How much does it cost in Maldives? This is what I spent in Maldives in a month
Maybe you know that in 2017 I spent 3 weeks of September and one week of October in the Maldives. Altogether I was in Maldives for 28 days, plus 2 days on the airplanes and at the airports, and 1 day in Istanbul on the way there. It was a month trip with 28 full days spent in Maldives. Maybe you wonder… how much does it cost in Maldives?
A few days ago I asked my Instagram followers if they’d like to know how much I spent in Maldives in a month and 94% of them said YES. I understand that Maldives are known as a very expensive luxury destination so most of you must think I’m super rich if I could have spend a month there. Well… that’s not entirely true :D
But first…
What did I do in Maldives for 4 weeks?
I spent 11 days at 4 resorts altogether and 17 days on local islands at 2 hotels.
These are the hotels and islands I’ve been to:
- I stayed at Summer Inn Thoddoo on Thoddoo island – local island
- Kurumba resort – Kurumba is the first resort that was opened in Maldives already in 1972
- Kuramathi resort
- Adaaran Prestige Vadoo resort
- LUX South Ari resort
- Mirian Sky hotel on Gaafaru island
I stayed at 6 different hotels over 4 weeks, with each of them located on a different island.
All four resorts are situated on their own islands where there is nothing else but the resort. It means that for example LUX South Ari resort is located on the island called Dhidhoofinolhu. But on the whole island you can find only LUX resort for guests and a small village for LUX staff who lives there. The same goes with other resort islands in Maldives.
Usually 1 island belongs to 1 resort only and you won’t find anything else on that island. Resort islands are different to local islands where locals live. On some local islands you might find small hotels and guesthouses for tourists. That’s the case of both Thoddoo and Gaafaru islands I also visited.
If you’d like to see how locals live in Maldives, you need to stay on a local island, not at a resort. At resorts the only contact you will have will be with resort staff. Many resort staff members are NOT from Maldives but they come from different countries around the world.
TIP: Here you can read about 5 things you need to know about locals in Maldives. Did you know they are called Maldivians?
In my private pool at Adaaran Prestige Vadoo resort
Besides 6 islands where I stayed overnight, I visited another islands when we went snorkeling or to have picnic.
I also spent a few hours on the following islands:
- Rasdhoo
- Madivaru Finolhu sandbank island
- Kagi picnic island
- Maadhooni Finolhu sandbank island
- Male – the capital
- Hulhule island where the International Velana airport is located
If you count all the islands I’ve visited in Maldives, it would be 12, plus a few more from close (when snorkeling but not stepped on the land there). That’s a lot more usually people going on holidays to Maldives visit. Yet it’s still very little out of all the 1,192 islands that Maldives consist of.
snorkeling with turtles Gaafaru Maldives
Prices in Maldives
How much does it cost in Maldives?
Maldives can be very expensive… Yes, some resorts cost from $200 to even $20,000 per night, not kidding! Can you imagine? But there’s also cheaper guesthouses on local islands. Once I read that the cheapest ones range from $20 per night. But don’t expect any luxury for that price, not even food included.
The hotels and resorts I stayed at cost more than $150 per night with full board. Each hotel/resort has different prices.
And when I counted all the extra activities, such as boat trips and snorkeling, the whole month in Maldives would cost approx. 15,000 to 20,000 euros.
Yes, one month in all the hotels I stayed at, with food and trips I did, and also the return flights to Maldives would cost 15,000 to 20,000 euros.
But this is what I spent in Maldives in a month
So finally my expenses…
As a professional travel blogger since 2010, I’ve been working with many resorts and travel companies to promote them on my blog and social media channels. In more than 7 years of blogging I’ve worked with over 300 brands. Feel free to check some of them on my Sponsors page.
Anyway, back to the point. I want to say that most of my trip to Maldives was comped by a Czech travel agency that sent me to Maldives in the first place, and then also the resorts and hotels sponsored my stay, food and activities.
I basically only paid for:
- my flight back (the flight there was covered by the travel agency) = 326.83 eur
- souvenirs = 30 eur (I got those 30 euros back afterwards. It was fridge magnets I am buying for some of my followers and send them once I get back home from the trip so they paid me for the souvenirs later)
- a few young coconuts and extra water (I drink more than 4 liters of water/liquids on a hot day) = 7.65 eur
- 2 plugs as my old plug got damaged and I needed to charge my laptop = 4 eur
- food and a massage at the airports = 109.15 eur (yes, way too much for 2 days at the airports but I felt like getting a massage while waiting in Male and it was not cheap)
I spent 447.63 eur in 4 weeks in Maldives.
One month in Maldives cost me exactly 447.63 eur, with flights, food and drinks, massages, trips and hotels… everything.
And if not for the massage it would have been 100 euros less :D
Usually I spend more than 448 eur in my home country Slovakia even when I’m not traveling. That’s funny, isn’t it? I spent less money in one of the most expensive world destinations than I often spend at home.
TIP: If you are thinking of visiting Maldives, here’s 30 things you should know about Maldives before your trip.
island Thoddoo Maldives bikini beach
*Disclaimer: I had to write articles on my blog, take photos and videos and promote the resorts and the travel agency on social media channels so I did work for a couple of days. But those few days, maybe even 10 altogether were worth all the luxury and adventure I’d experienced in Maldives over 4 weeks, right?
David Rainey
| #
Impressive expenditure for the length of time spent there. How much more if you didn’t have complimentary accommodation in return for promoting each establishment?
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
| #
Thanks David :) Like I said in the article, the whole trip I did would cost more than 15,000 euros.
Milan Bez Mapy Bardún
| #
That snorkeling with turtles in Maldives looks cool. But your snrokeling mask is funny :D
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
| #
Haha yeah that mask looks funny but is way better than the regular mask. You can breathe normally through nose, and not mouth :)
Nie je túra bez Štúra
| #
Veľmi dobrý článok :-) Tomu hovorím, spojiť príjemné s užitočným a páči sa mi, že si napísala tak ako to naozaj bolo, a nič si neprikrášľovala :-) Len tak dalej :-)
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
| #
Dakujem pekne. Vies jak, ja nie som drama queen a uprednostnujem pravdu :)
Coco makes me nuts
| #
I already know the effect, that traveling could be cheaper than staying at home. But I’m surprised that it 1) also works when traveling to the maldives and 2) if the homebase is Slovakia and not Germany :D Natural born travel-hacker, right? :)
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
| #
Haha thanks! Well, Slovakia is definitely cheaper than Germany but when I’m at home, I also go on wellness holidays, buy new gear etc so it’s usually not that cheap :D