alcohol in the Maldives is not permitted.
The local delicacies in the Maldives can be only found easily in Malè or the local islands. As the resort islands are made in order to cater the tourists therefore continental cuisine is the most popular food choice available on the resort islands. The food on the resort islands is more on the expensive side as a lot of expense goes behind getting the food to the islands.
How I Traveled to the Maldives
We traveled from the United States and choose Emirates Airline. Our flight went through Dubai, so we decided to spend 4 nights in Dubai prior to traveling to the Maldives. Our flights were as follows:
Departing Flights:
NYC/JFK -> DUBAI/DXB (nonstop) =14 hours (4 NIGHTS)
DUBAI/DXB -> Malè/VIA (nonstop) = 4.5 hours
Return Flights:
Malè/VIA -> DUBAI/DXB (nonstop) = 4.5 hours (6 NIGHTS)
DUBAI/DXB -> NYC/JFK (nonstop) = 14 hours
Jumpsuit | Duster | Sneakers
All of our flights were through Emirates Business class. To experience luxury, for a fraction of the cost, we used a combination of cash and points. Our round trip flights that I listed above, at the time of purchase in May 2021, were 1,581.25 USD per person for a total of 3,162.50 USD. I used my Capital One Venture Credit Card points to completely pay for both roundtrip flights.
The price for the above mentioned flights is for Economy Flex seats, which is important to note. You’re probably thinking, but she just said she flew Business class. Well, I did, you see, by booking Economy Flex seats you are eligible to upgrade to Business class using points. I then used points from my Chase Sapphire Credit Card to upgrade to Business class on our flight from NYC to Dubai. You can directly transfer points through your Chase account to a Emirates Skywards account. Skywards account is free to create. Once they reflect in your Emirates Skywards account you can redeem them for flight upgrades. At the time of booking, it cost 70,000 points per person to upgrade to Business class for a total of 140,000 points. So if you are keeping up, so far I have used all points for our round trip flights and to upgrade to Business Class from NYC to Dubai.
We also wanted to fly Business class from Dubai to NYC on the way home, especially knowing we would be tired and want to lay down and sleep in luxury on our way home, but didn’t have enough points. Luckily, Emirates has specials and deals in which they allow passengers to upgrade to Business or First class for a discounted price when the seats are empty. We were able to upgrade since there were a few available Business Class seats for 1,000 USD per person. For us, it was totally worth the splurge and since we didn’t pay any cash for our flights thus far, paying 2000 USD was a deal. It was totally worth it to be served unlimited Champagne, gourmet meals, watch movies in a lay down seat and even sleep comfortably throughout a 14 hour flight. If you fly Emirates Business class and pay all cash you’re looking at 5,000+ USD per person, which is pretty steep if you ask me! With points we accrued between 2 credit cards and some cash, we were able to fly round trip in Business class for a total of 2,000 USD for 2 people from the United States!
If you’re trying to travel to the Maldives with limited points or just paying cash, you could fly Economy without upgrading to Business Class. This will make your trip more affordable.
Sign up for the Chase Sapphire or Capital One Venture Travel Credit Cards through my links and we both can earn rewards!
Where I Stayed
During my visit to the Maldives, I was able to stay at two different properties:
THE JW MARRIOTT MALDIVES – 5 Nights
THE FAIRMONT MALDIVES – 1 Night
My husband and I have the Marriott Bonvoy Chase Credit Card, which allows us to earn points for our travels at Marriott Properties. We travel pretty frequently throughout the year, which helps earn points, as well as my husband traveling for work from time to time and using the card for most of his daily purchases. As a result, we were able to redeem points for our stay in an overwater bungalow at the JW Marriott Maldives.
For our stay at The Fairmont Maldives, we did not use points, however this was an extended stay due to unexpected weather conditions during our trip. Unfortunately, a cyclone decided to sweep through the Indian Ocean during our stay and our overwater bungalow at the JW Marriott suffered water and electrical damage. They were beyond accommodating and for safety reasons moved us to a beach villa, which was gorgeous, however we really wanted the full experience of an overwater bungalow so we added a night and switched resorts. It was completely worth the splurge and it was nice to experience a different island and hotel in the Maldives during our visit.
Read a complete review of my stay at the JW Marriott Maldives here (coming soon).
Should I book an ‘All-Inclusive’ Package? Is it worth it?
In my opinion the all inclusive package is the way to go! Purchasing meals, snacks, drinks and alcohol everyday, especially after taxes/fees and VAT charges are added gets very pricey. Don’t be shocked to pay $40 for a basic cheese pizza or $20 for a cocktail. If you’re going to the Maldives on a luxury vacation are you really trying to stress over the price of food/drinks on the daily?
I personally like to enjoy a few cocktails and eat several times a day, especially on vacation so the All Inclusive package was worth it for me. If you don’t drink alcohol and eat light, then the All Inclusive package may not be worth it for you.
Many resorts have a few restaurants that you can choose to dine in. However, sometimes the ‘All-Inclusive’ package might only offer to dine at the main restaurant and you might have to pay extra if you want to experience the other restaurants on the island. If your resort offers more than one restaurant, check if your package includes one or two dinners at the other restaurants. Once again, it pays to do your research before booking. The JW Maldives gives you great discounts at any of the restaurants not included in the all inclusive package. One of the nights at the resort, we decided to eat at one of the restaurants not included in the All Inclusive package and received 60% off our bill since we are Marriott Bonvoy members.
While many Maldives resorts offer ‘All-Inclusive’ packages, it pays to check exactly what is really included in the ‘All-Inclusive’ price. Do your research on each individual resorts packages as they all vary.
Note: The JW Marriott Maldives and Fairmont Maldives do offer several different food and beverage packages, including All Inclusive. The All Inclusive package at both resorts included breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus unlimited beverages including alcohol. Both resorts have a specific menu for the All Inclusive Package that offer more than enough options for food and drinks.
At the time of our trip, the All Inclusive package prices were:
JW Marriott Maldives = $300 per person per day which includes service charges, gratuity and island fees
Fairmont Maldives = $285 per person per day which includes service charges, gratuity and island fees
Activities & Excursions
Some All Inclusive packages may also include excursions to nearby islands, snorkeling, or sunset cruises, however some packages do not include any excursions. If your resort offers bicycles those are included with the price of your room. It pays to get a price list of the available activities before you arrive so you can plan your budget accordingly. Both the JW Marriott and Fairmont do not include any of their water activities or excursions in their all inclusive price, so anything you plan to do will be an additional cost.
Other Food & Beverage Packages
Depending on where you stay, your resort may also offer half board and full board options.
Some resort packages will only include half and full board packages.
Half board packages simply means that you will have breakfast and dinner included in your stay, but you will have to purchase your own snacks, drinks, and alcohol.
Full board package means that you will receive your breakfast, lunch, and dinner and limited beverages. Alcohol is not included. Full board option is good if you’re looking to spend a little less than an all-inclusive package. It’s particularly economical for those who don’t drink or drink very little.
Room only is just as it sounds – you will receive your room only and nothing else. While a room-only is affordable on the local islands, on the resort islands you will need to have a rather large budget to accommodate for all your breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, drinks and, excursions.
What To See And Do In The Maldives?
Many first-timers in the Maldives think it can be a boring holiday and only involve laying by the beach or in your overwater bungalow, however, there is a lot more than that to do in the Maldives. You can enjoy any water activity you can imagine in the Maldives, however it does come at a cost. Excursions in the Maldives can be pretty pricey, so it all depends on your budget.
Apart from that, there are local island excursion trips, fishing trips, snorkeling, spa treatments, do a floating breakfast, swim with Dolphins, enjoy a wine tastings, experience a cooking class, and even enjoy cultural performances on some islands. If you’re staying at a resort then you don’t need to worry about your entertainment. The resorts have plenty of activities to keep the guests entertained at all the times.
SHOP MY POST
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Can you Island Hop in the Maldives?
Short answer is Yes! Is it pricey? Also, Yes!
Firstly, there is a large expanse of open ocean between islands and atolls, so getting from one place to another takes time. The resorts are generally built on their own island, which isolates you from the rest of the country.
Secondly, hiring your own boat through the resort is expensive. A speedboat transfer to another island can cost anywhere from $250+ per person depending on the distance. If you need to take a seaplane to your next island you’re talking about booking an additional flight with Trans Maldivian Airways which is even more expensive. When we transferred from the JW Marriott to the Fairmont we were fortunate enough to not have to pay for our speedboat transfer. The JW Marriott has it’s own private speedboat, which was already transferring guests to the Fairmont Maldives dock to board their flights so we were able to hop on, however if any other case the charge would have been $250 per person.
Recently, island hopping has become a thing in the Maldives. There are some tour operators, such as G Adventures that offer this experience. It is generally a budget-style experience, staying in local guesthouses or tourist-class accommodation, and you probably won’t get to experience the luxurious side of the Maldives. If you’re looking for the best of both worlds, perhaps you could combine a few nights luxury resort stays with an island-hopping tour.
Total Breakdown of Points and Cost For Our 6 Night Stay at The JW Marriott Maldives & Fairmont Maldives
During our visit in May 2021, The JW Marriott Maldives, was running a special at their resort which allowed us to stay 5 nights for the price of 4 nights. We were able to take advantage of this special in the Maldives in combinaion with redeeming points. Depending on the type of room and the season you visit, prices may vary. During our visit, we chose to stay in a Sunset view Overwater Bungalow. I mean, how can you go to the Maldives and not stay in an Overwater Bungalow right?! Prices for this particular villa range anywhere from $700-$1000 per night plus taxes, service charges and fees if you are not using points. The point conversion at the time of our trip was 85,000 points per night which equaled 340,000 points total for 4 nights with our 5th night being free. If you use points the only costs you’re responsible for thereafter are taxes and fees on the room, 10% service charge and the 12% goods and services tax.
Our break down was as follows:
- JW Maldives Overwater Bungalow: 340,000 points (4 nights) + $59.00 per night x 5 = $295.00
- 10% Service Charge: $29.50
- 12% Goods and Service Tax: $38.94
- Total for JW Maldives Bungalow for 5 nights: $1,563.44
So, our room for 5 nights technically cost $1,563.44…which isn’t completely free, but certainly a crazy great deal! Now, where things start to get expensive is when you add food, drinks and any activities/excursions during your stay. As you can see, things can add up quickly as I’ve added everything to give you a grand total for our 6 nights in the Maldives including airfare.
Additional Expenses:
- Seaplane Transfers: $1,200.00
- All Inclusive Food & Drink Package at JW Maldives for 2 people for 5 nights: $3000.00
- Couples Massage at JW Marriott: $400.00
- Wine Tasting at JW Marriott: $300.00
- COVID Testing for 2 people: $400.00
- 1 night in an Overwater Bungalow at the Fairmont Maldives including All Inclusive Food & Drink Package for 2 people plus all taxes, fees, gratuities and service charges: $2,000.00
- Round trip flights from US to Maldives with Emirates: $2,000
- Grand Total for 6 nights in the Maldives: $10,864.44
So there you have it! 6 amazing nights in the Maldives! Again, this is my personal experience, it’s not to say someone else could not spend less or even more. The extra night at the Fairmont and upgrading our seats to Business Class on Emirates increased the price quite significantly, but if we hadn’t done that the trip would have been much less.
A trip to a Maldives luxury resort is NOT cheap by any means, but it was absolutely worth it in my opinion! I’m already saving up points to visit again in the future!
Have you been to the Maldives? If not, do you plan to visit?
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this article is very very useful to me, I will remember these tips to know when I will travel to Maldives next time
The points are good and informative and i will keep them in my mind for my next trip