HOW TO TRAVEL THE MALDIVES ON A BUDGET: IT’S POSSIBLE!



The Maldives is a fascinating country to travel to independently, not least because it’s only been possible to do so for the past five years. Now, guesthouses are springing up on local islands on a seemingly monthly basis, offering budget travellers an affordable way to explore the country.

And, in many ways, travelling on a budget in the Maldives is far superior to staying in one of the luxury resorts. Each resort is built on its own island, isolating you from the rest of the country so you never get a chance to experience local life. Staying on the local islands has given me an insight into life in the Maldives that very few people have experienced so far.

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But things are changing rapidly.
The number of guesthouses on some of the more popular islands are doubling each year as more and more travellers turn up in search of paradise on a budget. On one of the islands I visited, Dave and I were the only tourists — we had every beach to ourselves! I suspect this won’t be as commonplace five years from now.
So, now is the perfect time to travel to the Maldives.
I spent three weeks in the country and visited three of the local islands — Maafushi, Fulidhoo and Guraidhoo. I also splurged on two nights on a resort stay at Olhuveli Island in an overwater bungalow so that I could experience the differences between the two ways of travelling.


How much does it cost to travel the Maldives on a budget? As little as $50 a day. As a budget traveler, you can expect to spend $30 a day on a private room in a guesthouse; $10 a day on food; and $10 a day on activities. But there are, of course, ways to do it even cheaper.
Here’s everything you need to know about travelling in the Maldives on a budget.

Independent and Budget Travel is Very New to the MaldivesTourism in general is relatively new to the Maldives. The first resort opened in 1973 and for thirty years, the only way to visit as a tourist was via these expensive island resorts.
Seven years ago, however, the government changed its regulations to allow guesthouses to open on the local islands. For the first time, tourists were allowed to stay with locals and gain an insight into Maldivian life. At present, many budget travellers remain unaware that it’s possible to do this. When I visited, I felt like one of the only independent travellers in the country — I even turned up on one island and learned that my boyfriend, Dave, and I were the only tourists currently staying there!
When I arrived at Male airport, Dave and I were the only backpackers in sight. We were the only people to walk through the airport without a travel agent greeting us, and we were the only non-locals taking a ferry over to a local island.
Any downsides? At times, it felt like I was invading the islands against the locals’ wishes. I felt as though Dave and I were regarded with suspicion — or perhaps curiosity. On some of the smaller islands, our greetings of “hello” towards the locals were often ignored, as we received little more than stares in exchange. I don’t know if they were shy, or curious, or even angry that we were on their island home. This did, however, occur predominantly with the older residents.



Having said all that, the majority of the locals were friendly and welcoming and happy to chat. It was just the occasional stare that left me feeling like I was intruding.
Additionally, while Dave and I were mostly left alone when walking as a couple, when I was wandering the islands alone, the local women were all excited to chat to me. Whether it was just to say hello, or to offer me a piece of Maldivian chocolate to try, travelling as a solo female offers a different experience to travelling as a couple, and I felt 100% safe while alone there.
It Can Be Done CheaplyThe Maldives were always my dream honeymoon destination for a couple of reasons.
1. It looked like it had the best beaches in the world
2. The resorts were very expensive.
I’d assumed that the Maldives was a once in a lifetime destination that I’d visit only for a very special occasion.

Finding Cheap Transport: Transport is also cheap. Local ferries run on a somewhat infrequent schedule but shouldn’t cost more than $2-4 for a three hour journey. We paid $0.60 for the ferry from Male Airport to Male, $3 for the ferry from Male to Maafushi, $4 for the ferry from Maafushi to Fulidhoo, and $2 for the ferry from Maafushi to Guraidhoo.
If you want to visit a resort, you’ll have to pay for a speedboat, as the local ferries don’t stop at the resort islands. These speedboats are very expensive — we were quoted $280 per person return trip for a 45 minute journey, or $200 per person return for a ten minute journey. One possibility could be to turn up at the nearest local island, and ask around to see if a local fisherman will take you across on his boat. We managed to arrange a transfer from Guraidhoo to Olhuveli (which, by the way, was incredible, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a resort stay) for $40 per person return trip — but given that the resort was only 6 kilometres away, this is still pretty pricey.
Avoid the seaplanes if you’re travelling on a budget — these will usually cost around $500 return for a 20 minute journey.

There’s So Little Information AroundI’ve never visited a country where independent travel is so new, and it certainly made planning a little tricky.
I’m a chronic over-planner, so trying to choose between islands while having no idea what they were going to be like left me more than a little anxious. The first thing I do when I decide I want to go somewhere is head to Google Images. I’m a visual person and I like to see exactly where I’m going. When I did this with the Maldivian islands, I came across stock photos of the Maldives, photos of resorts, and satellite photos of islands. I wasn’t sure if any of the photos were actually of the islands we were going to.
Searching for detailed information was just as tricky. Most of the islands had a paragraph on Wikipedia mentioning their size and population, and that was mostly it. I couldn’t find any travel blog posts, I couldn’t find any online travel guides. The best I could find were a few TripAdvisor reviews of guesthouses that briefly mentioned what the islands were like.
Update 2017: This is quickly changing as more and more travel bloggers get wind of how easy it is to travel the Maldives on a budget. Now, you should be able to find a few travel blog posts on various local islands that are within easy reach of Male.


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