Maldives Tour Plan & Budget
As you might know that the Maldives has opened its doors again to India. So, if you are planning a trip to the Maldives, whether budget or luxury. This article is going to be very useful to you because I’m going to share with you in this article “How to Plan Maldives Trip from India” when can you go to the Maldives, how can you go, where can you stay, what is the food like, how the internet works, how to get a visa…
I am going to share a lot of information about the Maldives with you and also. At the end of the article, I will also tell you the minimum expenses required to plan a trip to the Maldives.
And read the article till the end, don’t skip it because there are many money-saving tips. That I will keep sharing with you in between which can save you a lot of money on the Maldives trip.
Visit Season
The Maldives can be visited anytime, but the peak season to visit the Maldives is from November to Mid- April.
Stay
Accommodation prices are at a peak at that time. If you are planning a trip at this time then you will have to spend a little more compared to the rest of the year.
The lean phase is in the monsoon starting from May till September, accommodation prices are relatively lower at that time. If you want to save some money then monsoon can be a time to plan your Maldives trip.
There is a small window between the 2nd half of April and the 1st Half of May. When the possibility of rain is low and accommodation prices are also low.
So if you are planning your Maldives travel then, in my opinion, this time period is the most suitable.
After ‘When you can visit Maldives’ now you must have the question “For how many days should we plan the Maldives trip?”
According to me, 4 days are sufficient for a genuine islandic feel.
After ‘when’ let’s talk about ‘how to go’.
Currently, the available options are only by flight. From all the Metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kochi you can get direct flights to Male.
There are 2 international airports but all the flights from India go to Male International Airport. So the information I share in this article is considering Male International Airport as the arrival point.
In the future when the COVID situation gets better you can probably catch a ferry from Kochi to Male.
And also there were also some cruise lines that used to do trips from the West Coast of India to the Maldives.
After the covid situation gets better you will probably get that option to visit the Maldives by ferry or cruise.
After ‘when’ and ‘how’ now let’s talk about how to get the visa.
How to get the visa
When you get down from the flight and reach the arrival hall, there are many immigration counters. It is a simple process, you show your passport, your return ticket, and your accommodation booking and you will get a free Visa-on-arrival.
Currency of Maldives
The currency of Maldives is the Maldivian Rupiah, but US Dollars are widely accepted. If you are carrying US Dollars then you can pay via US Dollars in all the resorts and for transportation. But if you are traveling to a local island. There people use Maldivian Rupiyah so they will accept payment in US Dollars but in exchange, they will give you Maldivian Rupiah.
So if you are going to spend your time on a local island then. I will suggest that at the airport after you collect your bags from the belt.
You will find a lot of ATMs and use your International Debit Card like Niyo. I use and I’ll put the link in the description. You can try it too, its currency exchange is quite genuine, and there are not many withdrawal charges from ATMs. So that could be an option where using the International Debit Card you can withdraw local currency from there. Otherwise, you can use your Debit card, Credit card, and the US Dollars that you are carrying.
Now if we talk about the internet, all the accommodations in the Maldives. Whether they are hotels, guest houses, or resorts, you will get Wifi everywhere.
Speed is also decent, but if you want independence to go Live while on the beach and post photographs from there then you will need a SIM card.
So at the airport when you get out, where there are ATMs. You will get counters of two Telecom operators of the Maldives called Ooredoo and Dhiraagu.
You can get a SIM card from there, although I will not suggest that for a short trip because it is pricey.
Expenses
The next segment is very important because the expenses you did till now were mandatory expenses like flight expenses are fixed.
But accommodation and transportation in the Maldives are the two expenses. That you can increase or reduce to adjust your budget.
Whether you are planning a luxury trip or a budget trip will depend on. Where you are going to stay and what mode of transportation are you going to use to reach there.
To understand that you need to have a little idea about the Geography of Maldives. I’ll tell you in brief, Male International Airport is approximately in the center. The total distance between the Northern island and the Southern island is about 800kms. And in width Maldives is about 100-125kms.
After understanding the Geography of Maldives I would like to tell you that you can plan a trip in 2 ways.
The first option is budget, of course, and the second is luxury or leisure trip. To plan a budget trip to the Maldives.
It is necessary that you stay on a public island where there are guest houses and hotels because they cost much less than resort islands.
The second advantage is that to reach there you can use shared transportation whether they are shared speedboats or ferries. Ferries are quite a low cost, the starting price is only USD $2 and for the speedboats, I’ll give the example of Maafushi
In which I traveled, the charge is about USD $20 per person per way. So it is not a very high charge. And the time taken by speedboat is 35 minutes whereas the ferry takes 1.5 hours. So the biggest advantage of staying on a public island is you can use shared transport. So further I will tell you some pros and cons and also suggest some islands, guest houses, and hotels that I liked. The islands which I like that are not very far from Male are Maafushi, Gulhi, Ukulhas, and Thoddoo.
These are all good islands. Talking about advantages there are many advantages of staying on a public island. Your food costs are reduced because there are a lot of eateries and you don’t depend on your resort or hotel. The cost of food is quite less in hotels and eateries than with respect to private island resorts. Other than that another advantage is that there are many excursions. Which also cost quite less compared to those on private islands. Most excursions start from the US $20.
You can do those excursions and also if you want to have fun like on a private island. While staying on a public island, there are many tour agents on public islands who can plan a day trip to some resort. Traveling to and from the resort island, having lunch there, some drinks, use of the facilities there, snorkeling gear, etc. are included.
Also read – Chitrakoot waterfall the biggest fall in India
The biggest con of staying on a public island is that the beaches are more crowded. Compared to island resorts Probably only one beach is dedicated to tourists where there are no restrictions on the local laws.
Now, if your budget is a little higher if you feel you can visit a private island. Then there are some resorts below the luxury and ultra-luxury resorts that provide budget accommodation on private resort islands. I will share 2-3 links, but when you do your due diligence and select a resort yourself. Then remember that, whatever accommodation you are planning.
If you want to select accommodation then I will suggest that you open Google Maps. I will show you here so that you get an idea of how far is the accommodation you have selected from Male. It will depend on that whether to reach the island. You have to take a ferry or speedboat or if it is very far, you will have to take a seaplane or airplane. The cost of a seaplane and airplane is very high. Although the experience of a seaplane is unique and is included in many luxury packages.
If you are visiting a private island even then you can save some of your money, I have a money-saving tip for that. Check by email or phone whether the island you are planning to visit permits. You to arrange for your own transportation, if they do then you can contact a tour operator on a nearby public island and ask them whether they can arrange your transportation, take a costing from them and compare it with the resort, I’m sure there will be a difference in them and you can arrange your own transportation and visit the resort island and enjoy your trip.
After budget and semi-luxury let’s talk about the luxury trips.
If you are planning a luxury trip I will suggest you get all-inclusive packages because it includes everything, your travel to and fro, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks. I found the website Luxury Escapes which has many good packages. I will put that link in the description, you can check it.
There are no hassles, you can easily visit the private resort, enjoy your life leisurely and return to your home. Now if we talk about food, the food is quite costly with respect to India. So if you want to save on food and spend very sparingly then carry food packets with you or if you are staying on public islands. You can save some money because the cost is less there because there are many eateries.
This was the total information if you feel that some information is missing. If you want some additional information then of course you can ask in the comments. I try and answer every question.
Now the last and most important section of this article is the budget. I am going to tell you the minimum budget required to plan a trip to the Maldives. The most important expense is of course the flight.
If you plan about 1-2 months prior then from all cities in India like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kochi. From where direct flights are available, on average for 2 people. I’m telling the expense for a couple, the average flight cost for 2 people will be about Rs.40,000
After that, the next option for the minimum expense is to stay on a public island. I’m taking an example of Maafushi as a public island you will get a room for about Rs.5,000 a night including breakfast. So if you stay for 4 nights, your hotel accommodation cost will be about Rs.20,000. Next is food, if you take about 8 meals in 4 days. If you don’t take food packets and I’m considering you have food there itself then my guess is that in 4 days you will comfortably eat food for 15,000- 20,000 rupees.
Apart from this, the excursions start from $20. The most important expense is reaching the public island from the airport. That costs about $20 per person per way which is about $80 expense.
So consider that in about 1 lakh rupees you can easily plan a 4-day how-to plan trip to the Maldives from India. So this was the total account of Maldives. I hope you people liked the article.