Independent trip or tour to the Maldives: which is more profitable

How much do we overpay to agencies for tours and how much it will cost to travel to paradise islands without a travel agency: compare prices.

Until recently, holidays in the Maldives were considered the privilege of extremely wealthy people. The thing is that the first to open their doors for relaxation are luxury hotels that occupy the whole island. Nevertheless, over time, budget island resorts began to appear, where you can spend the night for $ 100 for two. In addition, in the 2000s, the government of the Maldives allowed residents of local islands to provide tourists with accommodation hotels and guesthouses. Now tourists have many budget options, and the Maldives has become available to everyone. Nevertheless, travel agencies in the Maldives are still worth fabulous sums of money. Self-booking of hotels without intermediaries will help reduce the cost of housing by $ 1,000 or more. We calculate how much the tour and an independent trip will cost.

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The cost of an independent trip to the Maldives

The cost of such a trip should be divided into several stages:

Purchase of air ticket and insurance

This is the first thing to attend to. The independent traveler has more advantages in finding a cheap flight compared to contacting a travel agency. You can fly to the Maldives by charter. In this case, the cost of the ticket will become cheaper closer to the departure date. The second option is to take a regular flight. Then the rule applies: the earlier the flight is booked, the cheaper it is. Most often, such flights are carried out with transfers through countries such as Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. It is convenient to use price aggregators to catch the discount. The cost of the flight depends on the season. You can catch a flight from Dubai to Male for $ 200 per person one way, and a direct flight in January from Moscow to Male is about $ 300. The cost of the flight rises during the high season, as well as before the holidays.

Tip: Find out which airlines fly to the Maldives from your nearest hub airport. Subscribe to their mailing list and follow the promotions. This will ensure you get the cheapest ticket possible. No travel agent will do it for you.

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Housing cost

Luxurious island resorts are certainly more expensive than their humble cousins ​​on the local islands where the locals live. The inhabited islands generally offer three star hotels and guesthouses. They can have their own small pool, all-inclusive system and everything you need. However, they are deprived of a large selection of food and luxury rest.

Island resorts can also be budget friendly. For example, triple hotels offer vacations starting at $ 100 per night for two with early booking .

Example prices: accommodation in an inexpensive three-star hotel on the local islands will cost from $ 30-40 for two. However, during the season, the cost may be higher.

• The cost of The Barefoot Eco Hotel, a three-star but popular resort, starts at $ 1,156 per week for a two -personvacation, plus a roundtrip transfer by local airlines ($ 560). There is also an exclusive $ 173 discount on Ocean View Room selections on breakfast only. If you need two meals a day, we add $ 400 to the price, full board - plus $ 659. The hotel is located on its own island.
• Popular for families, Bandos Maldives will cost $ 7,560 for 7 nights at the end of January, including a $ 154 speedboat transfer for two. The discount is about $ 800. This price is offered for accommodation in Delux Villa, meals - breakfast. Half board requires an additional payment of $ 2373. It is also possible to choose accommodation options. A vacation in a water villa with a pool will cost more: you need to pay about $ 3000 per week for two.

Bandos Maldives

Transfer cost

The islands of the Maldives are scattered in the azure of the Indian Ocean. Some are located not far from Male airport, while others will take an hour by plane. The transfer cost depends on the distance. The most budgetary option is the local islands near Male, which can be reached by public ferry. For the money - $ 2-10 per person one way. On the second place in terms of budget transfer are the resort islands of North Male, which can be reached by speedboat. Seaplane and domestic flights to remote atolls are more expensive.

Examples of prices :

• Roundtrip seaplane for two to Kandolhu Maldives - $ 844
• Domestic flight plus speedboat ride to Mercure Maldives Kooddoo - $ 720
• Much cheaper is the short speedboat transfer to the Embudu Village Resort : $ 160

Asad Photo Maldives

Food cost

How much will be spent on food depends on the type of hotel chosen by the tourist.

• Island resorts. In a budget resort hotel, prices will be lower than in fashionable resorts with dozens of restaurants. In an expensive hotel, it is better to choose full board or all-inclusive for your vacation. Because paying for lunches or dinners on the spot is less profitable.

Sample prices. The five-star Hurawalhi Island Resort offers its guests 7 nights in February plus a two-way transfer (seaplane for $ 920 for two) in an ocean view villa with breakfast for $ 7698. Half board costs $ 1266, and full board costs $ 1900.

• In hotels on local islands, thecost of food will be cheaper. After all, there are cafes and shops with relatively inexpensive products. In traditional cafes, the average cost of local food is $ 10 per person. It is worth considering that in the Maldives everything is imported, except for coconuts. Therefore, the cost of food in supermarkets can hardly be called low. However, this is not commensurate with the cost of dining in luxury hotels.

Hurawalhi Island Resort

Additional expenses

• The cost of insurance in the Maldives, depending on the options chosen, costs from $ 15 per person for 10 days. You can get insurance online in a few minutes.
• Entertainment cost. Both on the resort islands and on the local islands, tourists will find many excursions and water activities. Snorkeling, diving, cruises are offered everywhere. In fact, the cost of offers on local islands is cheaper than similar trips from luxury hotels. At the same time, tourists living in the resort and the local island in the neighborhood will be taken to the same locations. However, the difference can be seen in the comfort of transport, and additional "goodies", such as dinner on the yacht.

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Important nuances, pros and cons of self-booking

• Prepare for your Maldives vacation in advance.
• Monitor discounts from various airlines. It is best to subscribe to airlines that fly to the Maldives from your region or from major hubs in order to catch a great deal. Spend the saved money on excursions during your vacation.
• Do not overpay a travel agent. Browse various services, compare prices. The overpayment to the travel agency will be about 20% of the cost of rest in the Maldives. Most importantly, travel agents rarely or never visit the Maldives. Therefore, they are not experienced Maldives holiday experts. And often they are guided by hotel reviews from the Internet or offer the same hotels in which they are confident. In fact, the travel agency brings the client to the hotel, buys tickets, offers insurance. And he receives a solid reward for this.
• See where the hotel is located before booking. This is where the "dog is buried": the hotel, located in distant atolls, will have to be reached by seaplane or domestic airlines, which makes the trip much more expensive.
• Pay attention to how much the transfer to the hotel will cost. On the website wiotto.com, on the page of each hotel, the cost of the transfer options is indicated. Important: the transfer in the Maldives to the resort islands is carried out by the hotels themselves, and not by the travel agent.
• Book with discounts. You can book a good hotel on your own with a 50-60% discount. To do this, it is worth monitoring the prices and the section of discounts. Usually, discounts are 10-20%. But often the price drops after the holidays or from May to October, when the monsoons come to the Maldives. Then it rains on the islands, but they are usually short-lived.
• We strongly advise against booking accommodation directly from a local hotel or guesthouse directly via social media. There are precedents when a tourist's reservation made in this way was lost. And tourists had problems when settling. Use proven booking services that will act as a guarantee of your order.
• Study hotels and reviews. If you want to have a cheap vacation in the Maldives, then it is better to take the organization of the tour into your own hands. Even when planning your budget vacation on the local islands, travel agents will offer to go to the most popular places, where the cost of housing is somewhat more expensive than on less well-known "brothers". And if you book a hotel yourself, you have the opportunity to explore all the nuances, choose for yourself the villa you like and the type of food. Scrupulously study the cost and offered accommodation options, see the transfer costs.

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When is it more profitable to book: we catch lower prices

It all depends on supply and demand. In the low season, prices fall by an average of 20%. But you can also find a 50% discount. This is due to the fact that the weather can be capricious, and not all tourists are ready to try their luck. From April to November, cyclones come to the Maldives, causing waves in the ocean. This is good for surfers, but fans of snorkeling or relaxing on the beaches don't like this turn of events. The most capricious weather is in summer. The cost of a summer vacation in the Maldives is lower than in winter. But in the fall, the price tag begins to rise and it reaches its peak on New Year's and Christmas holidays. Do not expect cheap prices for the May holidays, when many people want to go on a trip, taking advantage of a series of weekends.

The cost of tours to the Maldives

Contrary to the belief that all the resort islands in the Maldives are exclusively for the wealthy, quite a few budget proposals have begun to appear lately. For example, there are both three-star and four-star island resorts offering fairly affordable prices for their guests. Price example:

• Ellaidhoo Maldives By Cinnamon 4 stars full board for 9 nights costs $ 4,000 for two.
• Bandos Maldives on the same terms - $ 5 thousand for two. For comparison: a self-booked hotel for similar dates will cost $ 2,745 for two. We add the approximate cost of a direct flight: about $ 1200 for two. Savings when booking a holiday on your own - about RUB 1,000.
• The cost of the five-star hotel Kurumba Maldives DELUXE BUNGALOW on the full board system is about $ 8.5 thousand for two for 9 nights. Self-service hotel reservation on the same terms - $ 6200. And taking into account the air, an independent trip will cost about $ 7.5 thousand. Savings - about 1 thousand.

Ellaidhoo Maldives By Cinnamon

The cost of tours with different food options

The tour price largely depends on the type of food you choose. Of course, if you take a room exclusively with breakfasts, the final price for a week for two will be 2-3 times lower than a similar room, but with the all inclusive system. However, the price for each hotel will be different. But on average, it's worth throwing in an extra 20-30% for each meal. For example, half board will be 20% cheaper than boarding.

• For a holiday on a resort island, you should definitely choose full board or all iclusive. If you are planning a lot of excursions, you can try the half board. In some resorts, it is necessary to foresee spending on food in restaurants according to the A la carte system: not all resorts are all inclusive. And the cost of food in hotel restaurants is quite high. For example, a bottle of mineral water can cost $ 5.

Kurumba Maldives

Summing up: which option is more profitable

Tours are more expensive than a self-planned trip. After all, tourists overpay travel agencies for their services. The choice of a hotel depends on the level of service and comfort that a tourist is interested in.

• For non-discerning travelers who are interested in exploring new countries and cultures, the best option is an independent trip to the local island. This is the most budget option, because you can choose an inexpensive hotel, eat inexpensively in local cafes. And for your vacation, choose an island located near Male, where you can get by an inexpensive ferry. In this case, a trip to the Maldives will be budgetary. But you need to cook it yourself.
• The second option for inexpensive travel is the budget island resorts. They are small, often have only three stars and do not differ in "super luxury" leisure. However, the traveler will find all the essentials: white beaches, the turquoise of the Indian Ocean, a decent choice of food and a developed infrastructure.
• For those who want a paradise vacation in fashionable resorts, the best option is five-star and four-star resorts. But with self-booking, you can significantly save on such a vacation by booking a hotel with a successful discount. And to reduce the cost of your flight by finding an inexpensive flight with a transfer. So the tourist does not overpay for the services of a travel agency and can choose a cheap flight option. The total savings can be up to $ 1,000 and more.

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And remember that it is better to book a hotel on a service that already includes all taxes and transfers. This makes self-booking easy and a positive experience.