A few details about our upcoming trip to the Maldives!

We will be in Istanbul, Turkiye early next month, and when I was looking at flight prices and doing the route planning between Bangkok and Istanbul, I figured out that we could break the trip up with a few different destinations and it would cost about the same.

One of the choices along the way was to head to the Maldives... a group of islands in the Indian Ocean that is well known for their very expensive resorts and crystal clear blue water.

When most people think of the Maldives, this is what comes to mind...

How about your own private villa with waterslide?

And it's true that there are a lot of ridiculously priced luxury overnight accommodation in the Maldives. With prices that start at around $700 USD a night and go up from there. The one pictured above is about $3,500 USD a night.

Anyhow, you get the point. Certainly out of our price range.

But I did some further research. Because the flight to get there from here is only $177 USD ($240 CAD) per person. But then, what would it cost to actually stay there?

Well it turns out that Maldives has had some changes over the past ten years or so, especially with a government mandate in 2019 that seeks to diversify the accommodation options available. So they now allow more basic and smaller guesthouses to operate, which has increased competition and lowered prices in that segment of the market.

So, when I did some price shopping I managed to find what appears to be a nice little place that gets great reviews on the island of Dhiffushi, about 37 kms (23 miles) north of the airport.

And the cost?

Less than $40 USD per night, including breakfast!

It's not located on the beach, but when the island is only 2 kms long, you're never far from the beach!

This is the island where we will be staying.

Breakfast is included. And while there is a small variety of cafes and restaurants on the island, our guesthouse also offers a "full board" option with all meals included. Our host said that we can discuss that when we arrive.

Oh, and snorkeling and fishing gear is also included at no extra cost. 

They also have free WiFi, although I've read reports that it's not the best. Still, we should be able to keep in touch with you all. We could buy a local SIM card, but it's pretty expensive and we're only there for four nights so we'll just make do without.

They also offer day excursions for snorkeling and diving and the opportunity to visit some of the other islands. So we'll see. We've only got three full days, so we might just hang out and relax. Besides, the whole idea is to do it on the cheap, so I doubt we'll make much effort to spend on any "extras".

Also, the Maldives is a strict Muslim country. So there is no alcohol allowed (outside of the private island resorts). We'll also be there during Ramadan, although I've read that this doesn't affect tourists very much.

And from there, we will fly to Abu Dabhi, United Arab Emirates, and then Kuwait City, Kuwait. The whole idea was to visit some places that weren't really on our radar, and that we will probably never return to.

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