Maldives with Kinan Retreat

Maldives on budget? Yes, it’s possible!

Have you always been dreaming of visiting Maldives but it seemed too expensive to get to? We all know Maldives being famous as a perfect honeymoon destination- 5 star luxury hotels, sleeping in over the water bungalows, getting around on the seaplanes, sunrise breakfasts on private beaches and dining at underwater restaurants. Yes, it is absolutely incredible, however crazy expensive. Some of my college mates may be laughing now. I remember we had to prepare presentation about our dream destination and calculate the cost of it it.Guess what? My speech was about Maldives! I remember it all came up SUPER expensive and that day I thought- ‘Omg I would need to become a lawyer to be able to afford that!”. And do you know what? 5 years later I am still here, I’ve never became a lawyer and I have just came back from the trips of my dreams! So happy so share with you how it all started and how I’ve managed to make it all work!

I remember it was one of those London’s summer days and I’ve been super bored at work, dreaming of another getaway and suddenly the offer came up on my Facebook feed. I looked at it and thought- destiny! I’m meant to go there! I said to my boss that I have to go to the bathroom haha and quickly booked it with SkyScanner. I knew the offer won’t last long so I couldn’t wait until my break! ( if my boss ever reads that- I am sorry, it became an addiction that I can’t control!) Pretty extreme considering that was our first travel that far from home, only done a quick check if we need any visa, but we didn’t yay! So how could I resist- 380£ return ticket for middle of November- perfect escape from London’s rain and cold?

What do you need to know before travel?

LOCATION

First of all you need to know that Maldives is a chain of 1190 islands ( yep, almost 2000 tiny islands one next to each other!) located south-west of Sri Lanka and India in the Indian Ocean.

BEST TIME TO GO

The best weather is between November and April. The high season falls between December and March. The monsoon runs from May to October. I think it’s better to pay a little bit more for a ticket and stick to visiting Maldives during the dry season as there’s not much to do when it’s raining. I have experienced that myself as we had one day of a proper monsoon and we were literally stuck at the hotel as there was not much to do on the island and the rain is was too heavy and the wind too strong to move to another island where the weather could possibly be different. The weather was changing quite quickly though, so do not get panicked when it rains a little during the dry season. Usually after an hour the HEAT is back. I must admit it was THAT HOT that sometimes I didn’t mind a 10 minute shower rain to cool off a little and watching the most magical rainbows over the crystal clear ocean after. Breathtaking!

VISA

To enter Maldives no pre-arrival visa is required. A thirty day free visa is issued on arrival for all Nationalities. All you need is a valid passport (

and should have at least 6 months validity)

CURRENCY

The Maldives has a non-convertible currency- Maldivian Rufiyaa – this cannot be purchased beforehand. One US Dollar is equivalent to 15.42 Rufiyaa. Paying in dollars it’s also accepted.

LOCAL TAXES

They are added literally everywhere so read carefully while booking your accommodation and keep in mind while dining somewhere if you’re travelling on budget! What I would suggest is to double check if the taxes are already included in the price of your hotel or you will be asked to pay the taxes on a arrival in the local currency. I’ve booked mine with AGODA and taxes where already included in the price. In the resorts, bars and cafes on the final bill you will see added 10% service charge and 12% T-GST (Tourism Goods and Service Tax). In the hotels there will be also an extra charge of $6 USD per person per night ( Environmental ‘Green’ tax).

CULTURE

You need to remember that Maldives is a Muslim country. It’s really important to be aware of that while planning to stay on a local islands rather than resorts. There are beaches where woman need to be covered. Usually there is a beach marked on the island as ‘Bikini Beach’ where you can wear swimsuit. Also, alcohol is prohibited (unless you’re staying at the resort of course).

CHOOSING THE ISLAND AND GETTING AROUND

So the first question after your ticket to Maldives is already booked is what island should we go to? I must admit it hasn’t been easy. It was pretty difficult to find some information about islands and getting around too. As I already mentioned I decided to go a bit off the track and discover local life rather than luxury. I’ve chosen Fulidhoo island located in Vaavu Atoll, 3.5 hours away by ferry from Male airport and the tickets for 2 of us cost 7USD. While Male was a super rainy the morning we have left , if further we went the sunnier it was. The good thing about the public ferry was sitting on its rooftop and watching the beautiful islands and resorts around- incredible. I’ve fallen in love at first sight! I had tears in my eyes the entire journey! This amazing feeling of your dream coming true! I can feel it even now when I am writing all this and have a picture of this view in my head. Seeing all this stunning over the water bungalows, endless blue lagoons and palms was simply unreal. I’ve always thought there’s a bit of photoshop behind all this, but I was wrong. It is really that beautiful!

FULIDHOO ISLAND

Fulidhoo looked slightly different compare to other islands we’ve passed on our way. It was actually more than we have expected. When we were getting closer with the boat I thought- ‘ If I ever called any other place a paradise before I was wrong- THIS is paradise”. There’s no over-the-water bungalow villas, no souvenir shops, no luxury cocktail bars and no infinity pools. It’s a pure nature. Few guesthouses, a mosque, one school, public beach, tiny bikini beach, tones of palm trees, tropical flowers and wild nature. Coconuts falling over your head. Smiley local families enjoying afternoon on the beach all together.  So many times I looked at them thinking “ Omg I wish that was my life”. Nothing bothered me there. I’ve never felt this way anywhere I’ve been before. Nothing matters when you’re there. Money has no value. It’s you, in the middle of nowhere. Heaven on Earth. There’s absolutely nothing to do on the island apart from simply living the moment and forgetting the ‘real’ world exists. And do you know what? I’ve absolutely loved it. Every single corner was charming. And there was almost no-one around. Sometimes I felt like it’s our own island. I loved watching the sunrise, observing local man fishing, drinking coconut water and admiring hundreds of little white crabs running on the shore right next to me feet. Sounds of tropical birds and smell of exotic flowers. All these little things made me love this island. Made me feel like this is where I really belong and where I am feeling truly myself and where I feel alive. Me and the nature. Nothing else. Rays of sun on my face and the smell of the ocean. All I need. ( and my flamingo of course!)

KINAN RETREAT

We’ve checked into our beautiful family-run guesthouse Kinan Retreat located right on the beach front, where we’ve been welcomed by friendly crew with a cold, freshly squeezed, tropical fruit juice and given some warm towels to refresh after the journey. It was such a perfect start of our stay! The rooms were clean, spacious and very bright. It’s worth paying few more dollars for the room with the terrace overviewing the ocean. Room prices varied between 60-80$ per night depending on the room type all with buffet style breakfast ( omg you will love their Mas huni!- typical Maldivian breakfast, composed of tuna, onion, coconut, and chilii.  I was obsessed with it and I am craving it everyday since I am back!) and wifi included in the price. They were also offering buffet style dinner for their guests. It was a proper feast! Dishes were pretty simple but incredibly tasty! I am a fish and vegetables lover so I was super satisfied and loved every dish that chef prepared for us. We’ve ended up eating at the guesthouse everyday.

There was also a water sport centre right next door to the hotel, where you could rent like boats, canoe, jet ski, snorkelling and fishing equipment. You can also book snorkelling trips as well as diving with the sharks or night fishing. KINAN RETRAT was also organising tours around, which was great and affordable compare to Male (during our one night stay in the capital I’ve seen a the same trip we went on from Fulidhoo at 340$ per person while at Kinan the price was 4 times lower so do not even hesitate! We’ve done trips to Picnic Island, Snorkelling, visited the sand bank, we’ve been swimming with sharks and even done a night finishing!

After few days on Fulidhoo island I felt home. I had my favourite spot on the beach, I made friends, found my favourite chocolate in the local sweet shop and kinda got used to drink a coconut water for breakfast. It was so hard to leave this tiny island. When I was packing my suitcase I was already checking the flights for New Year to come back. I’ve never felt this happy and grateful in my entire life. I’ve met so many amazing, inspiring people and I’ve seen the most breathtaking views. My biggest dream came true. Thank you KINAN RETREAT team for all these beautiful memories! I’ll be back one day!