Our first time leaving India in 2020 came right at the end when we were able to travel to the Maldives from Dec. 12 through Dec. 27. With COVID-19 limiting all travel in 2020, we were fortunate that the Maldives opened back up with reduced flight and lodging prices, so we were able to get away and enjoy a proper vacation at a fraction of the cost. After coordinating a COVID PCR test in Bangalore, we had received the negative test within 72 hours of our flight to the Maldives, and we were on our way.
Our trip was divided into three segments; A Luxury Resort, Male City, and a Budget Island. The first six days were at Summer Island, where we splurged on an Over-Water Villa on a private and remote island only for tourists. Following our time at Summer Island, we stayed in Male for one day to explore the cultural side of the Maldives. Our final eight days were on Thoddoo, a less expensive island with a balance of tourists and locals.
After experiencing all that the Maldives has to offer, we hope the following details on each option will help you plan your next trip to the Maldives!
Top Destinations
Choosing a Resort
With over 1,000 islands in the Maldives, you can spend days researching and analyzing which Resort to choose. After doing quite a bit of research on our own and seeing how it all works first hand, there are a few critical aspects to consider.
Cost
There are some Resorts that can cost up to $2k a night for an over-water villa. This would be considered the most lavish of the options with amenities like underwater restaurants. Most of the other more reasonable, but still pricey, options range from $500 to $1k per night for an Over-Water Villa.
Lodging Option
One of the most popular rooms available at most resorts in the Maldives is the Over-Water Villa. This room is suspended above the water on stilts and gives you a private patio with stairs directly to a Lagoon for snorkeling and swimming. This is the most relaxing, remote, and comfortable way to get access to the water. For those looking to enjoy the amenities of a nicer resort, the beach bungalows are more affordable and just as lavish. Most of them offer a private walkway directly to the beach, so you are always just a few steps to a nice lounge chair on the beach that is all yours.
Food/Drinks
All resorts will offer an all-inclusive option that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and unlimited drinks during your stay. One of the benefits of staying at a resort is that they serve alcoholic beverages. Since most local Maldivians are Muslim, there are strict bans on alcohol in Male and most other local Islands.
Activities/Amenities
Given this is the Maldives, all resorts will offer mostly the same water-based activities for additional charges; snorkeling, paddle boarding, tubing, fishing, sunset cruises, etc. Quality resorts will offer a gym and other activities like billiards, darts, badminton, etc. For all divers who know diving will be the focus of their trip, some resorts will have a dive center on the island. Make sure to look into the dives spots near these resorts if Diving is a main priority.
Location
Location is the least impactful aspect but can add cost and time to your trip. There are hundreds of islands near Male (The capital with the airport) that all pick up the tourists with speed boats and transport everyone to the island up to 2 hours away. There are islands further from Male that may require or offer another flight on a unique seaplane. The flying option is more expensive and would save you some time if you plan to stay further from Male. If you want to travel hassle-free and cheaper, getting in a speed boat is the best option, but you miss out on the unique experience of flying over a ton of beautiful islands.
Summer Island
This island was a 45 min boat ride from Male and was less expensive than the flying option that would have taken 15 minutes (During our whole stay, there were no tourists that chose the flight option). Because of COVID, Summer Island offered a nice discount on the Water Villas, so we booked six nights for sub $350/night. Here is a glimpse of what you can expect if you get a Water Villa….
Because we were planning to get Scuba Certified, we also chose Summer Island knowing that it had a Dive Center on the island to make diving convenient and easy to coordinate and manage. Since we were paying extra for Scuba Courses and the Water Villa, we did the “Half-Board” Option that included breakfast and dinner but no lunch and drinks. Half-Board didn’t stop us from enjoying a few bottles of wine and a la carte lunch options.
There was one restaurant open when we were at Summer Island due to limited capacity from COVID-19 (They opened a second restaurant on Dec. 18). Even with only one restaurant open, they had a detailed selection of food at their nightly buffet. With soups, salads, an assortment of bread, specialty counters, a variety of international dishes, plus an elaborate dessert section, we were more than satisfied every night.
Before dinner, during happy hour and tea time (Full-Board received coffee/tea and snacks), most of the guests lounged at the bar while listening to live music and watching the sunset. We even had an employee dress up as Santa and water ski past the crowd, which was a hilarious occurrence.
Our time on Summer Island was consumed by our Scuba Diving Course, Snorkeling, and Relaxing. To get Scuba Diver Certified down to 12 meters, we performed two dives with skills and training with an additional classroom session and a final exam of 25 questions. Summer Island also offered one free Snorkeling trip (~1 hr) per day at two-time slots. We joined a snorkeling trip once and spent the remainder of our snorkeling time swimming around the lagoon near our villa. The rest of our time was lounging at the bar, pool, beach, or private patio in our villa.
The highlights of our time on Summer Island include getting Scuba Diver Certified, playing with way too many bubbles in the bubble bath, seeing a baby reef shark swim underneath us on two occasions at the overwater bar, and stargazing.
Male
After leaving Summer Island, we spent one day in Male before transferring to another Island for the second half of our trip. Going from a luxurious and relaxing Resort to the heart of a busy city was quite the shift, but this was nothing new compared to Bangalore.
We booked a stay at the Tourist Inn since this was the least expensive hotel in Male with good reviews. The room was more than sufficient and located well enough to allow us to walk around all day with ease. Upon our arrival on Friday, we immediately noticed how quiet the city was and realized all the stores and shops were closed. It wasn’t until we asked a local what was going on where we learned it was Praying time, and all shops were closed until 2 PM. After hearing this, we walked by the Grand Friday Mosque, the main attraction of the city and the largest Mosque in the country, when we noticed waves of people arriving to pray.
Once Praying Time finished, we made our way to Olive Garden (Not at all affiliated with the chain restaurant although we kind of hoped it was) for lunch. We ordered a pizza with sausage stuffed in the crust. This pizza was surprisingly delicious and original, although the price was a bit high for Maldivian standards.
We walked off our lunch by walking down Majeedhee Magu, the main shopping road on Male, which sprawls the entire island. We were shopping for some diving masks and swimwear but noticed there were large selections of athletic apparel shops and shoe stores. The lack of general water sports stores came as a surprise.
We made it to the coast and walked towards the water to get a better view. We ended up stumbling upon Varunulaa Raalhugandu, a stadium seating sitting area overlooking a surfing spot. Large waves at this location near the bridge made this a fun spot for locals to surf and bodyboard while others were enjoying ice cream and watching for entertainment.
Further north up the coast is an artificial beach (goes by the same name) where kids played in a small enclave of water. There was also a sand beach area hosting the end of the year volleyball tournament for the locals.
We capped off the night by stopping into Thazky rooftop bar for some dinner and sunset around 6 PM. We spent a few hours here reading and relaxing. Thazky also had the best Passion Fruit Juice we have ever had in our lives! There is one seat at the corner of this rooftop bar that gives a great view of Varunulaa Raalhugandu. The remaining seats don’t have a comparable view, but the food and atmosphere were still enjoyable.
Before we caught the speedboat to Thoddoo, we stopped for breakfast at Seagull Cafe. Seagull has a standard breakfast menu with a visually pleasing bakery section. The inside is decorated to make it feel like you are at the beach.
Thoddoo
For the second half of our trip, we chose to stay at Thoddoo Island. This island was about a 75-minute boat ride from Male. Because of COVID, there was a list of all approved islands and lodging options that were properly following COVID protocols. We found Ale Sara Guesthouse which ended up working out well for us. They had four rooms in total, so we were never around too many people, and breakfast was included in the rate (~$70/night). The owner was also very helpful in coordinating the speed boat to get to the island. We found that Thoddoo had good reviews for snorkeling and scuba diving and this became the main reason we chose Thoddoo.
Because the locals are all Muslim, they have Prayer times at 5 AM, 12 PM, 3:30 PM, 6 PM, and 7:30 PM. And another reminder, there is also no alcohol anywhere on the island. However, we noticed there was quite a bit of cigarette smoking by the locals of Male and Thoddoo.
Cash is also king on the island, so make sure to grab cash when you first arrive since most of the establishments do not have a card reader. There is one ATM on the island, but to be safe we would recommend getting cash before arriving at Thoddoo.
If you are considering a budget island, we have included some additional details specific to Thoddoo to help you get a better understanding of what to expect. We imagine this is true of most other islands.
Scuba Diving
There are two dive shops on the island. Thoddoo dive center is the more official and formal of the two and was also the only one that was open while we were there (the second was closed due to COVID). The diving around Thoddoo is incredible and became the highlight of the trip. As usual, there were two dive trips a day (9 AM and 2 PM), and the locations were chosen based on weather. Below are some of the locations we dove with additional details on what to expect.
North Plateau – This was deemed a good spot for beginners since the currents are not strong, and there was good visibility to deeper waters. We ended up going as deep as 16 meters. This location was home to a sprawling reef on an incline. We made our way across the reef and observed marine life from all sides. With the variety of fish all around us, we enjoyed the best dive to date. We spotted a few Sea Turtles and a Moral Eel poking its head out of the coral reef.
Manta Point – Called Manta Point by the locals because there is always a chance to see Manta Rays. There are a few mushroom-shaped corals where Mantas are known to clean and eat. Depending on the time of day and year, and the weather conditions, there can be great chances to see Mantas. With the weather being pretty overcast and rainy, we were not anticipating to see any Mantas, but just a few days before our dive, other divers had seen five Mantas, so they were pushing to go back and get lucky again. We ended up seeing three Reef Mantas, probably 3 meters wide, and observed them for quite a while while they moved between mushroom corals. We were also fortunate enough to see a Stingray resting under a rock, a few more Green Sea Turtles, and three Whitetip Reef Sharks.
Turtle Bay – Turtle Bay was another calm spot for beginners and directly outside Thoddoo. We observed two Lobsters, a Green Sea Turtle, and a Blacktip Reef Shark.
Rasdhoo and Madivaru Islands – A 30-minute speed boat takes you to these islands that are directly next to each other. These were well-known locations for more experienced divers. There is an increase in current that requires more coordination and focus to hug the coral reefs. Divers need to avoid getting pulled out towards the open water. We did three dives at these locations and caught glimpses of Grey Reef Sharks, Whitetip Reef Sharks, Blacktip Reef Sharks, Eagle Rays, Moral Eels, Green Sea Turtles, Barracudas, and Stingrays.
Beaches
There are two tourist specific beaches on the island. The most popular is Thoddoo Beach or Bikini Beach to all the locals. The tourist beaches are the only places a bikini can be worn due to the Muslim influences on the islands. All the remaining beaches on the island are reserved for locals and require complete skin coverage for all females. Bikini beach is located on the South West of the island and has about a quarter-mile of beach reserved for tourists. This beach is lined with palm trees and many seating options, including a few different lounge chairs and many hammocks. There are also a few swings lining the beach with one swing set in the water. We spent 95% of our time at Bikini Beach since it was the perfect place to relax, get tan, hide in the shade, walk around, and go snorkeling (more on that below). A secondary beach option is called Iru Araa Beach or North Beach to all the locals. North Beach is also well maintained and has a swing set in the water. Without as many sitting options (mainly hammocks), there were not nearly as many people here. But maybe this a good thing if you are looking for a bit of privacy.
Snorkeling
The snorkeling at Bikini Beach is unlike anything we had ever seen. The Maldives lived up the hype after this Thoddoo snorkeling experience. There is a fairly large coral reef area just 10 yards from the beach and spans out even further. Over the three days we went snorkeling, we saw a Sea Turtle every single time. We saw six turtles total during one 45 minute session along with a tiny snake-like eel moving across the top of the coral reef. These were the highlights, but this whole area had a great variety of fish and marine life.
For even better snorkeling, there is a location about a 2-hour boat ride from Thoddoo called Baa Attol. Baa Attol is known for having whale sharks and droves of Manta Rays that you can swim with. We were trying to coordinate a trip here, but the weather was not cooperating.
Lodging
There are no beachside properties on Thoddoo, and the locals do not support high-rise buildings or taller hotels. Almost all of the lodging options are Homestays, and there are quite a few to choose from. Given most of your time will be on the beach, we recommend a Homestay within close proximity to the beaches. Here is an outline of the walking path from beach to beach across the island. Any lodging option along this path would be the most efficient for your time on Thoddoo.
Food/Restaurants
There are probably about ten restaurants on the island, and we did our best to try them all. Of the ones we tried, we found that almost all of them had the same food options given sourcing unique ingredients would be costly. Most of the options include stir-fried rice, noodle dishes, pizza, and pasta. Although they don’t have access to unique ingredients, they all had fresh juice (Lime, Mango, Passion Fruit, etc.) that we enjoyed at every meal.
Our favorite restaurant was Priani, which had just opened three weeks before our arrival. The owner was from Slovenia, and she had started this restaurant to provide tourists with better quality food options since all the remaining local restaurants are more or less the same. The quality of the food was noticeably better, so we ended up eating there quite a bit. We also enjoyed Lagoon (because of the wifi) and Seli Poeli (TV showing the English Premier League Futbol matches).
You will also notice a distinct Russian influence on Thoddoo. Russians were one of the first tourists to arrive at Thoddoo, and they began recruiting more Russians to visit. Black Anchor is the Russian owned Restaurant on the island.
One unique meal we had on the island was called Mas Huni. Mas Huni is the traditional Maldivian breakfast served at Ale Sara Homestay. This dish is a mix of tuna, onion, chili, and coconut in a thicker consistency with Roshi, flatbread style complimentary dish. Tuna has never been a preference for us, but this dish was surprisingly delicious.
Getting Around
Compared to the private and small Summer Island that took 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other, Thoddoo is quite a bit larger. Everything is walkable within a 20-30 minute walk, and some tourists were walking around without much concern. We chose to rent bicycles from our homestay to shave 20-25 minutes off every trip we took to the beach, dive center, or restaurants. The entire island has a trail that completely circles the island that is about 3 miles long exactly (We ran this loop for exercise before some rains came and semi flooded the trail)
Conclusion
Not many tourists may have the time to spend their vacation at both a Resort or a Budget Island. If you are looking for a private, romantic, hassle-free, and relaxing trip with good quality food and adult beverages, then a Resort is what you will want to focus on booking.
If you are looking for spectacular snorkeling and Scuba Diving and want to enjoy the Maldives on a tighter budget, you will be happy to know a few Budget Islands like Thoddoo do exist. The downsides are clear though, the variety of food will be minimal, the accommodations will not be nearly as luxurious, and you will have to deal with more crowds of people at the limited public beach spaces.
Regardless of how you want to spend your time, it is clear that even during a Pandemic with limited operations and massive restrictions, the Maldives lived up to the hype. With the clearest water we have seen, the best snorkeling and diving we have ever done, and the beautiful beaches, if you can find an option within your budget you won’t be disappointed.
