Before booking your air tickets to the Maldives, do read our 7 Important Tips to Know When Planning Maldives Trip. The article highlights some important factors you must know to avoid getting shocked over hidden fees for your holiday.
This guide is about planning an affordable luxury getaway in Maldives. Since Maldives is famous for a romantic retreat, everyone should have a chance to experience it.
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1. How Many Days in the Maldives
In our opinion 4 to 7 days is recommended for a Maldives holiday for an average couple, 4 days for one hotel or 7 days for 2 hotels. Any more you might be bored easily.
From Malaysia & Singapore, budget airlines AirAsia & Scoot flies direct to Male, Maldives.
Very Important: If arriving late afternoon after 3.30pm or flying out early morning, you might require to overnight in Male if there is no more seaplane or speedboat transfer, do check with your hotel.
Note: If your flight arrive at 8 pm at night, you will need to overnight in Male. So do plan 5 days and not 3 days.
Airline Ticket Budget: RM900 / SGD400
2. Airport & Hotel Transfer
Most room rates do not include airport & hotel transfer and it can be very expensive. Always check how much is the transfer cost before deciding which hotel to stay.
We highlighted more tips you should aware of Maldives holiday HERE in case you missed out.
Note: USD is the main currency of payment although they do have their national currency.
3. Which Hotel to Stay?
There are 2 types of islands in the Maldives – private & residential. Private islands are where most private hotels are located while residential islands are islands with local residents.
Residential islands tend to be dirtier and no alcohols are allowed. The lodge is mostly converted residential housing & you will mostly need to arrange sightseeing trips when staying in residential islands.
As this guide is to plan an affordable luxury getaway, we looked into several 4.5 to 5-star hotels for 4 days rates.
| No | Hotel Name | Airport Transfer (USD) | Hotel Rates (USD) | Meals (USD) | Total |
| 1 | Velassaru Maldives Resort – Halfboard | 308 | 1497.6 | 210 | 2015.6 |
| 2 | Filitheyo Island Resort – Halfboard | 800 | 959.1 | 210 | 1969.1 |
| 3 | Gangehi Island Resort – Full board | 870 | 1013.88 | 1883.88 | |
| 4 | Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort – Halfboard | 450 | 1215.75 | 210 | 1875.75 |
| 5 | Club Med Kani – All Inclusive | 302 | 1135 | 1437 |
From the list research, Club Med would offer the best value hence we will use it as planning. Also since will require to overnight in Male, we will budget extra USD70 for that night.
Note: All the hotel’s prices are subject to change and correct at time of release.
Hotel Budget : Club Med 4 days + Male Hotel – USD1,437 + USD70 / 2 pax = USD753.50 per person (RM2,872 / SGD1,033)
4. What is Half Board, Full Board & All Inclusive
Most hotels are located on their own private island hence there is not much dining option than to dine at your own hotel. Dining can be expensive in the Maldives as with limited choice. Depending on the hotel rates, you do see these 3 terms – Half Board, Full Board & All Inclusive
Half Board – The room rate includes Breakfast & Dinner
Full Board – The room rate includes Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
All-Inclusive – The room rate includes Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner + Beverages (It might be all-day dining & beverages as well)
5. How much to budget for Food
If your room rate is without meals, you will need to allocate a budget for meals. Depending on hotels the rate differs. You should be able to request their menu price.
6. Total Budget Per Pax
| No | Info | USD | RM | SGD |
| 1 | Air Ticket | 900 | 400 | |
| 2 | Airport Hotel 1 Day | 35 | 133 | 48 |
| 3 | Airport Transfer | 151 | 575 | 207 |
| 4 | Club Med 4 Days | 660 | 2700 | 890 |
| Total | 4,308 | 1,545 |
Since Club Med is all inclusive hence we don’t have to extra budget for food & drinks. However, is always good to bring more money for extra activities.
As this is just a guide for an affordable luxury getaway, feel free to browse other luxury hotels with water bungalow rooms to make it a truly luxurious vacation.
SHARE this article with your family & friends and start planning your Maldives vacation now!
how to booking this packed?
Hi Hetanto, just visit Club Med website to book. Happy Holidays!
Hi Tommy,
First off, nice article, I really liked it. Simple and clear!
I didn’t think it was possible to go on holiday in Maldives with such affordable budget!
Are these listed rates from the current season? What about if I book for December? They will probably raise the rates because is considered high season, I guess….
All inclusive is not always a good choice as per my experience.
I also heard that in Maldives, packages are not good value for money.
Do you know any Maldives Island Resort nearby heritage site, museums or which include cultural tours and excursions?
Thanks for help.
I’ll be sharing the post with my friends 🙂
Hi George, yes the listed rates are for current season & it might vary. Only Male has a city tour the rest islands are tourist purpose built hotels
Hi Tommy,
you can try to look for Loama Resort Maldives at Maamigili, they have a heritage site and they operate a museum and art gallery.
I think they also arrange cultural tours to the neighboring islands.
Otherwise you can check some of the many guest houses scattered in the country, definitely one of the best solution if you want to experience the true Maldivian life.
Hi Tommy,
May I know which resort did you chose to stay during ur trip to Maldives?
Hi Anthony we stayed in maafushi. Feel free to fb message us to check on Maldives hotel promo.
Hi Tommy, nice try and nice work there.
You may want to be clear though about the fact that the rates you quoted are off season rates, whereby the islands are more prone to be subject to rains and less clear sky etc.
The rates/price you listed are not possible during peak season, which runs from Nov to April.
Hi H, thanks for the comments ^^ Will look into it 🙂
Hi, Tommy, nice blog. I would like to find out the hotel in Male. Any recommendation? Since Airasia flight arrive 8pm.
Thanks
Hi Edward, you can use this website to search & filter by rating 8 or 9 and according to your price https://www.hotelscombined.com/?a_aid=145012
Thanks Tommy, appreciate a lot…
Hi Edward, you are most welcome
Hi, thanks for the guide. However I noticed RM500 for AirAsia ticket is close to impossible now. I am planning to travel in Sept this year, but flights are >RM1000 per pax. Maybe its due to season or I did not book early enough. Any comments?
Hi Zhou, yeah normally cheaper to book during promotion
Hey hey, I am trying to book club med but the airport transfer is RM1492 for two person. Is there anyway i can get to club med maldives without taking their airport transfer package?
Hi Anne, every hotels transfer is compulsory as there is very limited transport method.. Maldives is unlike other place so make sure you are well prepared.
Hello Tommy,
Very nice article, very nicely done, congrats !!
Here is a little tip who might interest you and some people traveling to Maldives . We just came back from Maldives few weeks ago and we managed to find an extra way to save few bucks on transportation . We are 4 friends and we booked a resort called Adaaran Vadoo . The hotel was asking us for 130 USD plus taxes per person for return transfer ( total 520 USD for us 4)
We digged on internet and found a company arranging private speedboat transfer to our resort. They asked us USD 330 for return transfer to Aadran for the 4 of us. We informed the resort that we don’t need transfer but only room + food and we saved 190 USD. Cherry on top, as it is a private transfer we didn’t have to wait at the airport and we went direct Aadaran while other clients had to wait 45 minutes for the hotel boat to leave from the airport ( It seems resorts are combining people arriving on different flights ). Hope this will help the future travelers !
REgards
Francois
PS : Company name for private transfer was http://www.cruise-maldives,com in case someone is interested
Hi Francois, great glad to hear that. However others pls double check if hotels allow to cancel transfer to avoid double charge
Hi Francois,
Thank you for the great tip. it seems theres typo in the url provided.
Hi, which airport Hotel did you stay for the night which is only $35 per pax?
Hi, you can search https://www.hotelscombined.com/?a_aid=145012
Hi Tommy
thanks for your sharing. appreciate that
however i would like to know the all in cost u listed out for Club Med Kani – this is base on travelling at what month ? Is there a peak and non peak season to travel to Maldives so will have lower cost ?
as we can see other traveller commented that the transfer is not cheap as listed ?
Thanks again Tommy
hope to hear from you soon
Hi Felicia, the best time to buy package is during Matta Fair, yes there is peak & non peak season in Maldives as well. Also make sure include the compulsory transfer cost
Thanks for sharing such a nice post. I love to visit Maldives once in a life. And It’s really helpful for me to visit Maldives within my budget.
I’m sure you’re helping a lot of people with this excellent information! Great job! The Maldives really deserves to be recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful destinations. This beauty is further enhanced when you’re able to see the islands from above. As an Airline Pilot who frequently flies to the Maldives, I am often greeted with phenomenal views when coming in to land!
Great article about Maldives travel Itinerary. Now budget travel on the rise in there, a affordable luxury tours in the rise? great to hear that. I think your tip will be help for first timer in there. Cheers, great effort.
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Hi, thanks for sharing.
We took a 20 min speed boat from Male and it was great.
Maldives is a wonderful place for couples and families.
Our kids enjoyed everything, and we took amazing pictures.
https://travelinpicture.com/maldives
We felt like in aquarium
Your information was so helpful.it is a wonderful thing that you share all these experiences with us.jeep enjoying your life and be safe