Visit the Maldives on a budget : the best affordable hotels

Visit the Maldives on a budget and plan your dream holidays!

The Maldives is one of these dreamiest destinations on earth that everyone has on its bucket list! Clearly, we all want to visit the Maldives, the Bahamas, Seychelles, and French Polynesia at least once in our life. you too right? 😉

We have been dreaming to visit the Maldives for so long and we were not disappointed at all. The Maldives is a real paradise on earth! Everything we have dreamed about was even more beautiful in reality: turquoise water, white sand, and palm trees… It’s the perfect romantic destination, even more, if it’s for a honeymoon! It’s also a paradise for divers like us because there are many species to admire: reef sharks, turtles, rays and so on.

We have written this Maldives travel guide for all the budgets to help you organize your trip to the Maldives and find the best deals! You will find here all our tips and tricks about the Maldives. Here you will find everything about how to get there, which hotel to chose for a good price quality-ratio, what budget you need to go there, what is the best time of the year to go there or what activities you can do! This post will help you to plan your dream holidays on a budget! Read on!

The Maldives: the perfect destination for vacation

The main reason to visit the Maldives is of course for the beauty of these islands, the beautiful beaches, made of turquoise water, white sand and palm trees. Also for the amazing weather, if you come at the right time of the year, it will never rain you will see the sun every day and the temperature would be perfect.

Moreover, the second main reason to go there is for diving/snorkeling. The Maldives are one of the best spots of the world to see marine animals: sharks (nurse, blacktip and whale shark), dolphins, all kinds of rays (Manta, Sting, and Eagle), turtles and many beautiful colorful fishes. The submarine biodiversity is really rich there. Even if it is sadly declining because of global warming, and the temperature of the water…

When is the best time of the year to visit the Maldives?

The best time of the year to visit the Maldives is between January and March because it is the tropical time. It is sunny most of the time and the temperature is around 30°. You should avoid going there between May and December because it’s not the wet season, it may rain a lot and it will be windy.

Where to stay? Which hotel to choose?

There are more than 80 hotels in the Maldives, and all are at different prices. The luxury market is saturated in the Maldives, more and more affordable hotels are created lately. So you have a huge choice. You can just check out on Booking, set up your budget for the night of the week and compare them. For the less expensive ones, a room on the island will costs you around 100$ per night. For the most luxurious hotels, if you want to stay in a water bungalow with a pool it will costs you around 800$ per night.

So, it’s really depending on your budget. The Maldives can be the perfect destination for a honeymoon and staying in a water bungalow. But you can also, of course, visit the Maldives on a budget if you stay in less expensive hotels.

Sun island

We stayed at Sun island, and we had an amazing experience. We stayed in a beach bungalow for less than 120$ per night and it was really nice. The price includes breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The beach bungalows are spacious and really pretty. The island is beautiful and the activities are really nice. We have done a sunset dolphin cruise and it was magical. The dolphins were following the boat! The only problem is that it is a huge hotel, so there are many other guests. But you can totally take a bike to do an island tour and find empty beaches and even sandbanks!

How to get to the Maldives and to your hotel?

To the Maldives

Firstly, if you want to visit the Maldives you have to book a flight to Malé international airport, the capital of the Maldives. The price really depends on where you are located. If you are Europe based, count around 500$ per person for a return ticket. Next, your hotel will arrange your transport from the airport to the hotel. Indeed, all the hotels are located on different islands (called Attols) and you can not go there by yourself.

To your hotel

There are several possibilities: the hotel can book another intern flight, a speed boat or a seaplane. It is depending on how far is your hotel from the airport and what companies they are working with. If you are visiting Sun island you will have to take another intern flight and then a speedboat to the hotel. We have also been to more luxurious hotels and we took a seaplane and than a speedboat.

You need to tell in advance your schedule to the hotel to let them organize your transportation. Don’t forget to let them know in advance by email at what time you will arrive at the airport because if you forget you may wait a lot at the airport!

Fun fact: Yes, this happened to us and we have waited hours the next flight! Fortunately, there are restaurants and coffees at Malé!

What activities to do there?

Diving and snorkeling

Ok, the activities are to die for in the Maldives. You can go diving or snorkeling, the Maldives is a fabulous spot. If you are planning to visit the Maldives on a budget, you need to know that snorkeling is free. Indeed, you can borrow palms mask and tuba at your hotel and explore around. You can easily see turtles, rays, and colorful fishes. If you love sharks you should definitely book a dive. Count between 80$ and 120$ for one dive.

Excursions

But, you can also do many activities depending on which hotel you will choose (kayak, surf, paddle, boat trips, excursions to other islands…) We highly recommend the sunset cruise to see the dolphins it is definitively one of the highlights of our trip! There were many dolphins around us, following the boat, plus the beautiful colors of the sunset, it was magical!

Biking around the island

Also, you can borrow a bike and explore the island to discover secret beaches and sandbanks. It is the best way to explore the islands. They are big enough to find empty beaches! Especially in the morning. You shouldn’t stay at the same beach because the islands out there are full of surprises!

Watching sunsets and sunrises

Also, you need to know that the sunrises and sunsets are just stunning in the Maldives! You can check out the hours of sunsets and sunrises and be there 30 minutes before. You won’t be disappointed!

Are you planning to visit the Maldives?

If you are planning to visit the Maldives on a budget, we hope this post will be helpful for you! Can’t wait to hear your stories, have you ever been there? Are you planning to go there? Let us know in the comments! 😉 If you want to bring amazing memories from your travels, check out our post about how to take amazing couple photos! Have a great day! And don’t forget to follow our adventures on Instagram!