For as long as I could remember, the Maldives has always been the trip I wanted to reserve for my honeymoon. Not just because I’m a sucker for beaches, but also because the overwater villas there are so picturesque against the turquoise lagoons, it makes for such a great backdrop.
Most of us have the impression that travelling in the Maldives is exorbitant. Sure, an overwater villa easily cost $1000. Not to mention the water activities in the resort that cost around $100.
Don’t forget, you also have to take into account the transfer from the airport to the resort, which is easily a few hundreds.
What if I told you that you can travel on a budget in the Maldives, and yet not miss out on these overwater luxury resort experiences?
I spent less than USD1000 for my entire 5D5N trip to the Maldives from 6 to 11 January, at the peak of the tourist season (October to January)!
Yet, I still managed to tick off everything I wanted to do in the Maldives:
- Visit an overwater villa
- Scuba dive in the open waters
- Be mesmerized by the colour gradients of the beautiful Indian Ocean
I now know it is fully possible to plan a trip to Maldives on a budget!
I finally got to fulfil my dream ahead of time thanks to the discovery of how affordable travelling in the Maldives can be.
With tourism gaining traction in the Maldives, accommodation is getting more competitive with tens of resorts are springing up yearly. Flights to the Maldives are also becoming increasing in frequency.
How did I manage to do it?
At A Glance
- How much is a trip to the Maldives?
- Budget Flights to Maldives
- Budget Transport in Maldives
- Best places to stay in Maldives on a budget
- Maldives Food
- Maldives Tours
- Other essential tips for your budget trip to Maldives
- 1. Go in a group.
- 2. Change your currency from USD to RFY.
- 3. Travel during the off-peak season.
- Outrigger Konotta Maldives – Hotel Review
- Maldives on a Budget – I Spent Less Than $1000 on my 5D5N Maldives Holiday!
- Everything You Need To Know About Maafushi, Maldives
- Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, Maldives – Hotel Review
- COMO Cocoa Island, Maldives – Hotel Review
How much is a trip to the Maldives?
What gave me the impetus to book a trip to the Maldives was when I found out that return tickets from Singapore to Maldives costs as low as SGD200 by Scoot, even during the peak holiday period!
I dare say this is the cheapest way to Maldives.
If you’ve seen my Instagram stories while I was in the Maldives, you’ll know how psyched I was about being in my dream country.
Every corner you turn, you meet the beautiful ocean colours, the beach and luxury resorts. I’d been planning this trip for months, working with various >Maldivian luxury brands.
You have no idea how excited I was to be embarking on this trip for real, after a failed first trip because of the chickenpox I contracted during my original travel period.
So many people tell me I’m lucky, but I have to tell you this:
You can travel to the Maldives on a budget too, all without short changing yourself.
I recently concluded this 5-day trip to the Maldives, and I cannot wait to share this little slice of paradise on Earth with you, and just how you can plan your own budget trip to the Maldives easily, where to stay in Maldives if you’re on a budget, as well as some essential tips to know before heading to the Maldives!
First, a breakdown of the individual cost in the Maldives while trying to go on a budget:
| Flights Singapore-Male return on Scoot | SGD423 |
| Insurance MSIG | SGD50 |
| Transport (local bus, local ferry) | SGD1-SGD3 |
| Accommodation for 5 nights | SGD255 (SGD51/night) |
| Food | SGD7-SGD20 |
| Local Tours (half day, full day, water sports, diving) | Starts from SGD50 |
| Resort Tours | SGD 36-SGD145 |
Disclaimer:
The above breakdown is based on the prices on local islands, such as Maafushi and Male. If you’re talking about wanting to do these activities at resorts, be prepared to multiply everything by 10 or even 100! More on resort visits in the coming posts.
Before I go into the detail of each category, I have to give you a brief idea of the geography of the Maldives.
When you first land in the Maldives, you will arrive at Hulhule, an island in Male. From there you can either take a 24-hour bus to the city of Hulhumale, or take a 10-minute local ferry to Male city.
Yoga in the middle of the ocean, Maldives
Budget Flights to Maldives
Since the opening of the Singapore-Male route by Scoot, flights to the Maldives have been slashed to less than half of what you would normally have to pay.
I could find tickets to Male on Scoot for SGD200 to SGD450.
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Budget Transport in Maldives
My transport costs are made mostly in the city of Male and in Hulhumale.
Taxi in Male is a standard fare of 25rfy (USD 1.60/ SGD2.30) per trip.
From the Airport to Male
A local ferry is 10rfy (USD0.60/ SGD 0.90). This is a 10-minute ride.
Speedboat is 25rfy (USD1.60/ SGD 2.30). This is a 3-minute ride.
From the Airport to Hulhumale centre
The public bus runs 24 hours from the airport to the centre of Hulhumale. The bus stop is at the end of the airport, beside the food court that sells Thai Express and Burger King.
From Male to Maafushi
A local ferry is 22rfy (USD1.40/ SGD2). This is a 1.5-hour ride. Alight at the second stop.
Departure timings are 3pm (Saturday to Thursday) and 10am (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday only).
*Do note that public ferries do not operate on Fridays.
Speedboat prices vary from USD75 to USD20, depending on the number of people. The more they are ferrying, the cheaper it gets. This is a 30-minute ride.
From Maafushi to Male
The local ferry’s departure timing is at 7.30am (Saturday to Thursday), and 12.55pm (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday only).
Most tourists who come to the Maldives go directly to their resort upon landing at the airport. All resorts include transfers to/from the airport, which is substantially more.
We based ourselves in the city for 2 reasons:
1) We were taking day trips to luxury resorts, and these resorts pick their guests up either directly from the airport, or from Male city.
2) We were headed for Maafushi, which is only accessible by ferry or speedboat from Male city.
If you are taking the normal ferries, be there about an hour before the actual departure. They refuse entry when the boat is full.
TRAVEL HACK:
As always, I find the best way to source for the cheapest flights is by checking on Google Flights & Skyscanner.
As for accommodation, I found Booking & HotelsCombined to provide the most comprehensive, unbiased comparison of different hotel sites.
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Best places to stay in Maldives on a budget
Instead of going for budget hotels or budget resorts in Maldives, if you’re looking for affordable accommodation Maldives, I highly recommend you to stay in an Airbnb when you’re here, because the local life is a far cry from the idealistic tourist bubble you are led to believe.
Male city
I mostly stayed in Airbnbs when I was in Male city, and I can say it would be one of the best ways if you’re looking for budget accommodation in Maldives.
Hulhumale
If you’re living in Hulhumale, where the reclaimed island of Male city is and also the island where the airport is located, Haishal’s Airbnb is a good choice.
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He is 100% credible, well-versed in English (he works in the hospitality industry), and he is patient in explaining all the logistics about getting to and around the Maldives. His room and toilet is a little tight on space though, but extremely convenient if you need to live near the airport since it leads you directly to the airport with a 24-hour public bus.
Maafushi
In Maafushi, we stayed at Kaani Village and Spa, a great budget beach resort in Maldives.
It is also one of the few hotels in Maafushi to have a pool, for SGD93 per night. We liked how our room faces the small stretch of pool, that when you open your room door, you can dive right into the pool!
Velana Hotel is another hotel we’d recommend in Maafushi. It faces the opposite end of the more touristy beach, but on the plus side you get to stay away from the crowd.
They recently celebrated their 1st anniversary, so their rooms are still very newly furnished. We particularly liked that they have indoor, outdoor garden and outdoor beach dining options.
We were recommended by a local to try their dinner menu out, and we were impressed not just by the plating, but also the taste of the food!
If you’re at Velana Hotel, say hello to the friendly black little cat for me!
Check out prices on HotelsCombined, Agoda and Booking.com
Maldives Food
Local
Surprisingly, local Maldivian food are really cheap. Maldivians eat a lot of fish and curry, though you still see chicken, beef and prawns in their menu. Their main staple is either rice or noodles.
They do have local Maldivian dishes, and one of them is called short eat. A short eat is a bite-sized snack that you see displayed in most stalls. They can be sweet or savoury, and are mostly filled with coconut. This includes small triangular sandwiches, toast or eggs.
Each short eat costs approximately 3-4rfy (USD0.30/SGD0.50).
Regular dishes from local eateries in Male can cost as little as USD4/SGD6. For this price, you can get rice with chicken, or fried noodles with assorted meat.
International Buffet
Even at Maafushi, a decent buffet dinner goes at USD13/SGD19. We recommend having it at Arena Beach Hotel. It is one of the most patronized dining option at Maafushi, and was one of few who offered more varied dishes.
Alcohol
Because Maldives is a Muslim country, Alcohol is prohibited in local islands, and that means Male and Maafushi. However, Maafushi has a permanent boat stationed offshore where you can get your alcohol fix. Complimentary boat transfer can be arranged by your hotel to the boat. Beers start at USD6/SGD9, and there are only 2 varieties of beer – Tiger and Raffles.
Restaurants impose a 10% GST and 6% service charge on food. These taxes vary depending on the restaurant. Tipping is not common practice in the Maldives.
Maldives Tours
There really isn’t a specific Maldives budget tour that you can go to. Most of them are pretty standard, but you can get the best deal in Maafushi than if you were to be on a private island with the hotel’s own private tours.
Our tour prices are based on the hotels at Maafushi.
A half day tour to go snorkel and visit a sand bank begins at USD35/SGD51.
Beginner diving, which I went for, costs USD70/SGD102. If you are a certified diver, each trip would cost lesser.
Resort visits for 2 pax range from USD25-USD100/SGD36-SGD145. This usually includes lunch.
There are also other water sports options, like jet ski, stand up paddle board and kayak.
Snorkelling is free – you only have to ask for the equipment from your hotel.
Do note that tours operate only with a minimum of 6 pax. Even after booking with them, they may cancel on you if they don’t meet the minimum quota. If you encounter this, try your luck booking the tours at other hotels. All hotels in Maafushi offer similar tour packages, so you should be able to hop on one of the tours!
Other essential tips for your budget trip to Maldives
1. Go in a group.
The more people you go with, the cheaper the transport can be if you hire your private speedboats or if you arrange for group tours. It’s not true that the Maldives are only for honeymooners. There are plenty of group activities to do as well!
2. Change your currency from USD to RFY.
If you can change your currency at a rate higher than USD1:RFY15.42, you would be saving when you pay for tours in their local currency. Do change some spare cash (USD5-10) at the airport when you arrive, so you have some local currency to pay for the taxi/ferry fares. We changed ours at 16-17, so we saved more than if we were to pay in USD.
Don’t miss:
3. Travel during the off-peak season.
Off-peak season is from April to September. Prices can be slashed by half when you travel during these periods. It’s a major money-saver hack!
My breakdown above is based on living on the local islands, yet not scrimping on food or tour activities. This expenditure also includes visiting the luxury resorts in the Maldives.
I know it can be confusing for first-timers to the Maldives, so please bear with me as I try to give you a clearer picture of travelling to the Maldives in the coming posts!
Let me know what questions you have in mind in the comments below, and I’ll try my best to answer them.
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Special thanks to Scoot for making this trip possible and Changi Recommends for helping us stay connected with you on-the-go! I also want to show my appreciation to WL for the hard work behind some of these pretty pictures. 🙂
The Maldives is one of my bucket list destinations for sure. Hussain’s place through Airbnb looks great. I actually prefer to stay at newer Airbnb rentals since they tend to price the property less than similar places in the same area — presumably to attract folks who might be put off by the lack of reviews.
I didn’t realize it was so cheap to fly there from Singapore!
That is very true! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Maldives is such an exotic place that the prevailing myth is that it is astronomically expensive. Thanks for busting the myth. You have shown how one can enjoy the pleasures of this beautiful destination on a cost effective budget.
Indeed! Hope you get to visit it one day!
This is awesome! I didn’t realize it could be so cheap. Maldives is definitely one the places on our bucketlist!
It can be, if you skip the fancy resorts. I hope you get to go there soon!
Now flying around the workd is just getting easier and easier with budget airlines and lots of hotel booking websites. All I have to do is to find the time @ knycx.journeying
Exactly my sentiments! As long as you’re not too fussy about flying, you can get anywhere much more affordably 🙂
Wow! I have never thought that The Maldives could be so affordable, it sounds like a luxury destination!
Wow!! Maldives looks so beautiful!!! I’m so adding it to my bucket list!!
OMG this looks amazing! I love the color of that ocean water, so summer perfect.
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Blue waters are the best 🙂
omg this is on my bucket list! I wanna go so bad! It looks so pretty! I hope I can arrange something this affordable some day. my dream!
With some hard work and dedicated planning, anything is possible! Go for it 😉
wow!! thank you for this detailed blog on Maldives on a budget. It is helping me in planning my first ever solo travel! hehehehe.. Safe travels! =D
That’s great to hear! Hope to hear your stories, too 🙂
Thanks for thorough rundown of everything! It helps others to plan a good approach to tackling the Maldives!
Glad to help others! 🙂
Definitely a place dear to my heart and one to visit in this lifetime. Good for you for saving money on this trip. I like that.
Aww, thank you! I’m curious to hear how your visit went, too! 🙂
Wooowww excellent article , congrats !
If you decide to go back to Maldives you should definitely try the cruising option ( safari boat ) . Cruise is perfect for budget travelers who want to avoid being stuck on an island for their entire stay and who want to discover as much as possible of the beautiful Maldives . Here is a little article who might interest some of your readers regarding budget cruising in Maldives.
Nice photos! May I check which camera model did you use for this Maldives trip?
Thanks Shi Yun! It’s a Canon 100D. Not the most professional DSLR, but it’ll suffice! :p
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Whats the name of the resort that ur in the water villa?
Which photo are you referring to? You can check out all 3 villas I visited in my review posts at the bottom of my post! 🙂
Hello, may i have your advice on beach dinner? seems like not much hotel offering romantic beach front dinner as meals are provided?? Thanks.
Not all meals are provided. Most of the hotels provide breakfast, but dinner is on you if you’re talking about Maafushi. You can surely find plenty of dinner options around Maafushi. 🙂 I have another post about Maafushi that you might want to check out.
Hi, may i know which island you went for the Resort visit? And where did you book it from? Thank you!
You can check out all 3 villas I visited in my review posts at the bottom of my post! Booked it on Booking.com or Agoda. Hope that helps!
I am planning on travelling there and after reading I’m more than excited to. I’m a little confused though, did you stay at different hotels each day or not to enjoy each hotels package or you can just book for their various excursions without booking for the hotel accommodation?
Also I’m planning for five days too, how did you structure it.
Thank You.
We didn’t stay in the villas, only visited them. We had a full day to each resort villa though. We stayed in Maafushi a few nights to spend time on day tours and do diving.
In order to go for island hopping, do you have to take the speedboat everyday to and fro to Male since you stayed in Maafushi?
Awesome! which Resort did you visited by the way? 🙂
You can check out all 3 villas I visited in my review posts at the bottom of my post!
Thanks for the post! It’s really informative.
Would you mind sharing more about the diving schools/agencies in Maldives? Was thinking about doing an advanced open water course there. Thanks!
Great post here. Its very informative. The resorts actually allowed you to visit? Did you pay a fee for it?
Thanks for the post. Where did u change your currency-in Singapore? or in Maldives – where will that be, at the airport or ….?
Hi may I know which luxury resorts you visited? Did it include any overwater villa? Is it possible to visit an overwatering villa for photo-taking and not staying there?
Yes possible! I did exactly that. You can check out the resort reviews I did – those are the ones I visited. They all have overwater villas. 🙂
Would really go there! Thanks for the tips for travelling affordably to the Maldives!
Hi, thanks for sharing.
We took a 20 min speed boat from Male and it was great.
Maldives is a wonderful place for couples and families.
Our kids enjoyed everything, and we took amazing pictures.
What a comprehensive article! Maldives has always fascinated me and I’ve been wanting to go there for a while now. Adding it to my bucket list 🙂
I’m glad I piqued your interest!
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This is such a refreshing take on Maldives travel! I love how you proved it’s possible to enjoy overwater villas and diving without spending a fortune. Smart planning really makes a dream trip achievable. I follow the same budget-first mindset when planning everyday experiences too—recently checked Applebee’s Happy Hour Times here applebee’s happy hour times for affordable dining ideas. Great, motivating post!
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This was such an inspiring read — I love how you broke down the real costs and proved that the Maldives doesn’t have to be just a luxury-only destination. The way you balanced overwater villa experiences with budget travel tips makes it feel actually achievable.
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This is such an exciting plan—Maldives is truly a dream destination! The tips here will definitely help make the trip smoother and more enjoyable.
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I always thought overwater villas were way out of reach for a budget trip.
This is a very helpful travel guide for anyone dreaming of visiting the Maldives without spending a fortune. It’s inspiring to see that a beautiful island getaway can be planned on a budget with the right choices and preparation.