Maldives Travel Tips | frenmayorga

The Maldives has always been at the top of my non-existent bucket list. There’s more to it than just the island life. There comes the seclusion, the vast ocean, luxury and the unique culture. To have experienced its beauty first hand is just beyond explanation. Its truly beyond comprehension and it is something that I, myself thought is an impossible place to go to due to the luxurious brand it has been given. I will tell you now that there is always a way as long as you plan it out properly. Every country you go to will have their own hidden costs and the Maldives is no different to that. Here are a few tips that will save you from blowing your budget when visiting the Maldives.

With great beauty comes with a greater responsibility of keeping it beautiful and this is why you must consider a few things before actually planning your trip to the Maldives. The locals of the Maldives are very much on to preserving the natural beauty of their God given islands. Each islands and resort would have their own policy but one thing is very consistent, protecting its ecosystem.

Payable Tax

Stay in the Maldives is subject to:

10% service charge,
12% applicable government tax and
USD 6 green tax per person per night

According to the Maldivian Inland Revenue Authority, Green tax is a tax payable by tourists who stay in tourist resorts, tourist hotels and tourist vessels. It is also payable by tourists who stay in tourist guesthouses from 1 October 2016 onwards.

Green tax is payable at the rate of 6 United States Dollars per day of stay from tourist resorts, tourist hotels and tourist vessels, and 3 United States Dollars per day of stay from tourist guesthouses. Maldivians and resident permit holders are not required to pay Green Tax.

Each 24-hour block between check-in time and check-out time will be considered as 1 taxable day, for which Green Tax of USD 6 is payable. Click the Green Tax Calculator button at the top of the page to help you workout approximately how much you need to pay in the duration of your stay, keeping in mind that everything is in USD.

Computation of Green Tax for the 24-hour block during which the guest checks out is based on the 12-hour rule. If the tourist spent 12 hours or more at the establishment during that 24-hour block, then that block will be considered as a taxable day; if not, green tax is not payable for that block.

What does this mean for you?

Bringing extra spending money would give you a more breathing space when it comes to budgeting. I suggest that you don't take the word of the travel agencies and hotel booking websites, there will always be hidden costs but in this case, it is not hidden at all. You will find these in the fine print, unfortunately there is strong evidence that suggests the fine print is not read by the majority of consumers.

Every purchase including the money you spend on your dinner or lunch or even souvenir would be charged the service tax of 10%. It may look daunting to start off with but with the right budgeting and keeping in my mind of the costs you are liable to pay during your stay, there really is nothing to worry about. PLUS, its worth every penny!

Resort Prices

When deciding what is the best hotel for you, there are a few things that you need to consider most especially if you are travelling on a budget:

What is inclusive of the price that you are paying for?

It really is important that you check what will be included in the amount that you are paying for rather than getting into the resort and finding out that they do not have free WiFi.

In our case, we booked Anantara Veli located within the South Malé Atoll, Anantara Veli Maldives is a 35-minute speedboat ride from Malé International Airport. Most resorts have their own websites but if you booked on online websites such as booking.com, you'll get a comprehensive list of what would be included during your stay.

Most resorts offer different type of rooms to suit your budget and the purpose of your stay and each room offer different kind of perks. Click on the Accommodation button to see a comprehensive explanation of what each room has to offer and what is included and not included. Anantara Veli offers five different types of accommodation:

Over Water Bungalow
Superior Over Water Bungalow
Deluxe Over Water Bungalow
Ocean Pool Bungalow
Deluxe Over Water Pool Bungalow

The Anantara Veli resort staff were extremely welcoming and accommodating to start off with, then we were given a private tour of the Island along with what activities are available for us and the times that they operate. We booked a Superior Over Water Bungalow which is just perfect in terms of its location and pricing.

We have a mini bar in our room which, unfortunately I assumed was free so I took a couple of Pepero chocolates, upon seeing our bill during checkout, it turns out that it costs around $24 USD when it only costs $1.50 NZD back home. So again, if you're in a tight budget, make sure that anything that is consumable, better check if it will cost you rather than YOLOing and getting the surprise of your life during checkout.

Dining

One of the best features of Anantara Veli is its options for dining, from local to international cuisine such as Indian, Italian, Thailand etc. There are a number of restaurants around the Anantara Veli but there are also a few more choices on the other island called Anantara Dhigu which is just a pontoon away. Click the Restaurants button to see more details about the different restaurants Anantara has to offer as well as their operating hours.

For our booking, the breakfast was offered free and thank goodness it’s a buffet and to be quite honest, I’ve never been so happy to eat breakfast my whole life! There’s a variety of food to choose from and they have cronuts for desert! Our breakfast takes place at 73 Degrees which is overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Again, if you are travelling on a budget, I would suggest that before accepting any offer from the waiters/waitresses; make sure you have a look at the menu first. As you would expect from a luxurious and secluded resort, most food are overly priced and again, subject to 10% service tax. This is mainly because goods are shipped either locally or internationally and you can only imagine how those ingredients got to the island, hence a lot of shipping and importing of goods.

Activities

Each resort offers their own set of activities but they are mostly all the same from kayaking, snorkelling, para-sailing etc. Resorts such as Anantara Veli, they offer a variety of under water adventure such as diving, surfing, swimming with the manta rays etc. There truly is a lot of activities for guests to avail but one thing you need to consider before planning your holiday is what water sports and activities you’d like to give a try. In the likes of Anantara Veli, their Aquafanatics Water Sports Centre has their own operating hours so you must check with the staff first or possibly booking it upon arriving.

Most resorts provide all the list of activities that are available along with the prices. Make sure that you include this in your budgeting so that you don’t blow out your budget for the whole trip. Here are the kinds of water activities that Anantara Veli has to offer.

My advice to all that travelling to the Maldives is at least do one of the activities the resort offers. I know it may be pricy but the beauty of the Maldives does not only lie on the over water bungalows or the infinity pool. It has so much more to offer and for you to explore and fall in love with.

After a long day under the sun doing water sports or maybe to kick start your day, resorts offer a number of wellness and leisure activities. If you like a more relaxing and peaceful kind of holiday, I recommend you get into the resorts program for activities such as cooking, yoga or morning meditation. Click the button below to see a range of indoor and outdoor Maldives resort activities including yoga, shopping, cooking classes, fitness, tennis, swimming, volleyball, badminton and finding true rejuvenation at the Anantara Spa.

What is a resort without a spa right? This is something that we wish we could’ve done while we were there but unfortunately, it’s not within our budget anymore so we have to pass on it. It is costly in terms of price but if relaxation is what you came after, better make some adjustments in your budget to fit this in.

Flights and Boat Transfers

Flights will obviously differ depending on where you are coming from. There are direct flights from countries such as China, Korea and Singapore and I believe there is more. Our flight came from Singapore with Tiger Air.

The flights are not the cheapest but if you look through, you’d be able to find some cheap flights usually from Sri Lankan Air but be careful, their flight details changes from the date that you purchase your ticket from. Most especially if you are buying two separate tickets, make sure that you constantly check your flight to make sure that your flight details has not changed and if it did, you would need to contact the airline.

This is the only downside of purchasing cheap separate tickets, if for some reason they changed your flight to leave earlier or maybe the next day; this would mean that you need to re-evaluate your itinerary and this may also mean changing dates with your resort booking. It may be cheap but it may cause you a lot of hassle later on if worse comes to worse.

Upon arrival from the Male Airport, you should be able to see stands after stands of different resorts waiting for their guests so if you're like us who was about to lose our cool after looking around and not finding a booth with your resort’s name in it, don’t panic, some resorts don’t have booth BUT an office where guests can wait stay in while waiting for boat transfer.

Boat transfers are offered by the resorts themselves, extra fees may be charged but this is negotiable depending on which resort you are staying with. Some resorts offer sea plane transfer from the airport to the resort because of the distance in between. This is likely to cost you more than a boat transfer. Before booking any resort, make sure you inquire first whether a resort boat is coming to pick you up from the airport because the last thing you want to happen is to be stuck in the airport without knowing if you’re being picked up by someone or not.