Travel Guide: How to visit the Maldives on a budget

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives

When you ask most people to describe the Maldives in a few words, they will probably say things like: Sun, Beach, Luxury, Exclusive resorts, Honeymoon destination, Great underwater world, Tropical private islands and Expensive.

Still nodding your head? Well, lets stop at tropical private island and make that last word inexpensive or budget travel.

We will show you that travelling to the the Maldives doesn’t have to be expensive at all, and that you can actually travel on a budget to the Maldives and still have that luxurious resort experience.

How to fly on a budget to the Maldives

We found some really cheap budget flights from Kuala Lumpur to Male with Air Asia. We travelled in January ( tourist season ) and paid around $200/$250 USD per person for our return flights Kuala Lumpur – Male. 

This included our luggage ( this goes on top of your flat flight rate with Air Asia ) When flying with Air Asia, you also have to pay for your meals on board, you don’t have a standard inflight entertainment system and a comfy long distance chair, but it’s only a 4.5 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Male. 

Combine the Maldives with a city trip

If you want to combine the Maldives with another Asian destination you can book a flight from your departure city to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and combine the Maldives with a city trip or other Asian destination.  

Stay a few nights in either city, and then fly with Air Asia to Male. This is often much cheaper then a flight straight to Male and you can combine several destinations.

From the money you save on your flight, you can book your hotel in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and tick another destination of your bucket list!

Travel Tip: Make sure you don’t book two separate tickets on the same day or with a short time frame in between flights, because when your first flight is delayed and you miss the Air Asia flight, most travel insurances won’t cover the price of a new ticket, as it wasn’t booked in 1 ticket.

How to travel the Maldives on a budget

Choose the right place to stay and know how to get there. You can choose to go with a seaplane or speedboat to an all-inclusive island resorts in the Maldives, stay there for your entire visit and go home with an empty wallet.

Okay, we have to admit that travelling with a seaplane will be without any doubt an amazing experience, but if your goal is to travel to every country in the world one day, then skip the seaplane and the speedboat and go by local ferry to an island close to the capital city of Male ( Maafushi ) and do day trips from there.

So for example when you stay at Maafushi Island, and book a resort excursion for a day, you don’t pay for your expensive hotel room where you basically only sleep, but you can use all the facilities of a luxury  Maldives resort. 

At the end of the day you go back to Maafushi, where accommodation is much cheaper than at the resorts. Read here about the excursions we did from Maafushi Island.

What to do when you arrive in Male

First of all, enjoy the views from the plane as these are absolutely amazing! For a moment you’ll think the plane will land on water, but once you’re safe and sound on the ground, you’ll see that the runway actual looks longer then you might think or saw before on pictures ( Google Male Airport and you see why 😉

Male Airport is located on an island itself, so you have to go with the local ferry ( or if you are not travelling the Maldives on a budget with seaplane or private speedboat ) to Male City.

Male is not really big and you can walk around the island within one afternoon to soak up the local life and relax.

Because we wanted to check out Male, and the local ferries from Male to the other islands weren’t going anymore after 15.00 we decided to stay for 1 night in Male.

The cheapest and in our opinion also the best option to stay in Male on a budget, was the Marble Hotel in Male where we stayed for 1 night and costs around $65 per room per night.

The rooms are cosy and the people were very friendly and helpful. Breakfast is served at their outside terrace and they will do everything to make you feel at home and happy.

The next day we took the local ferry to Maafushi, which is located about two hours from Male. The price of the ferry was only $3 U.S. p.p one way. You have to sit on a hard as rock wooden bench, so bring a jacket or towel to sit on for some comfort.

On your way to Maafushi you can see a few tropical resorts with those fantastic water bungalows, which really makes you feel like you are in paradise.

Read more about Maafushi Here

 

Plan your trip to the Maldives

We have created this Maldives Travel Guide for you to make planning and booking your trip to the Maldives easy! 

 

Cheap Airfares to the Maldives

We use www.skyscanner.com for all our flights. It’s one of the most popular flight search engines and it compares hundreds of airline companies and booking websites. A big plus for us is that via Sky Scanner you can look for flights in the cheapest month, and it will also automatically look for the cheapest dates in that particular month. 

Where to stay on the Maldives

Are you looking for something luxurious like a 5 star resort or water bungalow? Or maybe you want to visit the Maldives on a budget? Agoda offers accommodation on the Maldives suitable for any budget or wish list. Check out all hotels on the Maldives 

 

Airbnb on the Maldives

There are several Airbnb options on the Maldives. Book via this link to get a massive $$ 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 the Maldives right here ↓

 

Visa for the Maldives

Different passports and nationalities means different Visa requirements for the Maldives 

IVisa is the place to be for all your visa requirements. You can easily see what the requirements are for your passport and apply straight away. Super handy↓

Travel Insurance for the Maldives

A travel insurance for the Maldives- just like any other country – is absolutely necessary. We don’t travel without it!   

World Nomads Travel Insurance is definitely not your not your typical, boring insurance company.

The travel insurances from World Nomads covers people from 140 countries, with medical and evacuation cover, 24-hour emergency assistance, over 150 adventure activities and more. 

Simple and Flexible Travel Insurance for independent travellers and intrepid travelling families. Designed by travellers for travellers. Get a quote for your Maldives travel insurance right here ↓

 

Tours and Transport on the Maldives 

Viator offers a wide range of tours, excursions and transport on the Maldives. Check out options and prices right here ↓

Viator

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Thank you for reading our article about Traveling to the Maldives on a budget.This article contains a few affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission when you book your trip to the Maldives via us, which helps in providing you with our epic and FREE travel content and insider tips.
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