Updated: July 25, 2019
As l trumpeted on the last blog post, we were in the Maldives for a week for a belated honeymoon vacation. I’m sure it is the best island to say in the Maldives but l am biased. While it was the most relaxing and awesome vacation we have had in about four years, it definitely came at a big price. The Maldives can be as expensive as you want it to be :-). Luckily, it can also be done on a lesser budget if desired. I have gotten some private emails asking how much we paid for our trip. Since l strive to please, l will share this with you. I will also share some tips on how to save money on your Maldives trip.
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Maldives Vacation and Tips:
How to save money on Maldives Flight:
Air fare flights to Maldives:
This is a big one on how to save money for sure. It is important to travel when there is an airfare deal going on. As l mentioned before, we were prompted to go, thanks to a British Airways and Iberia flight deal. The cheapest fare from Madrid (the biggest International airport closest to us) to Male was $881 round trip each. Thanks to the deal, each of our round trip ticket cost $302!!! :-), saving us over $1100 right off the bat. How did l find out about this deal you ask? I signed up at secretflying for fare alerts.
The secret flying site is great for finding error fares and deals. It costs nothing to sign up, and l always try to check it daily, even before they send me the daily alert because sometimes, it’s too late to take advantage of it, especially the error fares! Those damn airlines seem to fix their errors pretty damn quickly :-(. There are other similar sites like airfarewatchdog. Farecompare is another one that l am signed up for. If you can think of any others, please let me know. I am always looking for deals. There are many Maldives holiday packages including flights so check for that on the sites as well for “all-inclusive Maldives packages”. Keep in mind too that there is quite a distance from the U.S especially and travel time to Maldives from the U.S can take 17 hours or more.
Saving Money on Transport in Maldives: (Maldives Island Travel)
It is important to check how far your hotel or resort is from the international airport. It is also extremely important to read the resort fine lines. To save money, you might want to stay in a resort or hotel that is reachable by boat as opposed to a seaplane like we did. With a lot of the resorts, you must use their own form of transport and can not make your way there. They are usually pricey too. If you can find your way, you might be better off finding a local to take you for say $30-40 than the resort price of $300!
There are also the public ferries ( cheapest way to go to Maldives islands ) which cost less than $3. These unfortunately do not run frequently, are much slower, and may not go to the island you are staying at. It is crucial to ask the hotel prior to arrival so that they can give you the best options. The seaplane prices also differ greatly depending on the island. There was a $400 price differential in our favor for the same flight, compared to the resort 2km away (which we could see from our resort). We were all on the same flight, and the resort boats just came from different sides to get us!.
A little video that we made :-).
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Have nerves of steel for cheap Maldives holidays:
After booking the tickets, l started checking out the rates at some of the resorts. Yikes! Sky-high! I think l gave Federico a heart attack or two as the days trickled down and we hadn’t nailed anything down ;-). I decided to hang tough as l believed the prices would eventually come down. Well, they didn’t. Instead they kept rising slowly and he got more nervous and anxious. I was too, but l didn’t book it. Not till two days before our departure. Everyday, l would check the prices on tripadvisor, agoda and booking.com . I made it a game. I figure every place couldn’t be at full capacity, no matter how popular that destination was. In the end, we paid roughly $735 less than when we started looking, so we were happy. My back-up plan was that we would just stay at a hotel on Male or Maafushi if we had to.
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Saving on accommodation in the Maldives:
This is definitely another area where you can save money on your Maldives vacation. As l stated on the last post, we wanted an all-inclusive deal deciding exactly on what we wanted from the vacation, that is .. a completely stress free one. In lieu of a resort, you can consider staying on one of the local islands. In the past, only the big hotels in the Maldives could offer accommodation. This is no longer true. Nowadays, the locals are also allowed to offer guest rooms and hotels. This can save a significant amount of money. One of the popular local islands is Maafushi.
Checking on AirBnB for instance, we found rooms from $33 per night low-end to $150 per night for hotel rooms. This alone shaves several hundreds or more from your total tally. High season in the Maldives is from December till April. You would expect the prices across the board to be higher during those months, and yep! they are. :-). To save money, you should go on the fringes of the high season when the prices are a lot cheaper. Just skip the monsoon season as you just might be stuck with nothing to do.
The type of room chosen can also save money. For instance, we could have stayed at a garden villa (same room, but view of garden) instead of an ocean villa for our stay. The price difference was about $600 for the week. We could have also upgraded our room to an over-the-water villa, which would have added a further $1200 which we were not willing to pay. Make sure to check if the price quoted for the room includes the government and service charges, as it adds a further 12% plus onto your bill. Our total cost for a couple at an all-inclusive resort in Maldives could have been a lot less had we paid more attention :-).
You can use this affiliate link to book your own Maldives Resorts accommodation .
Or, if you prefer, you can compare Maldives holidays with this link.
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Cutting costs on activities in the Maldives Resorts:
If you are like us for instance, that would be of little concern. I definitely don’t dive or do any of the many water activities that are offered on the islands. If you dive for instance, it is important to find out how much it will cost. A dive can cost you $50 (if you have your own gear) to $75 or more without, not to mention the boat ride etc. Over a week, you can save at least $350. Surfing, cruising, dolphin watching and etc..etc.. will also add up! You can just save all that money for the Spa in my humble opinion. :-).
It’s one of the reasons there were repeat visitors to the resort we stayed at. No money out-of-pocket as they had a great reef to snorkel and dive. Make sure to check if you plan on doing that. Tailor your Maldives holidays to you, not to others, and think of the bottom line. No use getting into debt. The Maldives vacation will end, but the bill will stay with you for a long, long time!.
Food at Maldives Resorts:
Food is definitely another area to save. Being an island, everything is flown or shipped in. There are also the exorbitant government taxes on top of that, making things very expensive, like a $6 bag of peanuts ;-). You can bring some snacks with you to save money. Also, eating like a local will save you money if you are on one of those islands. A complete meal would cost you less than €5. At the resorts, breakfast is included.
You can save money by not choosing the all-inclusive option (all meals and drinks, including alcohol). If you love to drink, it might be worth it, but if you are a moderate drinker, l would skip it as the price difference is huge. A full-board includes all three meals. Going half-board will be even less, so you can fill up at breakfast and lunch, then skip dinner or eat your snacks. That being said, it is kind of silly to go all the way there and then skimp on food ;-). Go big or go home l say.
So.. I hear you groaning and saying to yourself.. “is it even worth it?”. The answer is YES in my opinion. It is a very special and unspoiled place as of yet, and it’s absolutely stunning. If you do your due diligence, you can definitely visit on a budget. We hope to be able to visit this island again (after we have scratched off more from our bucket list).
My solution on how to save money on a Maldives vacation?
I’m glad you asked! Mix it up!!! Let’s say you have a week to spend in the Maldives. Start by going on the tail end of the high season. I would choose a local island for the first 4 days. There are designated section of beaches where you can wear a swimsuit, and is cut off from the public space. Sure you won’t be able to drink alcohol as the Maldives is strictly a Muslim nation, but that shouldn’t be that big of a problem should it ;-)? The last 3 days, l would then splurge at a resort. Pamper yourself and leave the island rejuvenated and with amazing memories of its deep blue sea. Memories that will last you a lifetime :-). So how much does a honeymoon in Maldives cost? here is our breakdown.
Our Maldives Vacation Cost for 2 at Vilamendhoo Resorts:
Airfare: $604
Train RT to Madrid : $185
Seaplane transfer: $700
Our room (Full-Board): $2435
Spa charges: $325
Water and mini-bar charges: $83
Snorkeling gear rental $18
Total: $4350
Is Maldives worth visiting?
Short answer is yes! Planning your Maldives Holidays can be done by yourself (like we did) or you can use a travel agent to find the best Maldives packages that best suits your lifestyle. Different Maldives resorts might cater to a specific interest, such as Vilamendhoo with scuba divers. Some are known for ultimate decadence that includes your own personal butler and can cost thousands of dollars per night. It is therefore important to know your limit and find the Maldives vacation that is the best for you.
Was our Maldives holiday worth it? Yes, It was to us. It’s been Federico’s dream to visit the Maldives since he was a kid. It had been on my bucket list for ever, so l was glad to do it. We got married a few years ago and never did take a honeymoon :-), so this was our belated Maldives honeymoon package deal! He actually went to work right after the marriage ceremony. We saved every bit of money we could with an eye on our future. I can’t even call it a belated honeymoon since we’ve had a crap load of trips, but yeah..totally!.
That being said, we wouldn’t do another one this expensive for at least a year. Using the tips above, l did a price roundup. Conclusion? You could definitely do this on Maafushi island which is considered one of the best islands to stay in the Maldives for instance for less than $600 staying at a 3-4 star hotel for the week, not including the airfare. Maldives can be what you make it.
Pin it for later:
What do you think of my tips on how to save money on a Maldives vacation? Do you find it useful? Would you consider a vacation to this paradise? Can you think of other useful advise on how to save money on any vacation?
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Amazing post in all ways!–Terri
Thanks Terri :-).
Wow! The total cost was about what we spent for all of our airfares for all of our travels last year. I didn’t realize it’s such a pricey destination! But you know what, YOLO! And since it’s been on Federico’s dream list for so long, it’s totally worth it. Life is about having rich experiences (which is totally subjective). So glad you got to make this dream a reality!
You know, l really think in terms of YOLO. I just usually fly by the seat of my pants ;-). We saw some resorts at over $60,000 for the week, and that was with a discount!!! Yeah..you can make it whatever kind of vacation you want depending on your budget, but it can add up quickly without doing some homework. 🙂
Man I keep getting screwed with comments on certain blogs. 🙁 I typed a long comment, so I’ll just say that it looks beautiful and glad you had a great time!
I feel you. I have been having the same problem on my iPad. It totally sucks :-(. We certainly had a great time.
I can see myself planning a Maldives vacation in the future. So this post comes very handy. I made sure to bookmark it. Thank you very much.
You’re very welcome Laura, glad it can help. It really is a wonderful, unspoiled place that l am sure you would love. Thanks for taking the time to comment :-).
I really like this post, tons of great advice. And I’m going to sign up for those flight search sites. I have to say though, that even with all the savings, that it was damn expensive!! $4360 US for a week – and lucky for you you’re American and get your income in USD because most currencies have gone to shit over the last year. A little over a year ago the Canadian dollar was stronger than the USD, now at a 1.40 exchange rate the equivalent of your trip would be over 6K Canadian for me.
Honestly, I don’t know what’s wrong with the world when you have prices that high. You saw places at $60,000 for a week? What? That’s crazy. Even if I had a couple million lying around I couldn’t justify a vacation like that in my head…
I have to say though that your photos are amazing Kemkem!
Frank (bbqboy)
Thanks Frank! It’s definitely worth signing up for the sites. You have nothing to lose and it costs nothing. The error fares can be so freaking good. You might have noticed a lot of people writing about Dubai! Well, they had an error fare of $129 RT from U.S and from l forget where in Europe! You have to be quick though. There always seems to be a ton from London and Germany, but every so often we luck out with Madrid. Another one is Voyageprive.uk which always have deals for hotels mostly and then can be combined with flight on some. Chichi hotels for like 60-70% off, but you would still need to read the fine line. Yeah! 60 grand a week!!! It does come with your own valet though :-). You have to understand that the stars can afford to rent out the whole island, so just imagine 60 grand times however many rooms etc..I wouldn’t pay that much even if l could afford it ;-). Sanity now and always. Yeah..the exchange rate has totally tanked. I must share this day of me getting so freaking excited on secretflying. About 2-3 months ago, the country of Azerbajan had their money totally take a nosedive..majorly..Thanks to secretflying and their directions, you could book anywhere, and at the end choose to pay in their currency..which meant a RT ticket to Lagos for instance could have cost $150 or less. A lot of people got the deals, but l was sluggish and by the time l got the email, it was done,and they removed the currency from all airline websites :-(. That’s why l go to check now on a daily basis :-).
I love to get the biggest bang for my buck but waiting to the last minute to book would drive me crazy. Glad everything worked out, I need to plan us a really good vacation. We travel a lot but I was a big one.
Haha! You’re like Federico. He was having massive pangs :-). It can definitely be done on the cheap. Yeah..a really good vacation is always a good idea :-).
I’m all about saving money and getting the most for my money that I do spend. I have learned that last minute bookings can pay off from using sites like Hotwire.
It’s so funny, l haven’t thought about hotwire since we left the States. I don’t use it or Expedia anymore because they always detect where you are and suddenly everything changes to Spanish 🙁 without giving me a choice to see it in English!. I had to find their counterparts. I love saving money 🙂
That trip sounds amazing! Hubby and I got married in Jamaica and we keep trying to figure out a cool place to take a family trip and my girls would love it!
It really was amazing. We loved Jamaica as well when we went. We did an all-inclusive there too, but l preferred this one. There are some more family friendly resorts there if your girls are younger. This one had a kids pool, a tiny playroom and that’s pretty much all l saw. Some others are on bigger islands and have a ton of stuff for kids. Maldives would totally be awesome though, they would love it. Thanks for the comment.
It’s pretty expensive to get there, even if you manage to put your tips into practice, but it’s worth every penny! I loved your video too, it was amazing and you chose the perfect music for it! It’s surely the closest I can get to the Maldives for a while at least, so it was welcome. The image at the end, with the people chilling in that infinity pool, looking at the ocean – that looks like heaven! And now excuse me, I have to read your other article about the Maldives – I have no idea how on earth I missed that 🙂
I do believe it is worth it. Not something one does everyday. Awhh..thanks for mentioning the video. It really is a lot of work that people have to do on them to make it halfway decent. Yeah, that pool was awesome and as the sun sets, there is usually a wonderful singer serenading the crowd just outside the bar there. Awesome! Haha..go ahead..read the last post :-).
Your pictures are gorgeous! I’m dying to go to the Maldives and you really went for a fantastic price! Thanks for sharing your tips.
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Thank you Allison :-). It was on our bucket list too, and finally the itch got scratched :-). Hope you get to go soon 😉
The trip sound amazing and your graphic make me want to book a flight immediately. Maldives such a beautiful place, the beach and price …I am sold!
Thanks for the compliment Patrice :-). It is a beautiful place, and l am so glad you are sold on it..book it :-).
I just love Vacation tips! So many of these tips are going to be useful as I plan our anniversary trip! Thanks a million!
The good thing about these tips are that basically it can apply to any vacation. I hope you can put them to good use. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
Now I’m dreaming of the Maldives … great photos. Thanks for the tips and cost saving ideas – keeping this in the back of my mind for a future splurge. Anita
Glad it is now in your dreams :-). Sometimes you just have to splurge l think :-). I hope it becomes a reality soon.
Great pics and good tips. I don’t know if I could do the last minute thing for a spot but I am glad it worked out and looks like a fab time.
Thank you :-). I’m glad it worked out too even though l did have mild panic attacks. It was a fab time for sure. 🙂
Thanks for breaking down the costs. It will be a looong loooong time before I go to the Maldives but it seems to be worth the wait.
You know, l think for a trip like this, it is worth doing it with some sort of budget. Like l said, it would suck to make such a trip and end up watching your pennies. Doesn’t make for a memorable trip. It will be worth the wait.
You got a great deal on those flight tickets! I assumed it would cost a fortune to get to such a paradise! Ugh – I want to go there now!
Yeah! I love that site. Just picked up another great deal from there :-). Say it with me.. “you must go..now..now..now..”. Hope the stars align pretty soon and you’re off! 🙂
Wow!! Looks beautiful. I could never wait until the end to book a resort, however good thing you did. What a savings!!
I was really happy with the savings. The alternative as well would have been cheaper (hotel versus resort), but l always tend to do things like that because l am a Pollyanna..forever optimistic. Thank God it usually works out.haha :-). Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for tyhe wwesome yops. Really beautiful place!
You are welcome :-). I agree, it is a very beautiful place..takemeback.. 🙂
I’m so jealous! I have always wanted to go! It’s such a long and difficult trip from the United States. One day we’ll make it happen!!
I hear you. It was also a long journey from Seville, took us over 20 hours with layovers, but we forgot all about that once we got there.. I am sure it will happen for you guys 🙂
Wow, very nice. The trip cost just a little under $5k bucks. Now that’s a deal!! Thanks for sharing this! Especially when you mention how important it is to book flights when there’s a deal. Never thought about doing it this way.
It really was, considering everything. It was a dream for a long time till we were spurred on by the flight deals. It was the same thing that happened to us with Budapest and Istanbul 🙂 so we always work backwards now and start with the flight.
The post is fantastic! I love it so much:)
Have a nice day!
Thanks for the compliment Irene :-). I hope it helps.
Wow! It’s so gorgeous there. Thank you for sharing these tips, your definitely got a great deal.
Glad to share it. I hope it helps others plan their trips. It is definitely gorgeous there. I loved the fact that you just felt you were on either Gilligan’s Island or Fantasy Island :-). Small island surrounded by the bluest sea :-).
Wow, you guys were actually able to do this entire trip for a pretty good deal, I’m impressed!! I always thought a trip to the Maldives would break the bank (like, really!;-) And good tip about checking out the Air BnB for lodging–you could always do a few days at a nice resort and a few days there to save a bit!
We did, didn’t we? :-). I think the playing field was leveled a bit when the government decided to allow airbnb rentals and small indie hotels and guest houses. Cut down on the price gouging.You can definitely save a lot by combining experiences :-).
Those palm trees are calling my name. It’s so cold here in Virginia and I know this isn’t even the coldest place in the world. But I’d still love to get out into some sun, nice breezes, and maybe sand – I hate sand lol.
Oh you poor thing! Snow, l definitely don’t miss. That’s what prompted my move from Boston to L.A :-). You must need sun desperately if you’re willing to consider sand..haha! 🙂
Thanks for the detailed breakdown but the Maldives sure is pricey! That’s around £2000 for 2 people for just a week and you are both very savvy about travel.
Oh well, one day….
Still, what a dreamy place & what’s most important is how you both fulfilled a dream.:-)
You’re right Lili, it can get pretty pricey and we cut as much as we could. It’s definitely a honeymoon, very special trip, anniversary kind of thing. That being said..they seem to have a lot of deals from the U.K (thanks to B.A probably). If you sign on to the voyageprive website, they sometimes have very good deals everywhere, sometimes with flight included. Check it out and subscribe for the alerts. It is super dreamy..like your own island..as close as we’ll ever get anyway :-).
I love the post, the lovely photograhs, and your video Kemkem! Very relaxing!
Congratulations to you both. 🙂 I quite understand the delayed honeymoon situation as we were in the same spot. A week after our wedding, my mother-in-law passed away and we never had our “real” honeymoon until our Asian holiday in 2014!
Your tips are spot on especially the flight alert website. That’s really useful! As is the info about how to actually get to the resort itself as I heard that the prices would have given anyone a heart attack lol!
I’m not really a beach person unless there’s a river, mountain or volcano nearby as after two days, I find it stressful and I’m ready to up and leave! I’m also the person who would rather swim in the pool than in the sea. It probably explains why I’ve been to Thailand 3 times and yet, I never bothered to go to the South! Oops!
Any advice? It doesn’t hurt to ask for a discount or any extras. And if kids are involved. Let them know. When “The Tall Young Gentleman” was a pup, I always told the establishments that even though he looks like an adult, I would like a discount for a child etc. Also, ask them how to get there. A few years ago, we wanted to go to a Welsh village in the middle of no-where and they told us that the quickest & cheapest way was actually to go to England first, and then cut across, rather than going to Wales directly. And they were right! Also as you said: food. If we’re going to an expensive location, we try to get breakfast included, have sandwiches for lunch and then go out for dinner. If it’s a cheap destination we go out for everything & ask the locals!
Thanks Victoria :-). I kept telling Federico before we left how bored l was going to be..haha! Boy, was l wrong. I barely finished one novel the whole week. I found that l loved being in the shallow waters while he ventured out further to snorkel. I can’t swim in the pool to save my life, so floating in the salty water is very enjoyable. The days we were saving up seem far away now as we have enjoyed the delayed honeymoon many times over. It’s all about sacrifices. You bring up some really good points. I know a lot of places will let kids under 12 stay free or for a reduced amount, it is always worth checking. Same holds true for the best way to get there. We knew about the prices for the seaplanes, so l had to make sure we got the biggest bang for our buck. Asking the locals for recommendation is a must. We always make friends with the waiters, cab drivers etc. for local spots to go. Always worth it in my book! 🙂
stunning your all pictures and article too n also a informative post really nice thanks for sharing n keep it up thanks a lot……!
Thanks for reading. We had a great time and l hope it inspires more people to visit.