By Harry Nara · Last updated
Yes, but the Maldives is the one destination here where the single most important decision is made before you book the room, and most people do not know they are making it. Your resort’s distance from the airport determines your transfer, the transfer determines what it costs and how long your first and last days take, and seaplanes only fly in daylight, which can cost you an unplanned night in Male. Choose the island for the transfer as much as for the photographs.
Almost everything written about the Maldives is about how it looks, and almost nothing about how it works. The country is nearly twelve hundred islands spread over five hundred kilometres of ocean, the overwhelming majority of resorts occupy one island each, and once you are on yours you are staying on it. That is the central fact of a Maldives holiday and it is either exactly what you want or a surprise you did not need.
The other thing worth understanding early is that there are two Maldives. There is the resort country, which is expensive and serves alcohol, and there is the inhabited country, which is a conservative Muslim society where alcohol is not sold and dress on public beaches is modest. Both are open to visitors and they operate under different rules.
How long do you need in Maldives?
Seven nights is the standard and it is about right, because the transfers eat the first and last day and a five night trip can turn into three usable ones. If the resort is a short speedboat ride away you can make five nights work. Splitting a trip between a resort and a local island is the best week the country offers.
Before you go
There are three ways to your resort and they are not comparable. A speedboat serves nearby atolls, runs at most hours and takes anywhere from twenty minutes to over an hour. A seaplane reaches the further ones in scenic fashion, costs several hundred dollars per person each way, and flies only in daylight. A domestic flight plus a speedboat covers the distant atolls. The one that catches people is the seaplane rule: if your international flight lands in the evening, you cannot fly out to the resort that night, and you will pay for a hotel night in Male and leave the next morning. Check the transfer type and the last departure time before you book anything, and match your flights to it.
A resort is a private island with your own beach, your own restaurants and prices that reflect having no competition. A guesthouse on an inhabited island costs a fraction as much, puts you in a Maldivian village, and comes with local rules: modest dress away from the designated bikini beach, and no alcohol on the island at all, although some islands have a floating bar moored offshore. Neither is better. A week split between the two is the trip most people wish they had booked.
On a private island with no alternative, the difference between bed and breakfast and all-inclusive is not a preference but a large sum of money. Resort restaurant prices are high and unavoidable, and alcohol is taxed and imported. Read exactly which restaurants, drinks and activities a package covers, because the gap between the headline rate and the final bill is where Maldives holidays go wrong financially.
Once you are there
There is no strolling to the next village or trying a restaurant down the road. Excursions are arranged by the resort, priced by the resort, and scheduled by the resort. This is not a complaint, it is the product, but visitors used to exploring should know they have booked a beautiful and total confinement.
The snorkelling directly off the beach at a good house reef is better than boat trips at many destinations, and it costs nothing. Standing on coral kills it, reef-safe sunscreen matters here more than most places, and taking anything from the sea, including shells and sand, is prohibited. Manta and whale shark encounters are seasonal and worth planning the trip around if they matter to you.
On local islands during Ramadan, cafes close during daylight and eating in public is avoided, and Friday midday is prayer time when things pause. Resorts run normally throughout. If you are staying in a guesthouse, plan around it; if you are on a resort island, you will barely notice.
What it costs
The Maldives is as expensive as its reputation in the resort economy and startlingly affordable outside it. A guesthouse on an inhabited island with full board can cost less per night than a single resort dinner, and the sea is the same sea. What you are paying for at a resort is exclusivity, service and the island itself, which is a real product rather than a markup, but it is worth knowing that the alternative exists.
Costs that surprise people: the transfer, which for a seaplane can add well over a thousand dollars for a couple returning; a green tax charged per person per night; and service charges and GST added to resort bills. Ask for the final figure including transfers and taxes rather than the nightly rate.
Dollars are accepted everywhere in the resort economy and card payment is universal, with everything settled at checkout. On local islands the rufiyaa is used and cash matters more. Tipping is customary at resorts, and going directly to the person who looked after you rather than into a pooled service charge is generally the more useful gesture.
Going with children
The Maldives works very well with children provided the island is chosen for them rather than for a photograph. Many resorts run kids clubs and shallow lagoons that are effectively enormous safe swimming pools, and the absence of traffic or anywhere to wander off to is a real advantage with small children. Two things need checking before booking. Some resorts are explicitly adults-only or set a minimum age, which is easy to miss on a booking site. And the transfer matters more with children than without: a seaplane is loud, small and has no toilet, and a long speedboat crossing in rough water with a toddler is nobody’s idea of a holiday starting well. Choose a nearby island with a short speedboat transfer, and the rest of the trip is as easy as travel with children ever gets.
Going alone
The Maldives has a reputation as a honeymoon destination that is deserved and does put the resort model at odds with solo travel: you may well be the only person alone at dinner, and single occupancy is usually charged at close to the double rate. The local islands are the answer, and they have quietly become a good solo destination. Guesthouse prices are per room but modest, the diving and surfing communities are sociable, and staying in a village rather than a resort means meeting Maldivians rather than only staff. A liveaboard dive boat is the other solution, since it is a shared week with a fixed group and is often booked by people travelling alone. Solo women should note the modest dress convention on inhabited islands away from the bikini beach, which is a matter of local law and custom rather than preference.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Seaplanes fly only in daylight. An evening arrival means an unplanned hotel night in Male and a morning departure, at your expense.
A seaplane transfer can add more than a thousand dollars for two people returning. The real comparison is the total including transfer, green tax, service charge and GST.
There is nowhere else to eat. On an island with one economy, board basis is a financial decision rather than a catering preference.
Inhabited islands are part of a conservative Muslim country: modest dress away from the designated bikini beach and no alcohol sold on the island.
One resort, one island, and every excursion booked through the front desk. If moving around freely is what you want from a holiday, this is the wrong country.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Maldives worth visiting for a first-time traveller?
Yes, if you want what it actually is: a private island with a beach and a reef, where you stay put and everything is arranged for you. It is not a destination for exploring, because almost every resort occupies its own island and there is nowhere to walk to. The crucial thing to get right is the transfer, which determines the cost and the shape of your first and last days and is decided when you choose the resort.
How many days do you need in the Maldives?
Seven nights is the standard and it works, because transfers consume much of the first and last days. Five nights can be enough if the resort is a short speedboat ride from the airport, and is thin if it is not. The best version of a week is usually split between a resort and a guesthouse on a local island.
How do you get from Male airport to a Maldives resort?
By speedboat for nearby atolls, by seaplane for further ones, or by domestic flight plus speedboat for the most distant. Speedboats run at most hours; seaplanes are scenic, cost several hundred dollars per person each way, and fly only in daylight. That last point is the one that catches people: an evening international arrival means you cannot reach the resort until the next morning and must pay for a night in Male.
Can you drink alcohol in the Maldives?
At resorts and on liveaboards, yes. On inhabited local islands, no: the Maldives is a Muslim country and alcohol is not sold outside the tourist economy, though some local islands have a floating bar anchored offshore. If you are staying in a village guesthouse rather than a resort, plan on a dry island.
Is a local island cheaper than a resort in the Maldives?
Dramatically. A guesthouse on an inhabited island with meals included can cost less per night than a single dinner at a resort, and the reef and the sea are the same. What you give up is the private beach, the range of restaurants and the alcohol, and what you gain is a Maldivian village and a much lower bill. Many people who have done both prefer a week split between the two.
What should I wear on a local island in the Maldives?
Modest clothing covering shoulders and knees away from the beach, with swimwear confined to the designated bikini beach that most guesthouse islands maintain. This is local law and custom rather than a resort policy, and it applies to men and women. On a private resort island, normal beachwear is fine anywhere.
Is the Maldives good for families with young children?
Yes, with two checks before booking. Confirm the resort is not adults-only or age-restricted, which many are and booking sites do not always make obvious. And choose a short speedboat transfer rather than a seaplane or a long crossing, because seaplanes are small, loud and without a toilet. Beyond that, shallow lagoons, kids clubs and the complete absence of traffic make it unusually easy.
Is the Maldives good for solo travellers?
The resort model is built around couples, single occupancy is often charged near the double rate, and you may be the only person dining alone. The alternatives work much better: guesthouses on local islands are affordable and sociable, and a liveaboard dive boat is a shared week with a group that is frequently made up of people travelling alone.
Checked against Visit Maldives, official tourism site, Maldives Immigration, visitor information, Maldives Inland Revenue Authority, green tax.
Keep planning
Best time to visit Maldives • All Maldives guides • All destinations