Maldives travel blog — The fullest Maldives travel guide for a great trip on a budget for the first-timers

A friendly and peaceful guesthouse in Maldives, where you can immerse yourself into the simple life and meet your lovely travel mates. Each room at Mala Maldives Dhangethi is equipped with basic, neat, beautiful facilities with windows overlooking the garden. The guesthouse also often hosts BBQ parties on the beach to connect the tourists staying, creating a friendly, sociable atmosphere. A 3-star hotel with room rates from $49/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Beach Palace Maldives

Add an economical option when visiting the Maldives. This hotel is located in a quiet street. Beautiful small room with full basic facilities. On the terrace there is a restaurant serving Maldives-style dishes, enjoying food, music, watching the sunset and sea breeze. A 3-star hotel with room rates from $45/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon

And this is a luxurious proposal, worthwhile with the high-end services. From rooms, restaurants, swimming pools, spas and other facilities, all are carefully cared for by Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnamon to nurture every vacation experience of tourists when visiting the Maldives. The one-step-to-sea rooms with large balconies have a comfortable reclining chair ready, you definitely have more relaxing moments. A 4-star resort with room rates from $117/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Dusit Thani Maldives

Luxurious in Maldives standards with rooms are connected to the middle of the sea, standard 5-star resort on Mudhdhoo island, surrounded by clear blue water and beautiful coral reefs. As soon as you land at Male Airport, the hotel transfer bus will pick you up. Each room on the sea of Dusit Thani Maldives has a private swimming pool. A 5-star resort with room rates from $396/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Centara Ras Fushi Resort & Spa Maldives

This is one of the most beautiful luxury resorts in the Maldives. All resort activities are full in this resort including rooms, restaurants, swimming pools, spa, yoga, gym, scuba diving, surfing, volleyball … This paradise resort definitely holds your feet in a way sweetly hard to describe. If you do not choose the rooms in the sea, you can also choose the rooms on the island but wherever you stay, the space of blue sea island also rushed to the room. A 5-star resort with room rates from $328/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

Oceanic Village Maldives

Oceanic Village Maldives is suitable for travel or business trips in Maldives. Each floor of this hotel has 4 large rooms that are comfortable, well-ventilated and fully equipped. On the rooftop there is a rooftop café, small private bath and chairs for sunbathers. The room rates of Oceanic Village Maldives is also quite soft, helping you to save a significant amount of your stay. A guest house with room rates from $45/night. (Check rates and reviews on Agoda.com or Booking.com).

There are so many hotels, resorts with good ratings and reviews. You can find more, check rates, availability & booking for Maldives hotels on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Maldives travel blog: What to do?

The Maldives is an island nation surrounded by the sea, so the fun activities here are mostly related to the sea. Maldives has no mountains, the only city has Male capital. Male is quite small and doesn’t have many special things so you can consider visiting or not.

Can list out the activities on the island or resort that you consider participating, almost every resort has these services, you just need to register and join tour. The price of activities depends on the luxury level of the resort. I divided into 3 main types of activities (if you stay at the resort).

Activities should be participated at the resort

Free activities on the island resort

Some free activities in the resort such as gym, table tennis, tennis, badminton, etc. Non-engine underwater activities like snorkeling (borrowing tools at the resort), kayaking, wind surf, windsurfing..

Water activities are chargeable at the resort

If you want to participate in activities near the resort, you can buy water activities with engine. For example, riding a motorbike on the water – Jetski, paragliding, windsurfing with water motorbikes, ..

Buy private tours from the resort

These are fun tours that usually take about half a day for each tour. These tours can be purchased at the reception, or booked in advance. Tours include:

• Snorkeling and Scuba Diving: Of course, because Maldives is the most beautiful place to snorkel, see coral, countless rich flora. Snorkeling with a snorkel to watch corals in shallow waters. Diving is a deep diving activity that you must bring oxygen tank, and need a certificate to participate.
• Diving to see Whale Shark and Turtle. Usually each species will be in a separate area and you have to dive quite deep to see these special animals.
• Fishing and watching the sunset (Sunset fishing): Quite romantic for the couple, you will be transported to a place with lot of fish, the number of fish will be cooked by the chef of the hotel for free.
• Dolphin cruise: You will be taken to the sea to watch dolphins swim in the pack. They jump over the water, like a show.
• Local Island discovery: For those who come to Maldives at the resort who want to explore the local people’s life.

If you stay at the resort there will be some special premium services such as romantic dinner with candles and wine on the beach, dinner on crystal clear water, visiting local islands, spas, etc. or simply is lying on a hammock in the balcony reading a book.

Top things to do if you stay on local islands and not at the resort

Exploring Male capital

If you have come to Maldives, you should not ignore Male capital. It has churches, museums or bustling markets of the locals. Male is also an ideal place to enjoy street food and shopping for Maldives special souvenirs.

Male capital is not so big, I encourage you to walk around to experience the best local taste. If you take a taxi, even if you go to any place, it is only about US$1, taxi here does not have a meter.

Le Cute Shopping Center is also a great destination with many imported goods from the US and Europe, very attractive promotional prices.

See the glowing beach (Bioluminescent plankton beach)

Algae dinoflagellate, a group of highly concentrated single-celled organisms makes the beach glow in the night, sparkling like thousands of stars in the sky. Vaadhoo Beach, when night falls, glows glowing blue like the mysterious galaxy.

Diving and snorkeling and watch coral

The best coral reefs in the world are hiding under the clear turquoise waters of the Maldives. The resort offers scuba diving services with professional equipment and guides. With a depth of about 1 meter or more, you can immerse yourself with the beautiful ocean, swim with the lovely stingrays.

Dancing with dolphins and whales

Have you ever imagined the prospect of dolphins and whales swimming around in your boat? They also listen to bodu beru drums, freely swim, dance along the water. At the Maldives travel guide, your dream is completely real.

Small boats glide in the sunset, a light meal with cocktails or fruit juices, you will really experience the most wonderful relaxing moments with incredibly lovely sea creatures.

Enjoy the panoramic view of Maldives from above

Seaplanes will give you the opportunity to see the island nation from above to take in the most spectacular, unique and beautiful shots. If you want to experience this service, you can ask at the reception of hotels and resorts for instructions on registering domestic tours.

Feeding the rays

According to the lights of the resorts, stingrays often swim ashore at night. They are fed by resort staff or tourists. Just lovely, extremely friendly.

Enjoy swimming in the cool blue water

On the islands, a lot of stilt houses are built and roofs are connected to the middle of the sea. Wooden corridors or beautiful little bridges take from house to house. Just walk out of the room and you have reached the sea.

Every day, resort services or meals are also served by small boat rowing staff. This is one of the characteristics of the Maldives. In addition, you can also rent small kayaks to visit the beautiful bays.

Maldives blog: What and where to eat in Maldives?

Food in Maldives does not have much special, mainly seafood and the price is also very high (usually from $ 5-10/meal/person). Because it is tourist island, they serve both Western and Muslim food. These include bread, fried eggs, seafood rice (rice, fish and chips, tuna fried rice). Most hotels can serve you meals, and usually breakfast is included in the room rates.

Dining options at the resort

Eating and drinking at the resort is all we have to depend on them because this island is separate from the neighboring islands, when finding and selecting reservations packages, there are some considerations as follows:

B&B: Short for Bed & Breakfast, means only has breakfast for each person. The price will be cheap but really it is not recommended to choose this package since it is inherently in the resort you will not have any other dining options besides the resort’s island restaurants. Should buy packages includes lunch/dinner at the time of booking because the price when buying directly is always more expensive than booking.

Half board: When choosing this meal plan package, you will get a breakfast buffet and any other meal of the day, usually for dinner. Dinner price is always higher than lunch price.

Full board or All-Inclusive: When selecting Full board package, you will get a full meal on the island, and when choosing the highest package, All-Inclusive, you will have 3 meals free as full board, but you can also use free drinks all day. Note that some high-end resorts only have FB without AI.

Some resorts in addition to regular meals, there will be many other luxury dining options. You can choose to eat in the villa, eat on the beach or eat anywhere in Maldives, as long as you can afford it. In addition, some restaurants deep in the ocean is also a very unique point in the Maldives, very few resorts have. It can said such as Ithaa at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island or the SEA restaurant in Anantara Kihavah.

Below are some food and drink in Maldives you can not miss

Fruit juice

In the cool blue sea, the heat of the weather definitely makes you need a glass of cool juice. This nutritious, good for skin and refreshing drink can be found anywhere, very popular in Maldives.

Each season, the Maldives will have a unique but the most delicious and refreshing fruit are pineapple juice or coconut water.

Riha Curry

The cuisine of Maldives is greatly influenced by India so the aromatic flavor of curry is indispensable in the menu. Traditional curry powder is made by the people of Maldives and cooked with chicken and spices. Spicy curry sauce, fatty and fragrant sauce seeped into each meat of chicken for vivid, delicious colors when eaten with roshi cake, papadu or white rice.

Mas Huni

This dish has the main ingredient of Maldives tuna, both sweet and fragrant and firm. In addition, the ingredients also have fatty coconut milk, onions, pungent hot peppers. The chopped or crushed ingredients are served with crispy hot bread. A delicious breakfast, popular in the Maldives.

Garudhiya

Still tuna, specialty from the sea island. This traditional soup is not everyone likes to eat but once a tuna fanatic is really satisfied. Ingredients only have the best fresh tuna, salt and water to make the soup. To create more delicious flavors that tourists can enjoy, people have added chili, curry and onions.

Bajiya

The outer shell of the cake is yellow and crispy, and the inside of the cake is the smoked tuna or boiled tuna that is both fragrant and soft. People mixed a little coconut, dried chili, mango and pepper to make the dish more strange taste and smell up. At the resorts, restaurants often serve this dish in the afternoon with a few special sauces to dip the cake.

Gulha

Gulha are Maldives-style dumplings. The inside cake is made from salmon, chili, onions and some local spices. In particular, people in Maldives also add a little lemon and turmeric to the kernel, creating beautiful colors and unique flavors. Unlike the typical dumplings of the Chinese people, Gulha crust is made of wheat balls and then fried in a large oil pan until yellow and crispy. Biting a piece right away, chewing and gulping is hard to describe.

Fihunu Mas

This is grilled seabass in Maldives style. The best, fresh and delicious seabass are cleaned, stuffed into the belly of a mixture of local herbs, typical spices, wrapped in foil and baked on a charcoal stove until it smells good . This dish bring enough local flavor and secret is in the mixture in the fish belly. You must enjoy to feel the essence of the Maldives.

Maldives travel guide: What to buy?

Maldives Island Nation keeps the wild, peaceful beauty. Souvenir products mostly use natural ingredients, which are simple but still have local colors. You can visit and shop for souvenirs in shops, stalls, counters on the island, most notably including Majeedi Magi, Chandani Magu or Thuhadhoo …

Lacquer souvenirs

On the Thuhadhoo Island, you will easy find the most sophisticated lacquer souvenirs made from the hands of talented artisans. Everything from bowls, vases, wall murals, jewelry boxes, statues … all are very diverse and eye-catching.

Weaving mats

The mats are meticulously woven with the hands of the people of Maldives previously used to make special gifts during diplomatic trips. At present, weaving mats have become a typical product of the Maldives islands with natural materials and distinctive patterns. Compact woven mats, can be used as sitting mats or woven into works of art.

Coconut fiber rope

The rope is woven from dry coconut fiber, extremely tough. It is an indispensable item in fishing, breeding and setting up tents of people here. Currently, the ropes have been created into colorful chairs, hammocks or souvenir bracelets.

Carved wood

Finding plastic or metal products in Maldives is quite difficult. This makes a special thing in the Maldives. At resorts, souvenir shops, and restaurants, you will find lots of wooden products that are both decorative and functional. You can buy these products as lovely souvenirs that are affordable.

Dhoni boat model

The lives of people in the Maldives are mainly associated with the sea and the boats. The meticulously elaborately crafted small Dhoni boat model will be an extremely meaningful gift that every time you see them, you will remember the people and the best moments of relaxation in the Maldives.

Save this Maldives travel guide and experience the beautiful island nation in your own way with useful information above! Wish you have a nice trip to Maldives!

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Maldives you can refer to

• Maldives Day Tour from Hulhumale
• Discover Scuba Dive in Maldives
• Male Island Hopping Tour
• 4G SIM Card for Maldives (MY Delivery) by Mewfi

Are you looking for more Maldives travel guide and top things to do in Maldives: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Maldives travel blog — The fullest Maldives travel guide for a great trip on a budget for the first-timers. Are you looking for where to stay in Maldives? Read more: 8 best budget & best affordable Maldives resorts you should stay.