Ever wondered if you can go to Maldives on a shoestring? Get a cheap ticket and camp out on the beach for a couple of nights? Hitchhike boats and see all the atolls? Does the capital island worth a visit? Well, this is a pre-written letter my fiance made to answer this kind of questions on Couchsurfing. My contribution was mostly in editing.
ARRIVING
When going through customs you should present a custom form with an address of a hotel or a guest house in Maldives and the number of your departure flight. Keep in mind that there are items you cannot bring to the country with you; some of them are alcohol, pork and dogs. You can find the full list at the official website of Maldives Custom Service customs.gov.mv. In case you have accidently brought any of the prohibited items they would be taken for the safekeeping at the airport and you may retrieve them when leaving the country.
TRANSPORTATION
To Male
Once you are off the plane there are passenger ferries going to Male every 10 minutes. Ask anyone where to find a “dhoni” (local word for a boat) to Male. One way ride costs 1 USD or 10 MRF (about 0.60 USD). Every 15 minutes the speed boat leaves from the same place: it takes half the time and is 35 MRF for a one-way ride.
To Hulhumale
If you are staying on Hulhumale there are two ways to get there. There is a bus service from the airport. Bus stop is in front of the domestic terminal and that’s where you can find the schedule. There is also a taxi company that connects the airport and Hulhumale - you may ask around once you are in the airport. In case you are wondering: there is no way to walk to Hulhumale due to the airport security. So if you have hard time catching a bus or taxi there is another way: take a ferry or a speed boat to Male and they willl arrive to the ferry terminal from where you can take a ferry from Male to Hulhumale (that would cost 5 MRF).
To local islands
All ferries to local islands leave from Male and most of them leave from Villingili Ferry Terminal. Since it is on the opposite side of Male we would advise to take a taxi. Taxi drivers charge 20 MRF for any distance and 5 MRF extra if you’ve got luggage (less than 2 USD altogether). It’s not difficult to find a taxi on the streets of Male - it would be any car with a yellow license plate. it is possible to walk from the Airport Ferry Terminal to the Villingili Ferry Terminal, according to Google maps it’s 2,5 km. The walk, alas, is not an enjoyable experience. All schedules for ferries to local islands are listed here mtcc.com.mv (an official site). There are daily boats to most of the places; prices are from 22 to 53 MRF, please notice that there are no ferries at all on Fridays! In case you are adamant to go to the local island on Friday you may hire a private charter boat; to give you an idea about prices: a speed boat to Maafushi island is 150 USD.
MALE
You are probably going to spend some time in Male before you can catch a ferry to the local island of you choice. There is not really much to do around the city and you can see all the highlights in less than a day so it’s not advisable to plan to spend precious time of your visit in Male. One more time: Male is not the postcard photo you see of the Maldives. It is a crazy chaotic city where you have to try hard not to get run over by a scooter, with garbage in the streets and floating in the crystal clear waters.
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| Art object made entirely out of trash from the streets of Male |
Places to stay
There are budget places to stay in Male with prices from 50 USD. To mention a few:
Kaani Lodge at Kaani Goalhi (it is only 2 blocks from the airport ferry terminal), phone number 960 300 3626.
Other guest house is Sala Boutique at H. Buruneege, Hithafinivaamagu Henveru, phone number 960 779 2728.
Cerulean View at G. Kaani Hiyaa, phone number 960 776 4567.
Check Agoda.com, Bookings.com or Airbnb.com.
Places to eat
Meals in Male are from 3 USD in small local cafes (solo female travellers are not advised to go alone) up to 100 USD in the roof top restaurant in Traders hotel.
Good place to start from is Jade bistro - just a block away from the Airport Ferry Terminal, it has decent food for about 10 USD per person (try local breakfast!) and free Wi-Fi if you need a connection, this place is strictly no-smoking.
Another good place with decent food is Newport, just across the street from airport ferry jetty.
On the second floor of Airport Ferry Terminal there is The Sea House, the open-air deck (smoking is, unfortunately, allowed) overlooks the ocean, food is good, open 24 hours.
Shell Beans is one of the many places on the waterfront, good place for breakfast or a midday snack, they’ve got their own bakery.
Traders roof top pool side bar offers a range of mocktails and a really nice view. Another place with a view is Salt (above the fish market).
If you are up to a drink the only place to go is Hulhule Island Hotel (HIH). There is a free bus from the airport to here (or you can walk for about 5 minutes). From Male there is a free ferry that leaves from Jetty No 1. Since it’s the only place that serves alcohol the service and prices leave much to be desired. On the bright side if you are ready to pay 8 USD for a can of beer you would probably meet many expats who works in Male, airline crews and other people who can give you an insight into the life in this tropical paradise.
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| View from roof top restaraunt in Traders hotel, Male |
Places to see
To stroll around the whole island takes about two hours. The local markets are just to the west of Jetty No.1 (President’s Jetty). Fish market is interesting; fruit market is a good place to buy a coconut drink (“kurumba”, 1 - 2 USD). If you walk in the opposite direction, on the east side of the island, you will see the only beach in Male aptly named “artificial beach”. Strictly no bikini, T-shirts and shorts at least for ladies. From here if you keep walking down the waterfront you will soon come to the Tsunami Monument and just past it there are street vendors and coconut drinks again. Other points of interest are Islamic Centre, Old Friday Mosque, Sultans’s Park, National Museum - they are all more or less in the same area; just walk toward the centre of the city from the President’s Jetty.
HULHUMALE
Hulhumale is a manmade island next to the airport. Unlike Male it has wide paved streets with solar powered streetlights and sidewalks, green spaces and quiet beaches (unfortunately rather littered, same no-bikini rule is applied). I don’t know why more people are not living here! There is a watersport and dive centres here so you can try wind surfing, banana boating, jet skiing, snorkeling and diving you can find out the detail by calling 960 778 1001. There are guest houses here, e.g.
Hulhumale’ Inn. (10487 Hulhumale, phone number 960 332 1079),
Ocean Sounds (A-56, 10126 Hulhmale, phone number 960 335 0067),
Ul Inn (Hulhumale’ Lot 10573, phone number 960) 976 2668, info@uihotels.com).
VILLINGILI
Villingili Island is just a short ferry ride from Male (Villingili Ferry Terminal, every 10 minutes, 5 MRF) but unlike Male there are no scooters here and that, believe me, makes a whale of a difference. There is a nice public beach (no-bikini rule!) and many simple cafes on the seaside. People that live here say that it’s like pushing the mute button after being in Male.
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| You can see Male seating in one of the seaside cafes on Villingili island |
MAAFUSHI (South Male Atoll)
Maafushi is a popular destination for independent travellers. Ferry goes daily from Villingili Ferry Terminal, 23 MRF, 2 and a half hours ride. This island sports a big number of guest houses, nice cafes, a couple of dive centres; it even has an enclosed beach for tourists where you can sunbath and swim in bikini (finally!). Some of the guest houses here:
White Shell Beach Inn (Dhonveli K. Maafushi, phone number 960 777 7947) - this guest house is the closest to the beach;
Summer Villa Guest House (Spring Villa/Kaafu, Maafushi, phone number 960 777 3087),
Island Cottage (K. Maafushi, phone number 960 793 7903, sfuty88@gmail.com) - a bit far from the beach, right next to the prison.
You might want to do some research and choose a guest house on the north side of the island since that’s where the beach is.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Liveaboard/Safari boats
If 17 dives in 7 days and chance to swim with whale sharks sounds like a perfect vacation to you you might want to look into diving safari. The prices start from 1100 USD per week per person in low season.
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| ScubaSpa Ying |
Surf camps
Surfers World at Woodland (Thulusdhoo, phone number 960 795 5410)
Cokes Surf Villas at Ocean Beach (Thulushdoo, phone number 960 760 5527, U-sobah@hotmail.com)
Surf Camp Accommodation at Dhunthri (K. Huraa, phone number 960 777 6894, sukeygroup@hotmail.com)
Whale Submarine
Whale Submarine is a nice ride about 40 minutes long, excursions leave several times a day from President's jetty in Male (phone number 960 333 3939)
Day trips to resorts
Whale Submarine
Whale Submarine is a nice ride about 40 minutes long, excursions leave several times a day from President's jetty in Male (phone number 960 333 3939)
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| In the submarine |
Day trips to resorts
If you want to see the luxury side of Maldives but not ready to pay thousands of dollars you may do day trips to resorts from Male or Maafushi, some resorts provide a room for day use, at some places you would spend a day on the beach, snorkeling and sunbathing, in the pool or in the bar - your choice.
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| Bandos is one of nearby resorts |
Scuba diving from Male
The price is about 100 USD for 2 dives.
Best Dives (phone number 960 330 5960)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Camping? Camping is prohibited by law; as a tourist you must be in a resort or in a hotel/guest house. People that have actually done camping in Maldives said that ants and crabs, heat and humidity made it not as enjoyable as one would expect.
Money? You can use USD everywhere. You can exchange most major currencies at the airport or in the bank (there are plenty in Male). Most places in Male will take Visa or MasterCard. On a smaller local islands you might need cash to pay in a food store or market or tea house. If you withdraw money from a local ATM you can only get Maldivian Rufiyaa (MRF). A piece of advice: do not get stuck with too much MRF as it might prove to be difficult to change back from local currency to something widely recognised.
Prayer times? There are five prayer calls a day and most of the shops get closed for some time (from twenty minutes up to two hours). On Friday pretty much everything gets closed - shops, cafes, banks, everything. You might want to find out when is the holy month of Ramadan starts and ends this year and do not plan your trip for this period.
Budget places? The best site for cheap places to stay in Asia is Agoda.com, also you can try Airbnb.com. There is a list of all guest houses in Maldives on the Ministry of Tourism official site. You may contact the guest house of your choice directly.
Cheap flights? FlyDubai, Tiger Airlines and Condor are the low cost airlines flying here. AirAsia has recently stoped flyong here but it might come back for a high season.
Taxes! Beware of the “plus plus”! The “Bed tax” is from 8 USD to 10 USD per bed per night, service charge is 10% and GST (something like a tourist sale tax) is 8%. Most prices are quoted before the plus plus. Always ask if it is a final price or there would be some additions to it.
Transfers? All resorts and local islands require transfer by dhoni, speed boat or seaplane. The transfer (if it is not by local ferry) can be more expensive than a night at the resort itself. Be sure that it’s a part of the quoted price.
A seaplane ride? In a group it is 100 USD per person for a fifteen minutes photo flight. Cheapest confirmed seat is 400 USD for a return trip (Male - resort - Male).
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| This is Male. Views are mostly FAR BETTER than this but that's the only picture I've got ^^` |
Night life? Clubs? Not in Malé or any local island. Night life does exist at few resorts but you have to be a guest of the resort to see it. It’s not really much to see anyway.
Dive courses? Maldives is a great place to learn how to dive (although it is more expensive than other asian dive destinations); there is plenty to see and there are a lot of options to chose from. Almost all resorts and guest houses can help you with this. Dive centres work with SSI and PADI.
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| Yes, you want to see this for yourself ^_^ |
Can I drink the tap water? No one I know is drinking tap water. Bottled water is very cheap and available everywhere.
Local food culture? Traditional Maldivian cuisine is based on two main items - fish and coconuts. The best local thing for me is tuna! Try local breakfast at least once. It is called Mashuni Roshi; it’s a fish sambal - a local dish made with smoked tuna, onions, chillies, lime and freshly grated coconut, which is served with flat bread for breakfast or dinner. I have this almost everyday. Other tuna dishes: tuna tartare, sesame crusted tuna, tuna sashimi, BBQ tuna, yellow fin tuna spare ribs, tuna fried rice, tuna short eats, tuna curries - that’s far from the complete list.
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| Fried rice |
Coconut drinks (also known as “kurumba”) are being sold on the streets for a 1 - 2 USD; sellers would cut open a fresh coconut for you to drink. After having the coconut milk the vendor will split the coconut open and make a spoon from the husk so you can enjoy the coconut meat as well.
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| Kurumba |
Do I have to tip? No, you do not have to tip here. There is a 10% service charge on your bill - that is your tip. Once on a local island the waiter ran out after me to give back the money I had left on the table for him. So it is up to you.
What to wear? The daily temperature is from 28 to 32 Celsius year round. The sun is strong and in the middle of the day you might want to hide from it. If you plan to be on a local island or in Male you should wear modest clothing as Islamic law prescribes, especially if you are planning a visit to a mosque. In this case both men and women must have their knees and shoulders covered.
Thank you for your attention and feel free to ask questions in cooments to this post. Opinions are our own and not sponsored, more pictures in my web album. One more piece of advice if you don't mind, as with any information on-line it would be wise to check it out for yourself as there might be changes.
Good luck!
Gulshat
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