How Much Does a Trip to the Maldives Cost in 2024
If you’re planning your vacation to Maldives right now, one of the most important questions we know you’re asking yourself is: how much is a trip to the Maldives islands?
One of the most sought after holiday destinations in the world, Maldives is an archipelagic haven, with a large number of islands spread across the Indian Ocean. People from all over the world flock here and with good reason. The waters are translucent, the reefs colourful and habitats full of life. A once in a lifetime trip that should be enjoyed to its max. And with all this prestige comes a catch: it can get pretty expensive, if you’re looking for the most luxurious experience.
If you’re more of a budget travel geared individual, Maldives can accommodate you as well. How much does it cost to go to the Maldives? Let’s go over a comprehensive breakdown.
Cost Breakdown for Trip to Maldives
We’re going to put these numbers out categorically, all of which have their own subcategory. For each subcategory, we’ll be splitting them between budget, mid-range and high end expenditures.
- Average daily expenses in the Maldives
When looking at the average daily expenditure, we want to look at three things: meals, local transportation and accommodation. All numbers are for an individual and not couples, families or otherwise.
- Meals
- Budget: $32 USD
- Mid-range: $79 USD
- High-end: $207 USD
- Local transportation
- Budget: $56 USD
- Mid-range: $140 USD
- High-end: $346 USD
- Accommodation
- Budget: $97 USD
- Mid-range: $237 USD
- High-end: $554 USD
It’s important to understand that some figures may be slightly different from others, as it can vary from restaurants, transportation services and accommodation options.
- Average cost for different durations of stay
For this section, we’ll be looking at three subcategories as well for the average cost, spanning a one week trip, a two week trip and a one month trip.
- One week trip
- Budget: $861 USD
- Mid-range: $2,122 USD
- High-end: $5,066 USD
- Two week trip
- Budget: $1,722 USD
- Mid-range: $4,244 USD
- High-end: $10,132 USD
- One month trip
- Budget: $3,690 USD
- Mid-range: $9,094 USD
- High-end: $21,711 USD
Please be advised that these figures are for one person. The numbers may also vary depending on the amount of activities you take part in, the type of food you eat, transportation types and the type of accommodation you choose.
- Cost for couples vs. solo travellers
For this section, we’ll also be taking a one week, two week and one month trip into account, along with figures for couples and solo travellers as there would be changes across the board.
- Couples
- One week trip
- Budget: $1,722 USD
- Mid-range: $4,244 USD
- High-end: $10,132 USD
- Two week trip
- Budget: $3,444 USD
- Mid-range: $8,488 USD
- High-end: $20,264 USD
- One month trip
- Budget: $7,380 USD
- Mid-range: $18,188 USD
- High-end: $43,422 USD
- One week trip
- Solo travellers
- One week trip
- Budget: $861 USD
- Mid-range: $2,122 USD
- High-end: $5,066 USD
- Two week trip
- Budget: $1,722 USD
- Mid-range: $4,244 USD
- High-end: $10,132 USD
- One month trip
- Budget: $3,690 USD
- Mid-range: $9,094 USD
- High-end: $21,711 USD
- One week trip
Package Tours vs. Independent Travel
Now let’s talk about packaged tours compared to independent travel. Just so that there aren’t too many numbers flying around, we’re going to go with the average expenditures for both categories.
When it comes to packaged tours, you’re choosing the option of trusting a travel expert with the type of activities you want to indulge in, the places you’d go to, the food you’ll end up eating, etc. This allows you to fully enjoy your trip without the hassle of planning everything yourself and keeping time. Basically it’s a whole load off your plate. On average, you’d end up spending $325 USD per day if you decide to go with a packaged tour. Of course, each tour would have a different price, different destinations, number of days, etc, but this is the average it would usually total to.
When it comes to independent travel, you have the freedom of choice to pick out what you want to do. You can tweak your itinerary based on how much you’re willing to spend, which will allow you to craft the perfect trip. Let’s break it down per category and see how much you’d end up spending on average daily. These figures are based on the expenditures of one person (not a specific individual, just what the expenditures would be like if it were just one person and not two or more).
- Accommodation: $277 USD
- Transportation: $346 USD
- Food: $207 USD
- Entertainment: $71 USD
- Alcohol: $66
- Water: $0.61 USD
Comparisons and Recommendations
Let’s compare some travel numbers. Take for instance Venice, Italy. For you to get to Maldives in December with a 7 month lead, you’d need to pay EUR1,268* for your plane ticket (taken from Turkish Airlines on 18th May 2024). You also have to take into account the seasons in Maldives for the price. As discussed earlier, ticket prices drop during the rainy season and go up in the sunny season while also escalating during the holiday season. This can become more expensive during the sunny season but if you’re more of a sunshine and rainbows kind of person, this is the time frame for you.
If you want to save some cash, we recommend you book your trip 6 months to a year from your desired travel dates. Some resorts in Maldives tend to get booked even with this time frame so be sure to look perhaps 1.5 years or even 2 years into booking as well.
Practical Tips and Considerations
When you think ‘how much does it cost to go to the Maldives’, it’s important to take into account not just how much you’d be spending, but everything surrounding it as well. When would be the best time for budget travelling, where to find the best flights, all that stuff. Let’s dive right in.
One of the first things you’d have to take into account is when would be the best time for budget travellers to visit. If you don’t mind a bit of rain, the rainy season is just right for you. The rainy season, known as the Southwest Monsoon (which runs from mid-May to November) and the sunny season, known as the Northeast Monsoon (which runs from January to March). Maldives experiences a dip in tourists during the rainy season and for good reason. People don’t want to experience any rainfall when they dream of lying under the gaze of the sun, getting their tan on.
Rain can also ruin excursion plans so snorkelling, diving, anything ocean related would get cancelled due to high winds and strong tides. If rain doesn’t bother you and you like cuddling up in a blanket and listening to the rain while you sip on some hot tea with a movie on, you’re in for a treat. Even during the rainy season, rainfall doesn’t occur that much either so it’s not that big of a deal. All your bookings during the rainy season gets cheaper as well: accommodation, food, excursions, etc.
You should also think about looking at affordable tickets for your trip to Maldives. It can get a bit expensive if you decide on taking any of the bigger airlines or if you want to take a direct flight. Taking a smaller airline or booking a flight ticket that has a layover to another country would be cheaper. This would also free up some cash on your end to spend on the trip itself and not just getting there.
Local transportation in Maldives is also something to take into account. If you’re really adventurous and want to go to different islands, you should be aware of the options available to you. The fastest way to travel between islands is by air. Seaplanes can be expensive but it’ll get you where you need to go but that’s only if the seaplane lands at the island you want to go to. Not all islands have a landing zone for seaplanes so what usually happens is you end up having to take a speedboat or a Maldivian boat (dhoani in the Maldivian language Dhivehi). These are the other two options for travelling between islands. By taking a seaplane, you have to ensure that you don’t end up having to take a speedboat or dhoani to your island. Otherwise, you just end up spending more. Speedboats are slower than seaplanes and dhoani’s are the slowest but cheapest option.
Transportation on the islands themselves aren’t really a big issue. In the more developed islands such as Male’ and Hulhumale’, there are taxis, rentable motorbikes and rentable bicycles for you to get around. The other smaller islands are best enjoyed on foot but the rentable motorbike and bicycle options should be available to you in some areas.
When it comes to accommodation, there’s a few options you can look at. The most expensive option would be to book a resort in Maldives. Resorts are the highest form of luxury in Maldives, with beachfront / overwater accommodations, 5-star food, exceptional services and more. You are waited on hand and foot, treated like kings and queens of old. High end resorts can cost anywhere from $250 USD a night to $3,500 USD a night or more. This shows the exclusivity of Maldivian resorts and what they have to offer.
Another option is to book your accommodations at guest houses in Maldives. Can range anywhere from $30 USD per night to $150 USD or more, depending on the location and the guest house itself. Guest houses in Maldives have come a long way since their openings in 2009 and they continue to be a legitimate and pleasing accommodation option to this day.
Much like the accommodation section above, your food expenses will also vary depending on where you spend your vacation in Maldives. If you stay at a resort, it’ll be quite expensive. If you stay at a guest house, it’ll be way less expensive AND you’ll get more of an authentic side to Maldivian cuisine. In all fairness, resort food is absolutely top-tier as Michelin Star holders take the helm within the kitchens. Even so, some of the most delectable and authentically Maldivian tastes come from within the islands where locals go about their day to day lives. Fish are as fresh as it can get as fishermen head out to get their catch of the day. Coconut shavings are taken from coconut trees and mixed into the food with almost no delay. Truly a delightful culinary experience awaits in this archipelagic nation.
Activities in Maldives are not sparse and this is evident with the amount of water-based activities you can indulge in during your stay. Resorts have some amazing diving programs that’ll take you to places like Hanifaru Bay, surf spots such as Chickens and Cokes, underwater submarine adventures that’ll mesmerise you as a flurry of marine life and colours overtake your vision. All these and more await you at resorts. But, they do cost quite a bit. Diving at resorts will have you forking out a few hundred dollars. The local dive centres however will charge you somewhere along the lines of $70 USD and above but never going beyond a few hundred dollars, unless you’re bringing a bunch of friends and going on a 6 hour excursion.
Activities you can do on land are about the same as well, with resort prices in the hundreds (USD) while local activities such as tour guides have a lower pricing. It can go up to a few hundred dollars as well but not as high as resort expenses.
Interactive Cost Estimation Tool
If you’re curious and want to see some real numbers, we got you covered. There is an online travel cost simulator that’ll have you getting costs for your own trip which can be found here on the Live More, Travel More website. Below is a representation of how much is a trip to the Maldives islands. We’ll also take you through a step-by-step process on how to use the simulator. Please be advised, this calculation was made on 18th May 2024. Prices may change with the passage of time.
The image of the travel cost simulator has been filled out for a 7 day, 6 night trip for 2 people with 3 attractions. You get to select the number of tours, type of flight ticket, internal transportation, accommodation, meals, tour type and other extra expenses. The calculator / simulator will give you your price in USD for a more universal calculation.
With the above specifications, your trip would come out to $5,790 USD for a 7 day, 6 night trip. This calculation doesn’t take into account the time you’re making the bookings vs when your trip actually is so the price might be higher or lower than shown. This is a mid-range estimation and would change drastically with some key changes.
If you pump up the flight tickets, internal transportation, accommodation and meals to the best quality (First Class flight ticket, seaplane for Internal Transportation, Luxury + All Inclusive for accommodation), while keeping the rest of the details the same, the price goes up to $ 26,819 USD, a cavernous jump from a standard trip for a couple.
With the slight change of ‘Economy’ Flight Tickets, ‘Speed boat to local islands’ for Internal Transportation, ‘Economy’ Accommodation, ‘Economy’ Meals and 2 tours to local islands, the price goes down to $4,300, a financially manageable resort trip to Maldives for a couple. A few months of saving up and you’ll have more than enough for your dream destination.
When it comes to answering the ‘how much is a trip to the Maldives islands’, we hope these findings help with when you’re planning your trip. Numbers can be varied as it does depend on what you want to do but we at MadlyMaldives hope this blog speeds up your planning process.
