Maldives for less than SGD1000.

Maldives has been placed amongst the top destination to go to atleast once in our lifetime. It has always seemed out of reach to me knowing how expensive it could be;until the Island called Maafushi was introduced while googling for an affordable Maldivian trip.

Getting there :
Tigerair has an amazing deal and I got my tickets with 15kg to and fro luggage allowance plus insurance for only $260.
Journey takes about 4.5hrs to Mal'e .
Once u reach the airport , you will be strucked with awe by the beautiful water that greets you.

Video : Landing Time!

Airport's Jetty

*Airport has  Burger king, Swensen's & Thai Express to name the least.

Airport to Mal'e City :
From the airport, take a 10min boat ride for 1usd/pax to Mal'e city .From there, take a short taxi ride to  Villingili ferry terminal which cost 2 usd/pax .

Video:Boat Ride from Male' Airport to Mal'e City. Breathtaking.

Villingili to Maafushi :
You can either go local and take the ferry for 1usd (1.5hrs ride) which only departs at 3pm to Maafushi.

Note: Ferries dosen't operate on Fridays 

Another option is the speedboat. If you share with others, it would cost you 25usd minimum for 30 mins ride. 250usd per speedboat is steep if you don't have anyone to share with.

Note: Upon return, ferry ride from Maafushi to Mal'e city cost 2usd which departs at 730am. Get your guesthouse host to purchase the tickets for you at least a day before departure.

Since we had 3 hrs before the ferry departs to Maafushi, we hanged out at a nearby foodstall which sells pretty good food.

Local Ferry Ticket

 Rows of foodstalls to choose from near Villingili Ferry Terminal.

Interior of local ferry . Its pretty spacious.

Accomodation:
Price : USD566 for 2 pax.
There are plenty of guesthouses (and many are still are in process of building) but Stingray Beach Inn has attracted me. We took the halfboard package for 4 nights;inclusive of breakfast and dinner. Stingray has been ranked for serving the best food . That means you will be  spoilt with choices. There is nasi goreng, steaks , maldivians dishes, Singapore dishes etc.

 American breakfast with free chewy waffles.

You can also choose the traditional Maldivian Breakfast. Rendition of Chapati eaten with tuna mixed with coconut shavings which was amazingly delicious.

They served desserts too.

Pardon the blur image. A few of the many dishes you will find. Nasi Gorain(Goreng) is a MUST TRY!

The room is clean though the shower stall is really small.  Amenities such as aircon, fan, fridge, flatscreen tv, cable channel, hairdryer, safebox and kettle is included in the room. Free Wi fi is also available.

The guesthouse has hammocks and a swing in the courtyard. Not fogetting a jacuzzi! The service is exceptionally great for a small guesthouse. Sheesha is also available for USD 4.

The resort is not beach front but a minute or less walk to the tourist beach.

Maafushi Island:

People are friendly and helpful.They speak good English so do not be worried on communication. You'll find mosques, schools, prison , guesthouses and a couple of souviners store on this small island.

The island may seem rundown to certain people but I find that it has a charm of its own with washed colorful alleys . Great for photo taking. :)
They prefer USD but no harm to have Maldivians rufiyaa with you.

Prettiest notes ever

& Coins .

Since its an Islamic country, take note on how you dress. No alcohol on this island but they could charter a private boats which served alcohol. Please do not bring alcohol into Mal'e.

There is a fenced up tourist beach and u can wear your  bikinis there .

 

Was excited thinking its a Hard Rock Café -_-

Made friends with this cute bird. Wished I knew its species.

If you get lucky, you'll see a couple of reef sharks on the shoreline.

Ibrahim allowed free use of his motorbike. A litre of Petrol cost 2USD.

Fenced up tourist's beach.

 Colorful souvenir shop

Local grocery store.

Activities:
There are alot of activities to choose from. I opted for the sandbank/snorkelling with turtles and a trip to local island for USD 45.
Fishing trip on the local dhoni boat for 2 hours cost 30USD.

INCLUSIVE OF SNAKES & DRINKS Y'ALL!

Me & Turtle

 Dhoni boat which locals use for fishing.

The catch from other participants. I didn't get lucky but it was a good experience.

 Beautiful Sandbank

 Many shades of blue

 How the locals relax

Pretty Maldivian Home @ Guraidhoo Island

The activities could generally make your expenditure increases too. Ask your guesthouse to email the activity lists and you can gauge from there. There is always a 10+ 8% taxes added to the bill so do take note of that too .

Weather:
It was monsoon in Aug while we were there. We faced both rain and good amount of sunshine so it is hard to assure you readers . Check out the season before planning. But it didnt spoil our plans too much.
 * Maldives is 3hrs behind Singapore time.

Expenditure in SGD: Per Pax
Flight : $260
Accomodation : $400
Own expense / Tour : $300
Total : $960

*Souviners
Magnets : 2-5USD each
Tshirt :8-15USD each
Snowglobe : 10-15USD
Sandbottles : 2-3USD

 Best gift for myself

*Dont expect too much discount.

Of course this depends on the airfare deal and the tours you want to do. :) I skipped lunch but brought along canned food, cup noodles and spread for lunch and it saved me $$$. Hence it cost me less than 1K. This also depends on the exchange rate as USD currency seem to grow stronger now.


Meet my new friends. Ali and Ali. Bunch of jokers!

Friendly kids

Joe the super cute cat who made our room like its his.

And his mommy. These kitties belongs to Stingray Beach Inn so cats lovers, you'll love it here.

And her another kitten, Ben.



Thank you Tigerair for bringing me to this paradise .

Pretty Boarding Ticket!

Overall, it has been a beautiful experience. Maafushi has made my Maldives dream come true and I hope by sharing this will help you to plan your trip too! Till then Syukuria to the people who have made my stay really comfortable and safe!