1. Delhi to Male Via Kochi - Indigo - 8300/- per person . We took a late night flight at 10:30PM from Delhi to Kochi arriving at 2AM with a halt in Kochi of 3+ hrs we were off to Maldives.
2. We arrived in Male - Capital of Maldives at 09:00AM. The moment you step out of the airport you will get the 1st glance of the beauty of this country, boat transfers and road transfers right outside. If you are carrying liquor to Maldives. Please do not carry even a small bottle as there are no chances of sneaking it out of the airport. Our bottles were seized and were only given us back while we were returning to India. Maldives is a Dry Country , there are limited hotels , floating bars , resorts wherein you can drink. Anywhere else in the country is strictly prohibited.
3. Take a taxi from airport to the hotel. Donot hesitate to bargain with taxi drivers in Male. We stood in a regular taxi queue and left 4 taxis who demanded 7-10 dollars. We finally boarded taxi who charged us 5$ . I had already confirmed with Airbnb host of the best taxi charges from Airport to the Airbnb.
4. Checkin at Hotel 10AM. We had informed our Airbnb about our early checkin and he (Nava) was kind enough to let us in and spent 30mins with us on the room helping us with our further day plan and the later itinerary. Male is divided into two parts Male and Hulhumale. We were staying at the edge of Hulhumale with quieter beaches but still a walking distance to all amenities of a city. Male is a small city which you can actually walk around in a day's time.
This Airbnb was good for 4 ppl to live in with 2 bedrooms , Drawing room , 2 washrooms , Kitchen and a balcony. The room is right on the beach the view from the balcony is awesome as well. You can use my Airbnb link to get a discount while you stay at Nava's place https://www.airbnb.co.in/c/akashb176?referral_share_id=6d1e2623-f9f8-4796-ba27-586e1a9e839c . We booked this place for 7700/- for 4 ppl. So, per couple was 3350/-
5. 10:30 AM head right to the beach with clear waters. In the image above you can see a hut on the beach. It is a watersports centre wherein you can rent beach sports equipments. We rented our Snorkelling gears for 2$ each and went right inn. We enjoyed our swim and snorkelling for 2-3hours and came back to the room by 1PM
6. Took a shower. Prepared few maggi's and tea which we carried and had a nice afternoon sleep for 2hrs.
7. Got up at 5PM and went around on our feet to explore Hulhumale. Walked around the beach , cafes , tasting street food while we were watching the sun going down. Street food snacks 10$
8. Maldivian's are big fans of Hookah and Tea, all the Hookah cafes seemed to have best time of the season. We to joined the locals on the beach cafes for some Hookah. Had a wonderful night at the beach with some best Hookah's ever and wonderful food. Hookah 10$ and Dinner for 2ppl 20$
1) We woke up at 7AM as we had slept early the previous night. We headed straight to the beach with our snorkel gears. After good 2hrs at the beach we went back to the hotel for shower.
2) Breakfast - 10AM - Took a taxi from hotel to Sea House Café 5$. This is in the heart of Male which is the hustling bustling part of the capital
3) 11AM to 2PM - National Museum , Presidents Office , Republic Square , Local Market and Streets of Male. Just walk around to all these places which will not take more than 2-3hrs to explore all of them.
4) 2PM - A trip without beer is incomplete. There are only 3 places in Male where you can get Liquor. i) Airport Lounge ii) Hulhule Island Hotel iii) Floating bar which is expensive and only in the evenings. So, we took a ferry to Hulhule Island Hotel for some drinks and lunch which is next to the Airport. So, take a ferry from Male Jetty to Airport which is 1$ pp . Beer 7$ for a bottle of beer and 12$ for a meal pp. We spent about 3hrs here and went back to the city to see the sunset and the evening lifestyle.
5) Ferry from Airport to Male City 1$ . Walk around the city and head back to the Airbnb 7PM by taxi 5$
6) Time for another evening session of Hookah , UNO cards followed by dinner
Day 3
1) Today we were checkin out from Male to go to one of the most peaceful island Thulusdhoo.
2) Woke up at 10AM. Prepared breakfast at airbnb we got some eggs and bread from the local store. So, breakfast for 4 was done in 2$. Packed our bags and checked out at 12PM. Took a taxi to Male Jetty 7$
3) Ferry from Male to Thulusdhoo - There are 2 type of Ferries to travel to this island. Option 1 - Speed Boat which takes 30-45mins to reach Thulusdhoo - 20$ per person. Leave from Jetty no.5 . Most of the tourist use this option. Option 2 - Is a regular ferry which take 2hrs30mins to reach - 2$ per person. Leaves from Local fruit market jetty which is walking distance from jetty no.5. Most of the locals use this ferry. So, we took this one as we were saving 72$ incl 4ppl. Both the options only operate once a day at 2:30PM and donot operate on Monday & Friday
4) We reached Thulusdhoo Island at 5PM. As we reached our Hotel buggy was waiting to receive us at the Jetty point. As soon as we stepped on the island , we were stunned by the beauty and calmness here.
5) We checked in at 5:15PM Reef Edge Thulusdhoo. All the rooms had its balcony facing the sea with an amazing panoramic view of the island. You can use my Airbnb link to get a discount while you stay at Reef edge https://www.airbnb.co.in/c/akashb176?referral_share_id=6d1e2623-f9f8-4796-ba27-586e1a9e839c . We paid 4500/- per room , per night incl. breakfast
6) We relaxed at the island for an hour and left for the floating bar, a ship bar in middle of the sea. We hired a speed boat to take us to and fro to the floating bar which costed us around 50$ for both ways. We were not expecting much apart from drinking up here but it turned out to be an amazing night. The crew were all locals and were friendly we within mins made new friends and they surprised us with their hospitality. We actually did fishing at night , caught squids and other fishes. Crew prepared the squids immediately and served us they did even charge us for all the food we had that night. We were suppose to spend 100$ the next day to have a glimpse of Manta Ray which they showed us for free of charge. We had a an amazing time here, unfortunately I don't have pictures from here as it was night. However, the sunset that day was beautiful. We spent 90$ on the boat on liquor and we bought another 80$ liquor for the next day which we carried back to the island.
2) We woke up at 8AM. Had an amazing breakfast
3) Went on an island tour , on our free bicycles given by the hotel.
4) Some Swings on the sand
6) Some afternoon dives in blue water
7) Some heavenly evenings
9) Night with some Rum & Tuna
Day 5
1) Going to the Maldives and not living the Resort life is a trip with failed mission. However, its not always possible to book a 40,000/- per night stay. So, We figured out a better option. We bought a day trip package to one of the most luxurious resorts in Maldives, Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi Resort. The day package includes full day trip from 9AM to 5:30PM - Breakfast , Lunch , Evening Snacks , Unlimited Liquor with mixers , Beach towels , Lockers , Access to all recreational activities on 83 acre island , Snorkelling all this at 100$ pp . We had to hire a speed boat to reach this hotel for which we paid a total of 100$ to and fro. So, it came to 125$ in total pp including transport and package. We enjoyed our day to the fullest with Unlimited liquor , DJ , Snorkelling.
2) 9AM Left from the hotel on a speed boat
3) Reached at 9:30 AM . We skipped the breakfast here as we already had breakfast at our hotel. We headed straight to the bar for some morning beers and carried to it to the beach
5) After a beautiful day at the resort and some food and plenty of liquor. We headed back to our island Thulusdhoo to spend our last evening in Maldives. Undoubtedly it was the best evenings and sunset of my life so far.
6) We went to the bed early that night.
Day 6
1) Wake up at 8AM. Check out from Reef Edge Thulusdhoo post breakfast
2) Speed Boat 10:50AM from Thulusdhoo Jetty to Male Jetty 30$ pp
3) 11:20AM Male Jetty to Male Airport taxi. If you dont have luggage you can take an 1 dollar jetty to airport
4) Checkin at 11:45AM . Flight at 2:40PM Male Delhi Indigo 8400/- pp
Summary - Inclusions Maldives Indeed is a happy place , where beach is life and life is a beach from locals to tourists. Below I have tried to make easy, simple, step by step and one of the most cost efficient trip that you will ever come across. We travelled in Maldives with all local transports and without any tour guides. Below #itinerary is planned in a way that you save time and kms while travelling without missing out on anything. #Hotels, #Transport #Restaurants are suggested below. Each and every cost mentioned below in incl. 2 adults #food , #stay , #ticket, #fuel , #car . You can choose hotels as per your #budget. My suggestions are based on my budget for the given trip and given day. We were 2 couples travelling on this trip. So, I will break up all the costs for couple here.