When you think of the Maldives, think of sun-soaked beaches, turquoise oceans, spice-filled, aromatic food and a warm and vibrant island nation and its people to spend time with. Though noted for being pricy to holiday at, the Maldives can be experienced if you invest time carefully going over the aspects of your stay that would interest you the most. Outlined below is helpful advice on how to go about this.

The value of thorough research cannot be compromised on, especially given the locality where saving those extra few pennies will surely come to your rescue when looking to reinvest in other areas of your stay in the Maldives. However, before you begin, know that finding ridiculously cheap accommodation will be futile but on the flip side, you will be presented with a slew of facilities to select from if you opt to scratch beneath the surface. If you have pleasant experiences with Airbnb, then you will be well served by the local islands combined in affording some 300 guesthouses where you will only have to pocket out well below USD 100 per night while another 100 or so units will see you paying a fraction under USD 50 per night per person. For the more budget-hungry vacationer, guesthouses with a price tag of USD 30 – 60 per night can be made excellent use of. Within these comfortable abodes, you will be offered air-conditioned living together with free breakfast, bottled water for drinking, snorkelling equipment and a host of other value additions. Alternatively, third-party booking engines such as Booking.com can also be factored into your thoughts. Therefore, if you have decided on your mode of lodging, then it will be a matter of inserting your travel dates, the number of guests and sorting fares from the lowest to the highest and before long, your search will reveal facilities in the likes of OZEN RESERVE BOLIFUSHI to make a note of where stays at Maldives luxury villas can be partaken of.

Stay well clear of using the words ‘budget’ and ‘seaplane rides’ in the same sentence. This is because the latter can have you burning holes in your pockets with average 20-minute return trips costing as much as USD 500. Similarly, speedboat travel is also on the expensive side of things and to the budget traveller, a practice that one could ill-afford to invest in. On the contrary, opt for the local ferry service to get you to your desired destination without the need to spend exorbitant amounts of your hard-earned savings. Though, you will have to contend with infrequent travel schedules, a journey from Velana International Airport to the capital of Male will only have you paying a fee well under 1 USD. Overall, a 3-hour trip from Male aboard the public ferry will only incur a cost of between USD 2 – 4 which will undoubtedly, be music to your ears.

There really shouldn’t be anything to complain or fuss about if you see yourself paying a mere USD 5- 10 per day on food and beverages. What’s more? Since you will be given a free breakfast at your guesthouse, chances are that you will either be found skipping lunch or nibbling on a few snacks along the way. Ideally, look out for restaurants or eateries which serve items ranging from tuna fried rice, rice and fish curry to the more fancy fish and chips.

In terms of advice, never stop at the first guesthouse but do scour around and gather as much information from similar facilitators before making an informed decision. This is because some guesthouses will offer you perks such as beverages and lunch on top of fuelling your yearnings to be one with the glorious outdoors of the Maldivian archipelago. Avid divers will do well to schedule a liveaboard trip while utilising the services of your guesthouse and will soon have you suited up and exploring the ocean floor for a fee of USD 100. Moreover, half-a-day snorkelling excursions can be scheduled for a price of USD 50 per head. Also, fishing outings and island hopping will carry a similar price.