Maldives — Travel — Passports & Passions

Bright blue pristine waters, pure white sand, and beach hut bungalows – welcome to the Maldives. The Maldives is a popular destination for many honeymooners looking to escape and relax, much like Tahiti and other tropical places. But since I was only an hour flight away from these islands, I decided to hop on a plane to experience the Microsoft desktop background I stare at every day at work.

I learned a lot while researching and taking this trip, and here are a few things I think you should know before you go!

Religion

One of the most important things I learned about the Maldives is that the government declared Islam as the official religion of the country in 1997. While this doesn’t sound like a big deal, it is. Freedom of religion in the Maldives is strictly prohibited, among many other things. This means no alcohol, no pork, and no bikinis. Yup, you read that correctly- no bikinis…unless you’re at a resort. If you decide to stay at a resort, feel free to lather on the SPF 4 and wear your swimsuit all you want, but if you are on one of the local islands, there is a strict dress code that one must cover their shoulders and thighs. There are some local beaches for tourists on the islands, such as Maafushi Island, but once you step foot off the beach be ready to be fully clothed in tropical weather.

Resorts

If you want to drink beers while watching a sunset and get a few shades darker, you’ll want to stay at one of the resorts in the Maldives. The Maldives has over 100 resorts, each as its own island. As you can imagine, you pay a hefty premium to tan and enjoy alcoholic beverages on a deserted island, but I will say it is worth it. I ordered a Diet Coke while watching the sunset and it only set me back $6.00 (no refills). I chose not to do an all-inclusive package because I knew it didn’t make economic sense for me, but many resorts offer this option and you may want to consider it if you like unlimited sodas, beer and food.

Activities

I highly recommend researching the resort activities because it is easy to get bored if you don’t like reading books or sitting in the sun for too long. Consider things like scuba diving, snorkeling, day trips, and how easy/difficult and or costly it is at your resort. I stayed at the Eriyadu Resort, which has a house reef surrounding the island and this was a huge benefit since I never had to leave the island to snorkel. For $8.00 a day I snorkeled all around the island with sea turtles, nurse sharks, and sting rays. This was probably the best bargain of the trip.

Transportation

Logistics in the Maldives can be a pain. You will arrive in Male, the capital of the Maldives. From there, you will either take a speedboat or sea plane to your resort, or a ferry to the local islands. Be mindful that many resorts group arrivals and departures, so while you’re flight may land at 2pm, you may not board your speedboat until 4pm when more people who are at the same resort arrive. Be prepared for weather delays and extra costs for sea planes and speed boats. If you decide to take a ferry to a local island, it is very inexpensive. If you're planning on taking the ferries, be aware that theydon't always run that often and don't run on Fridays for religious purposes.

Conclusion

Despite the cost staying at a resort while traveling to the Maldives, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I was there. The money spent was well worth the tan, good memories and pictures with sharks and turtles. If you want to know more about the Maldives just let me know!