Maldives on a Budget

Why Maldives for All

  • 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.