Maldives on a BUDGET 2023

hello guys and welcome to the official Maldives on a budget if you're looking to travel to Maldives and you're kind of on the fence how much you should spend or what things would cost or maybe I don't even have enough to spend to go we're going to be covering Maldives on a budget and give you all the information you need to know to help you better decide if Maldives is the place for you to travel on a budget and if it's even possible many people have a perception that Maldives is only exclusive to the higher income bracket and you have to spend thousands of dollars to go on a vacation but when we travel in the Maldives for the entire month we have gathered so much information for you including on how to visit the Maldives on a budget if you're new to our Channel my name is Devon and I'm Irene and we are just be out we create informative travel videos to help you get the most out of your vacation just be out with us we're going to break this video down into four important segments starting off with Transportation accommodation food and activities if you are looking to go to Maldives and you are looking for a private Resort this video is not for you but we have other videos on the Maldives because after staying in the Maldives for a month we did private islands and we did local Islands so we had the best of both worlds and we provide a lot of information about the Maldives that I bet you did not know not to say that there are no budget Private Island resorts you can find deals where Private Island resorts go for as low as 100 US dollars per night yes it is possible but you do need to look for this type of deal and that's for another video okay so before we get sidetracked let's stay on topic here so the first one we're going to discuss is transportation and what you need to know traveling to the mall all these is totally different than traveling to any other destinations you've probably visited before if you haven't seen our Maldives travel guide we told you that Maldives is comprised out of islands and atolls I and there are 1200 islands in the Maldives and 26 atolls and the capital of the Maldives is Mali where the international airport is located right next to it on Hulu Mali and from there from the international airport to get to other parts of the Maldives that's where it could eat up a lot of your budget but we do have some suggestions for you on how to save on the transportation in the Maldives of course the most expensive is taking a private seaplane and that is most likely the option you would choose if you're staying on the Private Island resorts but if you're traveling to local Islands you do not need to book that expense offensive seaplane which a round trip can cost you up to 2 000 US dollars per person easily okay we're going to break down the cheapest option for you and then work our way up so starting off with the cheapest option we have would be the local Ferry I on the schedule it is called mtcc or it is also called the slow fairy or Donny it's slow when they said it's slow it's slow and mind you this form of transportation is a little bit complex and is not as straightforward as you might think even though it is the most cost effective it costs only two dollars and fifty cents One Way per person but it does come with a lot of cons first of all it is called the slow Ferry for a reason for example a speedboat from Mali to mafushi one of the most popular local Islands takes only anywhere from 25 to 30 minutes but on a slow Fury it can take you up to three hours now of course if you have time on your hand you might think oh three hours no big deal I'm on vacation right some people might think well three hours I could be in the ocean swimming and relaxing and starting my vacation so it really depends on your preference but it's not only the amount of time it takes it's the amount of frequency of how it travels between islands some Islands are located really far and you need to even travel between atolls and not only it will take you maybe 13 hours maybe a full day of traveling but also this fairies have very limited availability and some of them even travel as infrequent as three times a week so there's not a lot of options but we thought we would mention it just because it is a means of transportation now let's talk about the most popular and the one you would probably take if you are on a budget or the one you probably should be taking if you're on a budget it is a speed boat and the speedboat again the price also depends on where the island is located and the frequency also depending on the island for example to travel from Mali to digra takes about two and a half to three hours the speedboat goes twice a day one in the morning one in the afternoon it goes either from the main island of Mali from the city or from the airport and the prices online go for about 75 to 78 US dollars per person one way but to save on that Ferry you need to reach out to your hotel or to your Airbnb hose that where you're planning to go to digra and they will have a cheaper price for you they have some type of local deals for example we paid 45 US dollars from diggura to Mali City but to the airport it cost 55 US Dollars and it is still a pretty big difference about 20 US dollars from the online rate you can find versus booking through your host on the island another example is from Mali to mafushi it takes about 25 to 30 minutes to get to mafushi and it costs about 25 to 30 US dollars per person one way there are so many speedboat transfers to my phone they run pretty much every half an hour there are different companies so if you even miss one you can just hop on half an hour later on another one it is very easy to reach mafushi now let's get into the next one the private boat and you might think well private boat that might cause an arm and a leg how could that be budget if it's private but it is not as expensive as you might think it also depending on the size of your group maybe if your family or four the price is only per boat so if you're two or four or maybe even six people it wouldn't matter they charge per board depending on how many miles you have to go and they calculate how much gas uh they would need the prices for private speed boat transfers can tremendously vary especially if you go to those Private Island resorts where they always say they you have to have a mandatory transfer purchase from the resort but it is so much more expensive so if you're traveling between islands that are pretty close to the uh to each other anywhere within 30 minutes boat ride it might be cheaper to book a private boat and the way you do that is you can shop around account and find the best price yes so if you are on a local Island and you might want to visit another Island you basically just ask the locals like any store you walk into whether it's like a little you know grocery store or a souvenir store or a restaurant to say hey I'm looking for a connecting boat from here to there and you know do you have a WhatsApp number for someone that has a boat and they have all the connections they know all the boat drivers the independent boat drivers and they will give you the phone number or they'll reach out and say hey I have someone looking to you know for your services do you want do you want me to connect you and then they connect you and they give you a quote and now you can just go to someone else and say Hey I want to do the same thing and then you start shopping and find the lowest rate just to give you an example of a 10 minute boat ride would cost you about anywhere from 50 to 70 US Dollars and that's for a bowl so if you have four people that would be cheaper and that's a really good way um besides just the cost when you go to the Maldives it's a really good way to just not stay on one Island if you're informed enough there are many neighboring islands and they're not they sometimes you can literally see them from where you are from your Island you can look across to the other Island and if you knew how to get there and how to maneuver and how to work with these local uh boats then you could literally spend a few nights in one Island and then go right across and experience what it's like at that other Island too because each island is so individual in many ways some have really great reefs and are really great for snorkeling you know others are just like white sand beaches and sand banks so it really depends and if you know this ahead of time you could plan accordingly and just split your time up and visit multiple Islands if your budget allows you to stay on a private Island Resort for a couple of nights we will have a few tips for you just watch till the end of this video all right so now that's that's it pretty much for the transportation part let's get into the accommodations now the general rule of thumb anywhere you travel holidays like Christmas and Easter always drives the hotel rates up and Maldives is not an exception so if you would like to save try to avoid those time frames of traveling well of course when we travel we always try to judge when is the best season to go because the last thing you want to do is go on vacation think you're going to be laying on the beach in nice sunny weather and then that's not the case because you didn't plan accordingly Maldives have warm weather all year round but the most important thing that you need to know is that Maldives also has its monsoon season you heard that right Monsoon now personally I have never experienced the monsoon but the word scares me alone so definitely we don't want to be spending a lot of money going to a vacation and experiencing a monsoon but in the Maldives what you need to know was that even though it has a monsoon season people still travel to the Maldives why because the prices dip dramatically and sometimes it's more than half and it doesn't guarantee that it's going to be a downpour during monsoon season it just means that's the time that it's probably more likely to happen but there are times where it's monsoon season and it really doesn't rain that much or it might rain for a little bit and stops or maybe rain on a certain maybe in the mornings or in the evenings so it's not a continuous downpour the entire time you're there I mean maybe it could be but again it's all about the risk but the monsoon generally means very high winds and lots of rain let us know in the comments have you been to the Maldives during the monsoon or would you risk it knowing that you would pay little to nothing of what the original cost would be to go during that season the season for Monsoon is June through August and August is actually that's when they experience the heaviest winds and the rain and this is where the prices at the lowest in the Maldives even the high-end Resort dropped their prices sometimes up to three times and the local islands of course the raids go down as well this is when you will have also less people traveling so if you want to avoid crowds and don't mind uh some rainy days and high winds this is might be a good option for you and also keep in mind during monsoon season sometimes it is possible that speed boats might cancel their transfer so you might get stuck on an island and so be sure to purchase insurance for your flights to if you need to reschedule your flight and be sure to bring motion sickness pills because during the monsoon Seasons the waves are much rougher and you will you might get sick but when we were traveling in March and April we did not experience any type of motion sickness when we did our speedboat transfers the best alternative would be probably the shoulder season it is May September October and maybe half of the November this is when you will still encounter rain yes but it will be less chances of rain and the rates will still be fairly low for the hotels in the highest season is December through April this is considered the dry season but when we were visiting in March and April there was still some days that were overcast and we still encountered some rain as well if you're getting value from this video at this point please give us a thumbs up it'll help a lot of people who are thinking about traveling to the Maldives and hope this video reached them as well and hopefully it could better prepare them for their vacation now let's talk about the actual numbers right because that's where it really matters what's the numbers when it comes to accommodation based on the months and the seasons and everything else well talking about a little bit more specific is still pretty difficult because it depending on the island even when it comes to the local Islands some islands are a little bit more expensive and there are some that are a little bit more affordable for example you can find a room for as low as 30 dollars a night on some of the local islands digra versus a little bit more pricey than mafushi when it comes to accommodations for example when we were traveling to mafushi in end of March the cheapest hotel was 85 dollars per night and the highest price was up to 150 dollars a night while in mafushi the cheapest was fifty dollars a night and the heist was also around 150 dollars a night but depending again on the season the price can go down depending on the island you can find different types of accommodations to fit your budget while traveling to the Maldives now that brings us to our next chapter in this video which is about food so all you food is out there or you might see all these uh videos on people who are doing um all these massive food buffets and they're doing their um swim up breakfast platters and stuff like that and you would want that and you're like well what am I going to eat if I'm doing a budget I know I probably can't afford that but there is a options for you when it comes to the local Islands the food is surprisingly very affordable you can find a burger for 10 US dollars a basic club sandwich for three dollars three dollars coffee twelve Dollar Pizza ten dollars fried rice and these numbers are based if you compare it to private Resorts it could a burger can literally be thirty to forty dollars easily so even though we're giving you these numbers these are based on local Island prices there are also some hotels on local islands that offer dinner buffet unlimited all you can eat for as low as 18 US dollars per person with a lot of pretty good options many hotels do offer breakfast buffets as well depending on the hotel you are staying in and we did notice a lot of the hotels even if it's a bigger hotel or even a boutique hotel smaller ones they all have kind of like a restaurant in the bottom below the rest of the ground floor the entrance would be a restaurant so there's always food options and the best option to save money of course is to book a hotel that offers you breakfast options most of them offer very simple breakfast but that will be enough to get you going and off to your excursions and activities which brings us to activities in the Maldives it's all about water activities and depending on the island some the prices might range a little bit for example efficient Excursion cost forty five dollars on digora but on mafushi it is thirty dollars per person so generally tours depending on the tour and where you go and what you see go from 45 to 80. but based on the tour that you are interested in the prices usually goes from about 45 to 80 dollars for example we went on a whale shark version in digora and we will leave the link in the description below that was 80 dollars absolutely epic trip and in mafushi we went for a half day snorkeling tour with with nurse sharks with sold pods and PODS of dolphins uh we did Stingray encounter and they brought us to a little Private Island and gave us free lunch as well and how much we paid for that that was fifty dollars per day and that was even though it was advertised as a half of the day Excursion that was pretty much a full day beautiful day and they gave you photos so if you never if you don't have a GoPro and you want to capture all the beautifulness underwater and you didn't have a GoPro well don't worry about it they got you covered because that was included in the price there was an up charge if you wanted kind of like a drone shot but it's a small fee for the for the Drone shots and they would give it to you the next morning early the next morning so all in all those types of excursions are worth every penny hands down if you're looking for parasailing it is about eighty dollars per person uh jet ski for half an hour about 75 dollars per person scuba diving anywhere from 45 to 60 dollars per dive so I think it's pretty affordable the excursions and activities and if you love the water and you love these activities uh we highly highly highly suggest you go to ma fushi because there you'll get the really great price and not only that just the variety of the different water sports you can do is just mind-blowing all on one Island mafushi in our opinion is where you get the most bank for your buck because it is closest to Mali it is only 30 minute speed boat right the shorter you ride the cheaper your transportation is there are more variety of hotels and different range price range and lots of activities at very affordable price just keep in mind if you go during monsoon season some of the excursions might not be available due to the weather conditions remember in the beginning of this video we told you we're going to give you a little hack or tip if you will on how to do private resorts on a budget well here we go well number one is Crossroads Maldives they have an app where you can book a speed boat for as low as 20 US dollars round trip it goes from Mali City only 15 minutes away and they give you access to private Resorts you can stroll through the Marina and the access to the beach club is only 12.50 per person does not include drinks or food but nevertheless it is an amazing value and we created the complete video and we will leave it in the description below and next thing you need to know if you don't know is you can actually book day trips from the island you are staying many local Islands offer day trips to Private Island resorts you can book it from Mali from digra from fushi and the day trips will depend on where your Island is located of course they will offer you day trips to the closest island to to where you are and the day trip starts from a hundred dollars per person that would include your round-trip speed boat transfer sometimes it includes light drinks like water couple of beverages non-alcoholic and lunch there are also packages where it includes all the alcohol because remember on local islands in the Maldives you cannot have any alcohol so if you want to do a day trip to a private island you might get an all-inclusive option where all the alcohol is included and you can drink for the entire day and and enjoy the facilities and the amenities of a private Island Resort so that's a really good option because you could get a taste of the private Resorts and you know have a really amazing time and then just go back to your local Island but let's do a little math if you're taking a day trip to one of those Private Island resorts it starts from a hundred dollars per person that is the lowest option but if there are two people for example most people go either with a friend or as a couple right to the Maldives because you know it's a romantic destination and I that would cost you already 200 minimum to 250 because some depending on the resort some have a minimum uh 125 US dollar charge per person so that would already be either 200 or 250 per day for two people for just a day trip but you need to also count how much you spend for your hotel room on the island you are staying in so let's say you're you're maybe spending even eighty dollars or a hundred dollars for the room so that would come really close to three hundred dollars for that day that you're planning to go for a day trip well if you can't afford to spend three hundred dollars for two people for at least even One Day At A Private Island Resort why not book an actual overnight stay at that Resort there are many many options in the Maldives that offer that price range and they also come with breakfast and if you don't want to spend any money at all on eating dining out in their restaurant well get some snacks from the private islands get cup of noodles to be really on the budget but still be able to experience that Resort how do you get to that Resort that you chose within your budget range well number one you need to contact them and ask is it okay if you take a private speed boat as I mentioned before all Private Island resorts force you to take their transportation option it says mandatory and some but very few will really charge you that transportation fee even if you get there by yourself but many will say it's okay just come on your own transportation and while you're for example in mafushi or digra and you want to go to a private island resort that is just about 10 minute speed boat ride get a 50 private speed boat from any local fisherman any locals on that island that own a boat and they will take you to that Resort for even that one night and it will be definitely worth it so overall if you are doing budget local islands is the way to go but there are multiple things you need to know before visiting a local Island there some pitfalls and certain things you need to be aware of that could potentially ruin your vacation if you don't know so we created a video what you need to know on local Islands you can click on it right there you go in and watch that and it'll explain everything you need to know thank you so much for watching we hope this video was um informative to say the least and don't forget to share this video because again other people are looking for this information as well and it definitely helps them thank you so much for watching and as usual [Music]

Channel: Living The Globe

Views: 14,027

Keywords: maldives 2023, maldives vlog 2023, maldives on a budget, maldives travel guide, maldives travel, maldives on budget, maldives resort, maafushi island maldives, maldives budget, maldives cheap, how to travel maldives, maldives tourist places, maldives cost, travel guide, budget resort maldives, maldives local island, travel vlog maldives, maldives review, maldives all inclusive

Id: dLRQDu-MfYM

Length: 25min 42sec (1542 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 24 2023