Maldives is known mainly for its expensive resorts
Accommodation in Resorts are expensive/ Displayed price does not include taxes (around 23% +3$ per night tax to be added on top )
Maldives transportation to and from Hotel/Resort is very expensive (300$ for a speedboat/500$ per pers for seaplane)
Excursion booked from Hotel/Resorts are more expensive and only possible with usually big groups (20-25 pers.)
Lunch and Dinner at Resort/Hotel is more expensive, Food is not amazing and displayed price does NOT include taxes( 50$ /pers minimum /meal )
Resorts activities and freedom are limited because of transportation high price and facilities limited to those of the resorts.
The only people available are tourists and resorts residents, not interesting from a culture point of view.
Resorts Islands are man-made and you don’t find much wild life or natural landscapes on those island so it can get quickly boring!
The main activity on resorts island is sitting next to the pool at the bar or resting on the beach which can become quickly boring.
What is Maldives for All
Recently, the Maldivian government has allowed guest house and hotels to open in the local inhabited island.
Local island accommodation are a lot cheaper than resorts, Quality is 3-4 stars, food is excellent and you can try yummy traditional dishes for very cheap.
Local people are extremely friendly, very welcoming and warm.
Each local island has its own wild life which makes it different from other island and more interesting than resorts. you can still enjoy nice white maldivian natural beaches.
On local islands, bikinis are forbidden except on the bikini beach which is reserved for that purpose. On other parts of the island, a more conservative dress code is required.
Local islands are accessible through ferry and scheduled speedboat which are way cheaper than resorts transportation and can be arranged by the guest house for you.
