17 Things You NEED To Know Before Traveling to the Maldives: What To Do (And Not To Do!)

THE BEST MALDIVES TRAVEL TIPS

For many travelers, the Maldives is an elusive destination that has so many stereotypes: it’s a hard to reach country only for the super-rich who can afford to stay in overwater villas – but that’s not true (at all)! There are so many misconceptions about the Maldives, and I want to set them straight. 

I created this post about the best Maldives travel tips because there was such a lack of information when I was planning my trip. I wanted to make sure other travelers could feel comfortable before they visit the country.  

You might be wondering, Why is there a lack of information? That’s because the Maldives is fairly new to tourism – it opened its doors for tourists in the 1970s by creating villa resorts, and regular guesthouses only became legal 10 years ago! Tourism simply hasn’t caught up to the level of other major island destinations, like Bali or the Dominican Republic, which means it’s the perfect time to visit.

So without further ado, here’s everything you need to know before traveling to the Maldives — from travel advice, what to do, and what to avoid in the Maldives. Let’s check it out! 

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1 – Be respectful of the religion

Before doing my research, I had no idea that the Maldives is a Muslim country. That means that you’ll have to follow a few extra rules, especially when visiting the local islands:

-Be sure to cover up your shoulders, chest, and knees
-Alcohol is forbidden everywhere except resort islands (see below for more info!)
-No public displays of affection

2 – Tourists have their own beach

Wow, a private beach?! That’s right – sort of.

Like I mentioned above, travelers should be respectful of the local culture and cover up… but what do you do when you want to swim in that gorgeous sea-blue water? The government came up with a solution: Bikini Beaches.

Nope, this isn’t a joke from Spongebob. In every local island, you can expect to find at least one Bikini Beach. This is a separate, usually closed-off beach where tourists can freely frolic and swim in their bikinis. Locals have their own beaches as well, although they are considerably more covered up. If you’re worried about getting lost and ending up on the wrong beach, no worries – there are clearly marked signs (Usually ‘Bikini Beach’ or ‘Tourist Area’) and a huge wall (our hotel mentioned that it was there so the locals don’t “accidentally” look in!)

 

3- Absolutely (Almost) No Alcohol

Since the Maldives is a 100% Muslim country, that means there is absolutely no alcohol sold on the local islands. But, you might be wondering, what about the all-inclusive resorts?!

That’s where the rules are a little more relaxed: If you’re staying at an all-inclusive resort in the Maldives, there will be alcohol. Private islands, resorts, and villas are excluded from the alcohol ban and will have plenty of booze to choose from: wine, beer, spirits, and more.

Not staying at a resort? Don’t lose hope and head over to Maafushi. Some entrepreneurial Maldivian locals found a loophole in the system: they bought a boat, anchored it off the shore of Maafushi island, and can legally serve alcohol because they’re technically not on a local island. Sure, you’ll need to take a speedboat to get to the “floating bar,” and pay for overpriced drinks ($7 for a beer), but it’s an option. Voila!

 

4- When is the best time to travel to the Maldives?

Depends on who you ask! The dry season is from December to April and is dry (duh) with little rain and lesser humidity. The wet season is from May to November, where there is more humidity and higher chances of rain. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the best times to visit the Maldives:

Most expensive time to travel to the Maldives: December to April is the most popular, and therefore the most expensive time to visit.

Prices skyrocket during the holiday season (Christmas, New Years, and Valentine’s Day) and you might be forced to pay for extras, like a New Year’s Banquet meal at your resort, if you visit during these days.

Best weather in the Maldives: February through March usually offers the most sunshine and best weather.
Cheapest months to travel to the Maldives: May through August.
Best months to snorkel in the Maldives: January through April has the best visibility to snorkel and scuba dive.

 

5- Don’t be afraid of a little rain…

I booked a trip to the Maldives as a surprise for my mom’s birthday in September — which, you guessed it — is during the wet season. After reading horror stories on TripAdvisor, I was so afraid that it was going to rain the whole time. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about: There were two small showers that lasted a maximum of 5 minutes, and one rainstorm that started around 2 am and finished before 9 am. Much better than the hours of heavy rain and thunder that I had nightmares about! ;)

6- The Maldives aren’t just ultra fancy all-inclusive resorts

Before I traveled to the Maldives, I had this image in my head that the country is made up of a bunch of overwater bungalow islands and nothing else. I was so wrong! There are actually four types of islands in the Maldives:

1. Resort islands – all-inclusive resorts, villas, overwater bungalows, etc
2. Local islands -like the capital Male, Maafushi, Gan, etc
3. Picnic islands – a small sandbank, usually a few meters wide, where boats stop to have a picnic
4. Uninhabited islands – nobody lives here, and there are about 900 of these in the Maldives!

To get the most of your visit to the Maldives, check out both resort and local islands. If you do a half- or full-day tour, a lunch on a sandbank island is usually included!

 

7- Book in advance for the best deals

You might have heard this nugget of advice before, but it’s especially important when traveling to the Maldives. For the cheapest accommodations in the Maldives, book at least a few months out, especially if you want to save money on a resort room or overwater villa.

I found a great deal through Booking, although I heard that Agoda has excellent sales (and coupon codes!) as well.

 

8- Visit Male, but don’t forget to explore other islands

There are two kinds of tourists who visit the Maldives for the first time:

1. Those that arrive in the Maldives, go straight to their all-inclusive resort, and skip Male altogether.
2. Those that get stuck on Male for the entire duration of their trip and don’t venture out at all

If it’s your first time in the Maldives, I recommend a mix of both: don’t skip Male but don’t spend your whole vacation there either.

Although Male is a lovely capital, I think a maximum of 2 (maybe 3) days is plenty of time to see everything. If you check out my Male City Guide post, you’ll see that the island is very small – only 1.7 kilometers wide! – and you can easily see all of the tourist attractions and do most activities in these two days.

After Male, we visited a local island, Maafushi, for 3 days and it turned out to be a highlight of our entire trip to the Maldives (check out that colorful street in the photo!) Go out there and explore!

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🏝 Want to know more about Maafushi? Check out my travel guide here! 🏝

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9 – Adjust your (internal) clock to island time

Speaking of islands… Just like Hawaii, the Bahamas, and other islands, the Maldivians have a relaxed attitude towards time and don’t like to rush. Don’t be surprised if your tour guide shows up a few minutes late, your food takes a while to get to your table, or the ferry stalls past its departure time. Obviously, make sure you’re on time to your tour, but don’t worry too much if everything is a few minutes late. It’ll eventually happen – just relax ;)

 

10 – Budget accordingly for the Maldives “tourist tax”

Benjamin Franklin once said that there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. I wouldn’t be surprised if he traveled to the Maldives, because their tourist tax is 23%.

Yes, you read that right – twenty-three percent! When you book accommodations in the Maldives, take a long, hard look at the fine print. You’ll usually see that it’s been lumped into a flat 23% tax, or separated into a 12% tax plus an 11% property service charge. On the majority of booking sites, this tax is not included in the final price, so your total may go up by a few dollars (or more).

Likewise, this tourist tax is not just reserved for fancy resorts and all-inclusive hotels – in the photo above, you can see that even regular accommodations (hotels, bed and breakfasts, and hostels) all have this tax. Plan accordingly!

 

11 – Getting Around the Maldives: Transportation can get expensive…

If you plan to stay at a Maldives resort or all-inclusive hotel, make sure you know how much the transfer is going to cost. The Maldives is made up of hundreds of islands (more than 1,200!), and getting from one island to another is sometimes only possible by plane or speedboat.

This is especially true of resort islands, who make you take their mandatory transportation to the island. The most expensive option is usually the seaplane, which starts at $250 per person and can run up to $600 for a round-trip transfer.

We paid $130 per person for our roundtrip speedboat transfer from Male to our resort (Adaaran Vadoo), which is considered to be on the cheaper side. Private speedboat transfers start at $100 per person and can go up to $250 or 300 round trip.

 

12 – … But it can also be extremely cheap!

After our stay at the resort, we did a little island hopping and traveled to Maafushi, one of the most popular local islands. The ferry took 90 minutes and only cost us 30 MVR ($2 USD) per person! Using ferries instead of speedboats to get from local islands is a super cheap way of seeing the Maldives on a budget, as most ferry tickets are only a few dollars. You can expect to pay at least $20 per person for speedboat transfers for the same routes.

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🌴 Want to know how much I spent on my Maldives trip (down to the dollar)? 🌴
Check out my Maldives Budget Breakdown Spending Report here! 

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13 – Carry new dollar bills

Speaking of ferries: When we boarded our ferry from Male to Maafushi, a small fight broke out on the ship when the couple in front of us tried to pay for their ticket with USD.

No, don’t worry, it wasn’t the wrong currency (see below) – the dollar bills that they tried to pay with were so wrinkled and old that the ticket collector didn’t want to take them! If you’re planning to use a currency other than the Maldivian rufiyaa, make sure that your bills are new, crisp, and don’t have any ripped or torn edges.  

14 – Can I use US Dollars in the Maldives? Yes!

It’s nice to have Maldivian rufiyaa, but if you don’t – no worries. USD is an acceptable “alternate” currency and you can use it to pay at your hotel, restaurants, souvenir stores, and so on. The exchange rate is usually favorable (be sure to calculate it beforehand just in case) and most shopkeepers will be happy to tell you the price in USD.

15- Ferries don’t work on Friday

As mentioned above, the Maldives is a Muslim country, which means that Friday is their “day off” and is used to rest and pray. Because of this, the public ferries do not work on Friday.

I recommend planning and arranging transportation beforehand if you have to travel on a Friday (especially if it’s the day of your flight!) so that you’re not left scrambling to find something at the last minute.

For example: we were checking out of our hotel on Maafushi and heading back to Male on a Friday (our flight home was the next day). Thankfully, the fantastic owner of the hotel we stayed at, Stingray Inn, arranged a water taxi transfer straight to Male that only took 15 minutes. 

 

Hat from here / swimsuit from here 

16 – There’s Cell Service Everywhere

Although the Maldives is usually a place to unplug and unwind, sometimes you need to stay connected … to make everyone jealous of your beach selfies LOL

Luckily, there’s cell phone coverage everywhere, even in the middle of nowhere. I bought a pre-paid SIM card package from Dhiraagu for about $30 and had internet on a catamaran in the middle of the ocean (exhibit A: me smiling on said catamaran ;) ), while eating lunch on a picnic island, and even on a ferry from Male to Maafushi.

17 – ATMs & Credit Cards

Before traveling to the Maldives, I was worried about not having enough cash on hand to pay for everything. Thankfully, credit cards are widely accepted everywhere, and I only had one place that was cash only (a small souvenir kiosk near the beach!). In case you still need cash, there are ATMs on every major island.

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That’s it for this post. I hope it was useful for your trip to the Maldives! Did you learn anything new or did anything surprise you? As always, happy travels and see you next time!

 

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