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Airplane arriving in Maldives
Couple in Maldives
Enjoying the swimming pool at Maldives

Maldives - Planning your trip

The natural beauty, combined with great food and a touch of luxury is what makes any experience in Maldives an unforgettable trip. The Maldives archipelago consists in 1196 islands surrounded by the Indian Ocean, which are grouped together in 26 atolls stretching over 90 000 km², making Maldives one of the most dispersed countries in the world. Most resorts are situated on their own private atolls or in areas where they are pretty much the only thing around. With the paradise scenery centered around sea and sand guests barely leave the islands.

Sandbank in Maldives
Couple in love in Maldives

What you need to know before you go

Transportation - Malé is the main hub of the Maldivian Islands. Although there are other options, most visitors fly to Malé and take a speedboat to go to their hotels. The speedboats are much nicer than we thought. In our case, the hotel offered the transfer as a courtesy and we had a private boat just for ourselves. The ride was nice and took us less than half an hour. Another option to go to the hotels is to book a hydroplane. We didn’t check the costs, but make sure to to consider this extra expense depending on your reservation. If you want to visit other islands, boats or hydroplanes are the only options too.

Accommodation - Looking out towards nothing but turquoise water and blue sky. 🤩 The overwater accommodation concept originated in French Polynesia more than 50 years ago. In Maldives, at some point the overwater bungalows morphed into overwater villas, where some accommodations are as large as many homes. All this doesn't come cheap, guests can expect to pay from $300 to the sky is the limit a night! If you plan a most affordable trip, a good option is to stay in a Guest House. Some properties also offer multiple overwater categories. Because couples stay most part of their vacations at their resorts, make sure to invest in a good hotel to have a memorable experience in Maldives.

Food - Traditional Maldivian cuisine, also known as Dhivehi cuisine, provides a variety of tastes with strong influences from its neighboring countries, such as India and Sri Lanka. Even though you can try a little of everything at the resorts, traditional Maldivian cuisine is based on three main ingredients and their derivatives, coconut, fish, and starches containing grains and vegetables. Most dishes include mild spiciness or delicate sweetness prepared using ancient cooking traditions. Curries are one of the most popular dishes in Maldivian cuisine and vary from fish, chicken to vegetable curries, rich with spices.

Suggestion to save on your trip to Maldives

All inclusive, please! The Maldives is an island with limited land resources, so you can only imagine how much it costs to build a resort, maintain it, and make it attractive to tourists. The high cost of real estate, high taxes imposed on foreigners, added to the fact that just about everything is imported are some of the top reasons why the destination is so expensive.

Many of the top-rated properties offer “half board” or “full board” options, in which breakfast and dinner or all meals are offered as part of the nightly rate. Keep in mind, however, that only fewer packages include liquor too. We bought a full board package, which included liquors and even the mini-bar with appetizers, water, beer and wine were replaced daily.

If you’re staying in a resort, the best option is DO opt for an all-inclusive package that will cover your meals throughout your stay. If you want to have more freedom on your major meals, be aware that a complete meal for a couple, with appetizers, desserts and cocktails will range around $300. In addition, there is 22% of taxes + tips. We preferred to choose an intermediary room, but with a complete gastronomy experience and this was a happy choice. 

TIps for first visit

1. Visit a sandbank – One unforgettable experience in Maldives is to visit the dunes of white sand surrounded by turquoise water, known as sandbanks. The ocean moves and recreates the sandbanks according to its will, making the banks an evolving organism of mystery and timeless beauty.

Most hotels offer private tours for couples to these unique places, and for a few hours, the island could be exclusive yours. In addition, the couples can dive with a guide in the beautiful corals around the islands. This is a must have experience in Maldives.

2. Spend some time diving – Diving is an incredible way to see an entirely different world. Because Maldives is an archipelago, it’s no wonder the destination is famous for its world-class scuba diving, but even the snorkeling is enough to see beautiful corals and colorful fishes. The island has a tropical climate, and water temperatures range from 80 to 86 degrees year-round, making the diving good nearly any time of year. The best season to dive is between the months of January and April, when the weather is dry, warm and visibility is best.

3. Bring your GoPro – Your GoPro will be very useful in a trip to Maldives, you’ll be surprised watching the videos with the amount of sharks your eyes are not able to see! 

4. Watch the sharks – At Maldives you are almost guaranteed to see an abundance of baby reef sharks around the shallow waters of the lagoon and quite often find yourself swimming among them. 😬

Food in Maldives

5. Watch the sunset – In Maldives, every evening around 6pm cameras are getting ready, people gather on the beach, couples wait in their decks and the same ritual takes place. It’s sunset! Everybody waits for this special moment, where time stops and sometimes silence takes place…The sky will take dozens of shades ranging from yellow to purple, pink to orange. Make sure to record to remember this moment.

Essential Information

Passaport and Visa – Every traveler must have a valid passport. Visa is required for a continuous trip of more than 3 months only.

Currency – The currency in Maldives is the Maldivian Rufiyaa – MVR. However, you can use credit cards to pay at hotels and USD is accept everywhere. Note that you can only get Maldivian Rufiyaa in Maldives and the airport in the most convent place to exchange money.

Language – Most Maldivians can speak English. In fact, most employees at the resorts can other international languages but the official language is Dhivehi.

Taxes – The taxes are high. Be prepared to pay 22% of taxes in your bill if you are in the full board packages.

Tipping – A 10% service charge is normally added to your purchases in a resort, so tipping on top of that is not necessary. Of course, if want to show your appreciation for great service you are welcome.

Population – Maldives has a population of around 540,000 people dispersed across 185 islands.

Economy – The Maldivian economy is heavily dependent on fisheries and tourism, which are the major sources of foreign exchange earnings and government revenue.

Curiosity – Maldives is a Muslim country, women are expected to dress more modestly on the islands than in resorts. Biquinis are not allowed in the public beaches and the consumption of alcohol and pork, while not forbidden for tourists, is avoided. Is good to be mindful about the culture but in the resorts guests are allowed to drink and show affection without being disrespectful.

Useful Links

Useful Links to research more for your trip

https://visitmaldives.com/ – National tourism office of the Maldives.

Traditional Maldivian Cuisine – All you need to know about the traditional dishes.

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