The best way to travel the Maldives on a budget, is to stay on Maafushi Island and book your Day Trips from here.
This way, you can enjoy the facilities and luxury of the expensive Maldivian resorts for a day, but don’t have to pay for a room you’re only sleeping in.
There are no fancy water bungalows on Maafushi, as it’s not really a resort island. Maafushi is just a tiny island with some really nice, small and cosy hotels and guest houses managed by super friendly locals.
Maafushi is actually so small that you can walk around the island in a couple of hours, or you take a bit more time and sit down to have a drink at one of the waterfront bars along the way.
Maafushi is really relaxed and you will experience a typical island vibe without massive resorts, star restaurants or luxury shops, but just the simple local Maldivian life, which we personally love.
Where to stay at Maafushi Island
We stayed for 2 nights at the Ocean Vista Guest house
The Ocean Vista Guest house on Maafushi is quite new and has a cosy ski chalet feeling, with their interior containing lots of wood and cane. The rooms are also really cosy with a beachy feeling, and even though our room was basically located in the reception, we didn’t have any noise from people coming in and out.
The staff members are beyond friendly and really welcoming. We got picked up by the ferry, we got a welcome drink during check it ( which went also really smooth and relaxed )
Check out the excursions we did from Maafushi over here
We booked our room via Agoda, who has the best deals for accommodation on Maafushi, and paid only $50 USD per night per room in January, which is tourist season. Not bad for an accomodation on the Maldives!
We also stayed 2 nights at the White Shell Island Hotel.
This hotel is less cosy and slightly bigger than Ocean Vista, but a bit more luxurious and it’s location on Maafushi island is better. The people at the White Shell Island Hotel Maafushi are also really friendly and the rooms are comfy! We booked a sea view room, which was great, but we really missed a nice balcony to enjoy those tropical views even more!
Again, a really nice accommodation which we also booked via Agoda and we paid only $75 USD per night per room in January.
Agoda offers many more cheap accommodations on Maafushi and other Maldivian Islands. Check them out right here ↓
Airbnb on Maafushi
Airbnb also offers a great range of accommodations on Maafushi and other places in the Maldives. They offer cheap accommodations on Maafushi from only 30$ per night. Book via this link to get a $50 dollar off your first booking with AirBnb, so you definitely score a bargain.
Have you booked your trip via Airbnb before? Book your next Airbnb accommodation on Maafushi right here ↓
Where to eat on Maafushi?
Maafushi has a few nice restaurants, café`s and bars. Be aware that this is no party island, so you won’t find a cappuccino strip, party street or anything like that, but just the laid back and relaxed little places to go.
One must go restaurant / bar is the Stingray Beach Inn. You can also stay here, but we went there for our after dinner drinks. Especially when it’s dark, the garden is amazing with bean bags, hammocks, cosy lights, hanging egg chairs and even a Jacuzzi!
For lunch and dinner we went to White Shell Restaurant, Rehendi Restaurant and Arena Beach Restaurant, which are all located close to Maafushi main beach. Most of them have sea / sunset views and great meals for decent prices.
Maafushi also has a few souvenir shops where you can score your next fridge magnet 😉
Want to know more about Maafushi? Click here to discover the many great excursion possibilities from Maafushi!
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It definitely is Katherine! Haha a hammock and a jacuzzi! What more would you wish for right? 😉
Enjoy your day.
Jo
You are more than welcome! Maafushi is indeed a great place to explore the rest of the Maldives.
I’d never heard of Maafushi before, but I love a place that isn’t necessarily a party island. And how can you pass up a bar with a hammock? Perfect! It looks like a gorgeous place to relax all round!
Maafushi looks like a beautiful place to visit! Thanks for the suggestions!!!