Anahm Bye Bye Maldives, after a very relaxing couple of weeks it was time to say goodbye to the Maldives.
We managed to fit in a quick sunrise 7am 🌅 Snorkel before getting breakfast, packing the bags, a short stroll along the beach ⛱️, and it was time for the 12.30 speedboat 🚤 back to Male. The Sea was very choppy, and the ride back was very bumpy, the speedboat was bouncing off the waves as it accelerated through the water 🌊.
Once in Male there were a few hours before the flight so it was a great time to convert our remaining Ruffiya into Dollars $$. But unless you have a receipt from the bank for the initial conversation upon entry into the Maldives (which we didn’t) they won’t let you convert it back 🤷🏻♂️. But there are lot’s of people wondering around the airport that let you convert back into whatever currency (sounds a bit iffy but everyone seemed OK with it 🤔)
The airport 🛫 in Male is a few steps from the coast, so a stroll along the coast was great way to pass some more time before the flight. Not long later, we were airborne and off to our next destination, Malaysia.
So the question at the start of this trip was whether it could be done on a backpackers budget 🤔. I guess with anything in life, there is no one answer. It all depends on what you want out of the trip 🤷🏻♂️. The Marketing around the Maldives is all centred around luxury Resorts, if that’s what you’re looking for, the prices we found were around $450 per night 😟. But going to a local Island that has a house reef (meaning you can snorkel straight off the beach ⛱️) the rooms start between $30-45 per night, including breakfast, prices vary between seasons. There are local ferries that run between some of the local islands, which start at around $6 round trip, be sure to check the times though, the one’s we caught only ran once a day. In terms of excursions and things to do there are lot’s of options on offer from the Beaches, sea kayaking, bodyboarding, snorkelling and diving trips, jet ski’s the usual stuff the prices vary $50 to $200 dollars. But if you’re happy to skip the excursions and just chill out 😎 and enjoy Island life 🏝, snorkel off the Beaches ⛱️ then you can save some cash 💸. In terms of food and drinks, again it depends what you want, a small portion fries cost $5, a noodle or rice dish cost about $4.20, Rice 🍚 and a curry between $9-15 depending where you go.
So the conclusion is that the Maldives can definitely be explored on a backpackers budget 😁
