Useful tips for traveling to the Maldives
Welcome to the incredible Maldive Islands!
We are used to seeing the Maldives as a place only within reach of people with a lot of money, who go to large resorts and stay in luxurious water houses. Well, we consider that this does not do justice to the numerous options that this paradise, these islands of the Indian Ocean, give. Therefore, after spending some incredible days there, we bring you a list of tips for traveling to the Maldives.
We were in the Maldives for 6 days, divided into 3 days on a local island, Maafushi, and 3 days in a 3-star resort on a private island. You will see more below, but we are more of the first option, since we are a bit restless and we love to do activities, move around freely, and enjoy adventures and emotions. Likewise, if your tastes are different, the Maldives can offer rest, sun, beach, and peace in a beautiful resort, so it is also a perfect destination for lovers of this type of vacation.
Having said that, let’s go with our list of tips for traveling to the Maldives.
The first tip on this list of tips for traveling to the Maldives is about one of the classic questions of travelers when visiting an unknown country, the visa. No visa is required to enter the Maldives. They will generate it for you upon arrival with a 1-month tourist permit from the date of issuance.
2. Travel Insurance
It is an obvious topic when you start a long trip, but it’s always worth to say it again and recommend a travel insurance when you go to a far away country. It is very important to select a good insurance as when you travel there are lots of things that can happen and you are not covered it can ruin your experience.
We always trust in the same insurances company, IATI, and for this trip (that was combined with a 12 days trip in India) we chose the option of IATI Mochileros, that has basic coverage but with add ons in activities as diving and other adventure experiences, that were things we wanted to do for sure. That was the IATI insurance we took.
2. The best period to visit Maldives
The second tip on this list of tips for traveling to the Maldives is about the best time to visit this country. Here we have to talk mostly about the monsoon season, which is quite famous and pesky in this area of Asia.
In Maldives there are two monsoon seasons, the wet season (May-November) which is the one with the highest temperatures and the most amount of rain (although it’s usually short-lived rain) and the dry season (December to April) which is a slightly cooler period (although temperatures are usually above 25 degrees) and with less rain.
Maldives is a good destination to visit at any time of the year. The rainiest months would be May and November, but since temperatures are very stable, there’s no need to worry too much about it. It’s worth noting that the high season in Maldives is usually from November to April, so prices will be higher during these dates.
We traveled in August and had some rain, even during an excursion, but it didn’t impede our plans. They are short-lived rains. The weather was great!
3. Oficial Currency
The official currency is the Rufiya (current exchange rate with €), but we have to say that most places work with US dollars. In fact, we withdrew Rufiyas at the airport and some places were surprised as it seems like a more typical local currency. Don’t worry about getting money, it’s easy and fast at the airport.
4. Maldives religion
BIKINI BEACH
The predominant religion in the Maldives is Islam. Despite being a mostly tourist country, it is a Muslim country, so they apply the restrictions that are in place in all Arab countries.
Women are not allowed to bathe in bikinis on beaches of local islands, except in designated areas. However, in all of these islands you will find a bikini beach, where you can bathe without problems in a bikini and enjoy the crystal clear waters. A option to be able to bathe without problem on any beach is to wear full swimsuits. I, for example, bought the swimsuit you see in the picture on Maafushi in a shop owned by a Spanish woman who makes long-sleeved swimsuits. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that you will have to wear pants as the bottom is like a bikini and doesn’t work, but at least the top does its job. Check Keia Ibiza swimsuits that you can use in the island.
Please note that in private hotels and resorts, these restrictions do not apply, it is only a restriction in local islands or in the capital, Malé.
FOOD AND ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Following the previous advice and now being aware of the religion followed by Maldivians, Muslim legislation prohibits the sale of alcohol and the serving of pork in local island restaurants.
You will be able to find alcohol if you go to resorts or hotels, where they will offer you the typical all-inclusive to enjoy a (or several) drinks.
5. Transportation in Maldives
One of the key points of this list of tips for traveling to Maldives is about transportation. Maldives can be a destination where you constantly lose money everywhere, especially if they charge you a lot for moving between islands or to resorts. It is essential that you know all the transportation options if you are going to a local island or a Resort and then decide what is worth it for you.
In the first case, inform yourself about the options with public transportation from Malé, especially if you are going to a local island. A great option for consulting schedules and prices in Asia is the website 12GO. In the resorts, some have their own hydroplanes and speedboats. The first option usually costs an arm and a leg, so it may be better to take a speedboat. We went to Maafushi for 3 days and from there we went to our resort. We managed to get our hotel in Maafushi to book us a speedboat at a price lower than what the hotel was offering.
Tip: Always ask locals for everything!
6. Visit local islands
The fifth tip for traveling to the Maldives is that the Maldives is not just resorts and water villas. Obviously, this is a super personal choice, but we believe that local islands, where you can see the authentic Maldives, is a unique and essential experience if you want to meet its people and customs.
There are magnificent local islands where you can spend incredible days at much lower prices and where you can live amazing experiences. We only visited the island of Maafushi, which we loved and where we spent the best days of our stay there. We stayed in a small, quite economical hotel/hostel that we liked a lot and would highly recommend, the Sunshine View.
Other islands that were recommended to us there and that we will definitely return to are:
- Gulhi
- Dhiffushi
- Thulusdhoo – ideal for surfing
7. Mundo submarino en las Maldivas
The next point in the tips for traveling to Maldives is about one of its most attractive features in this area, the underwater world. Whether you take our advice and go to a local island or stay in a resort, they will offer you a thousand and one snorkeling and marine species spotting tours. Even in our hotel in Maafushi, as soon as we arrived, the owner told us that he had excursions available that were the same as those offered on the rest of the island.
Our advice here is that you research the different options and reviews on the best centers for these activities on your own, as much as they do the same thing, not all of them are the same. In Maafushi, we had the experience with what we considered the best company on the island, Shadow Palm (Instagram account).
As we could observe, as in all places there are companies that only aim to make money at all costs without thinking about animals and living beings. We even saw crowded and disrespectful excursions. We can say that Shadow Palm are excellent professionals who love the ocean and it shows. It was truly amazing.
Obviously this is very personal, but we consider that the most spectacular things in Maldives are found under the sea. We recommend that anyone who is curious try to take an excursion to spot and swim with marine species such as whale sharks, nurse sharks, mantas or rays or even try snorkeling. We leave you some images to whet your appetite 🙂 The only condition for these tours is to know how to swim.
For the more adventurous, Maldives is a very good destination to take official PADI diving courses, which allow you to spend a week learning and the rest of your time doing dives that will allow you to see an incredible world under water.
Maldives is one of the best places in the world to dive with a tank and see species that can only be found from 20 meters deep like tiger sharks.
8. Excursiones y servicio de fotografia
If you take a boat trip in the Maldives, it is very likely that they will offer additional photography service at an extra cost. Our advice is to take it for sure, as the quality of the pictures they will take is spectacular and you will take one of the best memories you can imagine. The guys at Shadow Palm, for example, have the best underwater photography equipment and a drone with which they took the cover photo, and we only paid 20 euros extra.
Tip: Bring a pen drive, memory card, external memory, or have a lot of capacity on your mobile phone, because they will give you all the images at the time and they weigh a lot. On the island there are shops where you can buy them, but the prices are inflated.
9. "Low-cost" resorts
An important point in this list of tips for traveling to the Maldives is about the price of resorts and hotels on private islands.
If you want to go to a resort but do not have a very high budget, you can always find more affordable options (again, the economic issue is super subjective, but comparatively it is much cheaper than a top resort). This was our case, and after several days in Maafushi and after coming from India, we headed to the Embudu Village Resort. This is a 3-star hotel with a dive center, excursions, with cabins and bungalows that make up the rooms, on a private island located in the Malé atoll and surrounded by a spectacular area for snorkeling and diving. Sounds good, right? Well comparatively, it is a more affordable option to enjoy a few days in the Maldives. We stayed 3 days there.
In our opinion and taste, it is not the way of traveling that we enjoy the most but it is true that on this trip after 12 days in India and 4 in Maafushi, the 3 days we were on the resort island helped us recharge and we were grateful. But one must be aware of what a resort on a private island is, the options of leisure and activities are very limited to always be the same. Additionally, not all hotels will be able to offer as cool excursions and at the same price as the ones we did in Maafushi. It will depend a lot on the situation of the sea on the island.
10. Visiting luxury resorts
And yes, for those who want to see the big and famous resorts with the famous cabins over the turquoise water, almost all the islands offer day trips to one of these resorts. It includes transportation and the day there.
We can’t give an opinion as it didn’t catch our attention to do it, but it is good to know that there is that possibility if your curiosity is sparked.
11. Visit Maldives from nearby countries
This recommendation comes from experience. Maldives is a great destination to complement a trip to places like India, Sri Lanka or Arab countries. Flights from these locations are usually short and at a fairly affordable price, which will allow you to enjoy a spectacular end to your trip.
We initially planned to visit the island after 15 days in Sri Lanka, but after a period of political instability, we changed our origin to India and flew from New Delhi. Check our itinerary in India in this country:
In addition, Malé airport has very good connections with major airports such as Doha, so you can even fly home directly from there.
We hope you liked this post about the Maldives islands and that you now see this wonderful place with different eyes that can offer so much and can be a destination for all audiences and budgets. If you have any questions, feel free to leave your comment below or contact us on our social media.
