Essential Planning For Your Maldives Vacation

According to the Maldives Tourist Board, every year 1.5 million people visit the beautiful Maldive Islands for the ultimate waterside vacation. The Maldives is especially popular as a honeymoon destination and offers beachside retreats, rustic houses built on stilts over the crystal-blue ocean, and pure white sands.

Spending time in the sea, swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving are high on the agenda if you are visiting the Maldives. Just make sure that you have packed the right clothing for your vacation on the water and plan your itinerary for the Maldives in advance. I also ordered a pair of DIFF’s stylish prescription sunglasses to match my vacation look.

Considering how far is the Maldives from New York, we made sure to plan our vacation carefully not to lose any time.

1. Getting to the Maldives

To get to the Maldive Islands, you will need to get a scheduled flight to Male International Airport. Male operates flights from Canada, USA, Europe, Middle East, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. Once you have reached Male, you will need to take another transportation from Maldives airport to hotels. You'll either take a speed boat or a seaplane to get to the islands.

Depending on where your resort is, this last leg of the journey will typically take between 45 and 90 minutes. If you are using a travel agent, you should make sure that your shuttle or charter flights are organized in advance, or you could find yourself being charged extra.

If you are wondering how long is the flight to the Maldives from NY, it's better to check one of the online booking systems for your exact dates. However, the average time is 20 hours with 1 layover in one of the major cities such as Dubai, Singapore, or Doha.

2. Arranging Visas and Insurance

If you are a Canadian or American citizen, you will need to arrange a visa that will allow you to stay on the Maldive Islands for 30 days. Wondering how much does it cost? The good news here is that it's FREE!

Besides, you can extend such a visa for an additional 60 days when you arrive there if you are planning to have an extended trip.

Before your vacation in the Maldives, you should also arrange comprehensive travel insurance to cover cancellation of your trip, lost or damaged baggage, and medical expenses. Your travel rep can help you with this to make sure that you have adequate cover when you plan a trip to the Maldives.

3. Paying For Goods and Services

The Maldives do have their own local currency, the rufiyaa, but USD is accepted in most places, and you may even find that you get a better price if paying in dollars. It is worth arranging dollars in advance as the ATMs in the Maldives can be expensive to use. If you are paying for items on your trip with a credit card, then you should try and use a card that doesn’t charge a foreign exchange fee.

4. Average Maldives Vacation Cost

The average airfare from the US runs between $1.500-2.000 per person if not more, not including seaplane transfers.
Seaplane transfers can add another $200-400 p/p.
The accommodation is the main variable, and it can get as expensive as you want it to.
Food and drink can reach $100-200 per day, depending on the resort and your preferences.
Diving can add another $100-200 per day.

5. Getting Around

If you are staying on one of the Maldive islands, then you certainly won’t be needing a car. It is really nice to rent a bicycle and explore the island this way, though.

You might, however, want to hire a dinghy or yacht to explore the waters. Make sure that you research boats that are suitable for what you need. It is essential to choose a boat as eco-friendly as possible so as not to pollute the beautiful blue waters. Be sure you’re water confident and feel safe before considering any swimming or water sports too.

6. Self-catering or All-inclusive?

Many of the islands only have one resort hotel, so the options for food are going to be limited. If you are self-catering, you will generally need to budget about $50 per person, per meal. You may find that it is generally a better value to book an all-inclusive vacation that includes all food and drinks.

It is also worth noting that you will typically only find alcohol on the resorts. You will discover simple but tasty food such as curried fish and rice on the islands with local cafes and restaurants.

7. Exploring The Ocean

The turquoise waters are one of the biggest attractions when visiting Maldives. Make sure that you pack more than one swimsuit for your vacation if you are planning to swim every day. If you are planning on diving, then you will be able to rent wetsuits when you are there. Suppose you are new to Scuba or snorkeling. In that case, you can always join a PADI course as part of your trip - just make sure that you book in advance as the courses can be popular, particularly from November to April when the weather in the Maldives is consistently dry and warm.

Going on a submarine tour is another great way of exploring the ocean - you will be able to see the incredible tropical fish close up in their natural habitat.

8. Time On The Beach

When you are heading to the beach, you will need to consider that the Maldives is a relatively conservative Muslim country. On many of the public beaches, you will be expected to cover up. There are actually many special beaches built on the local islands that are hidden from view where you can wear swimsuits - “bikini beaches.” Before you go running into the sea in your two-piece, make sure you check whether it is appropriate.

9. Essentials To Pack

The Maldives is, of course, a tropical destination, so it is vital that you protect yourself from the sun’s rays. Ensure that you pack adequate sunscreen and a sunhat; you will need them every day if you stay by the waterside or on a beach retreat. It would help if you also took a cover-up to keep in your beach bag.

If you are planning on snorkeling, then a wet bag is a good idea for your gear and swimsuit - you might want to take an underwater camera too, to take some beautiful photos of the wildlife. Many of the resorts can provide you with an adapter for any electrical equipment you have, but it is always a good idea to pack a spare one along with any chargers you may need.

Visiting the Maldive Islands, you can see some incredible wildlife in the surrounding ocean and spend your days relaxing on the tropical beaches. It is the ultimate vacation where you can leave your everyday routine behind and get away from it all.