The Maldives is one of the most famous and one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world. Pretty much everyone who’s ever clapped eyes on photo or videos of this stunning collection of islands has fallen in love with it straight away (or at the very least, is harbouring some pretty strong feelings about wanting to visit).
Despite its reputation for its beauty, there are still some things that can take you by surprise here and seeing as we’d want you to make the most of your time here when you visit, we’ve put together a quick list of things worth knowing when you visit the Maldives!
Also, if you’re planning a trip to the Maldives soon, check out our complete guide to visiting the Maldives here.
1.) There are over 1,000 islands (around 1,190 to be more exact) and each resort you can stay in is typically on its own island.
2.) The Maldives are a muslim country. This means no alcohol is allowed in places like its capital, Male and you can’t bring any duty free alcohol in. You can however get alcoholic drinks at the resorts so you don’t need to worry if you like a tipple or two.
3.) The islands here are those ones you’ve seen on the internet with the luminescent plankton glowing on the beaches at night.
4.) One of the best way to make the most of your time here is to go island hopping (stay in one place for a few days and move elsewhere). Even when you book a stay in a resort that has multiple properties on different islands, they tend to recommend trying more than one (e.g. for a 2 week stay, try one for 1 week and another for the 2nd week).
5.) You can swim with whale sharks here! You can see them all year round and although there’s never any guarantee, the best time of the year to do so is around June to September.
6.) Speaking of which, this is also the best time of the year to see the Manta Rays too!
7.) A visit to the Maldives can also be tied in with a visit to India or Sri Lanka. It’s not essential of course but its close enough and cheap enough that you might as well pop in to visit these countries, especially if you’re home country is fairly far away.
8.) The weather is pretty consistently good all year round. It is a tad rainier in certain months but the rain doesn’t always last that long and will leave you with lots of sunshine to enjoy your day.
9.) The peak periods (and hence, the most experience) to visit are December to April. If you’re looking to bag yourself a bargain, try to visit outside of these months.
10.) One of the best ways to snorkel here is with a guide for your initial snorkel session so do try to find out if your resort has guided snorkels before you visit.
11.) After you arrive at the airport, you’ll still need to get on a boat or sea plane to get anywhere else.
12.) The Maldives is for much more than just honeymooners. It’s great for all sorts of holiday makers (families, adventure seekers…etc) so don’t let its romantic appeal put you off visiting.
13.) Another great way to save money is to go half-board and not full board. If you do breakfast just right (i.e. not at the crack of dawn), you’ll find that you’re never hungry enough to have a meal at lunch-time. (We all used to have breakfast at around 10am – 11am and so when lunch time rolled on by at 1pm, it was far too early to eat again. You would not be begrudged a light pre-dinner snack though.)
14.) The alcohol at the resorts is not quite as expensive as you’d think (if you don’t go all inclusive
15.) A stay in a water villa is a must. Even if it’s just got one night, its definitely a Maldivian experience worth having (and worth splashing out for).
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