After the devastating tsunami in 2004, Maldives’ government tried to uplift the ravaged local economy with a new strategic measure: allowing local house owners to open affordable guest houses and / or budget hotels.
This concession gradually started to promote a new form of tourism never seen before in the entire archipelago: popular tourism. In other words, Maldives for the first time decided to juxtapose two classes of tourists: the wealthy élite still oriented towards luxury, exclusive resorts in private islands; and the “normal” travellers preferring the cheaper (and more authentic) “public” islands inhabited by locals.
Even 14 years later still very few people are aware of this big change. The widespread idea about Maldives remains still anchored to the past. Most of people think that they will never get access to this “paradise” because of unaffordable “resort” prices. But this is quite wrong. Let’s see it in detail.
1) AFFORDABLE ACCOMMODATION IN GUEST HOUSES / BUDGET HOTELS, COUCHSURFING OR CAMPING
Especially in low season (May – August) you may book a fancy room with breakfast included for around 20 to 50 Euros a night. Pay attention that if you reserve through Booking, you will have to add between 20 and 30 % to the total price you see. This percentage includes VAT, property, municipality and environmental taxes. This amount is always added on top.
However, if you use Airbnb, those charges are included. Airbnb offers pros and cons compared with Booking or others:
PROS:
– Cheaper
– More local
CONS:
– You have to pay a “cleaning” fee anyway;
– Hosts have a lower and slower response rate;
– Most of hosts are new and have no reference;
– Hosts forget to update the availability calendar;
– You have to always insert your payment details beforehand (on Booking you rarely have to in Maldives), which provides less flexibility;
– Less coverage than Booking.
The cheapest (free) option would be Couchsurfing. It allows you to stay in a room or sofa for free and enjoy the authentic experience in a local house. However it is quite difficult to get in Maldives, especially for men : ) Very few hosts reply; and if they ever do it, they do it after some days or weeks. I could only spend one night with this system. It was great time though with my friend Murad.
I would then recommend to go for Couchsurfing if possible. Try to send as many requests as possible with some notice. Bear in mind, nevertheless, that couchsurfing is not “legal” in Maldives. Hence, for immigration purposes, you will still have to book at least one night in a hotel. You will be asked to show the booking details at the immigration desk. My advice is to use Booking here. Just pick any hotel with free cancellation or no payment details required. Never disclose any info about your host’s name or address.
Another free option could be wild camping on the beach. Nonetheless, this is a tricky choice for the following reasons:
– Camping is technically not prohibited but not allowed either. It lies in a grey area. You should ask around for permission and be prepared for any question or incursion by the police or local people.
– No toilet, shower or internet facilities are available.
– It could be boring and burdensome on solitary beaches.
Some beaches are so lonely and tranquil that you could even sleep without tent on beach chairs or a towel. In this case bear in mind that the Maldivian sun is particularly strong since the very first hours of the day.
2) TAKE LOCAL FERRIES
If you have some time, plan ahead your movements to save money. Local, public ferries cost around 10 times less than private speedboats. The downsides are reported below:
– They run at fixed days and hours. They rarely run on Fridays.
– They run with low frequency (max twice a day for Maafush island).
– They are a bit slower.
– They mostly run from the capital Male. This obliges you to always go back to the starting point to change route.
You may check all routes and timetables from this official page.
Tickets can be directly bought in the boat.
That being said, local ferries are extremely cheap (between 2 and 3 US dollars for 2 hours sailing).
3) EAT LOCAL FOOD IN LOCAL PLACES
Although Maldives has no huge variety of dishes, you may save a lot if you pick humble restaurants inland (not on the beach). Besides, try local dishes like Roshi or noodles with tuna fish. That would generally cost around 4 or 5 US dollars.
Take into consideration that most of places add 10 % service charge + 6 to 10 % GST charge.
As for the beverages, since there is absolutely no alcohol in Maldives (apart from in the fancy resorts), then you are compelled to stick to cheaper water or smoothies.
Since in many cases the hotel breakfast (included) is lavish, you perhaps need to have only another meal per day. Not so expensive then.
Another interesting option is the all-you-can-eat buffet. It usually ranges from 10 to 15 US dollars, but allows you to quench all your hunger at reasonable price.
4) PICK BIGGER, CLOSER AND / OR MORE POPULAR ISLANDS
The further and more exclusive, the more expensive. You have to find a good balance of time, money, social interaction and water activities.
Although it depends on your taste (if you like more snorkelling, surfing, idling, etc.), there are affordable islands at a quite close range from the capital Male. Besides travelling there faster (save money and time), you can meet more people and get water activities for cheaper prices.
In addition, accommodation prices are normally lower.
As far as I am concerned, In 11 days of stay I chose the following islands:
Male (1 night)
Hulhumale (1 night)
Thulusdhoo (2 nights) for surf
Maafushi (5 nights) for relax, snorkelling tours and social interaction
Guraidhoo (2 nights) for relax and local life
All those islands are reachable in less than 2 hours from Male with public transportation. From Maafushi to Guraidhoo there is also a handy public ferry.
You can also reach the wondrous Fulidhoo with a cheap shark snorkelling tour from Maafushi. It is more profitable than sleeping on the island (minimum price in off-season is about 50 Euros/ night).
5) PICK JUST FEW ISLANDS
Honestly, I believe it is time and money consuming to try to jump from one island to another. It is definitely more advisable to stick to few islands and enjoy cheap transportation and (above all) longer time there. The above-mentioned islands are only some examples. You can choose from around 200 (out of 1200 in total !) inhabited islands in the whole archipelago.
6) PAY SUPERMARKETS, FERRIES AND LOCAL RESTAURANTS IN MALDIVIAN RUFIYAAS, THE REST IN US DOLLARS
It looks weird but the US dollar has great power in Maldives. Most of hotels, tour agencies and tourist restaurants price their services directly in USD. If you wish to pay in local Rufiyaas they have to convert, sometimes with bad conversion rates. Rufiyaas are instead essential for public ferries, local restaurants and minimarkets. It is however better to change dollars in hotels in Male than at the airport.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, it is possible to have good time in Maldives for about 40 US dollars per day. This is less of what normally needed in Europe for instance. Besides the free logistic options (couchsurfing and camping), you have affordable guest houses or budget hotels for approx. 25 – 35 USD / day. Plus, if you can share the room with another person, you may split the cost. Food and beverages could count for less than 10 USD per day, whereas transportation is almost negligible by public ferries.
A bottle of water at the supermarket costs less than half dollar.
Renting a surf board or going for an half a day simple snorkelling tour might cost around 20 – 25 USD.
The rest is just relax and paradise.
