Maldives Resort Guide: Finding Paradise

Planning a trip to the Maldives can be intimidating! With over 130 resorts to choose from, choosing a Maldives resort to fit your budget and vacation style is key to getting the most from your stay. Given our experience on the islands and our research, here are some things you need to consider. For more information on our trip to the Maldives, view our trip recap here!

Location and Transfer Options from Malé

The islands of the Maldives are spread out over 500 miles from north to south and 80 miles from east to west. The capital city of Malé is rather centrally located where all international flights will arrive. Once you arrive in Malé you will be required to take various transfer options to get to your final location.

When choosing a Maldives resort, what this really comes down to is a decision around time and money. If your trip is a week or less, we recommend a resort that offers a speedboat to cut down on costs and ensure efficient transportation. Our stay at Sun Siyam Olhuveli had around a 30-45 minute speedboat ride that worked out nicely for us. Everything was coordinated by the resort and we were given details the night before our departure on when we needed to be back at the boat.

Speedboat Transfers

• More centrally located resorts will offer speedboat rides typically ranging from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. These boats are owned by the resorts and are the cheapest and easiest way to reach your destination.
  • Most resorts that we considered included the speedboat transfer to the resort as part of the cost but you had to pay for the return cost separately. Make sure to keep an eye out for that to avoid any unexpected charges.
  • The resorts do a good job planning speedboat times around flight schedules and they keep an eye on changes. There is a possibility that you may have to wait for other guests coming in on a different flight before departing Malé. Our resort noted you may have to wait a max of 2 hours, luckily, our boat was ready as soon as we landed.

Seaplane Transfers

• Resorts farther away from Male require a seaplane for the transfer. Though seaplane trips can be a quick and fun scenic way to reach your resort, they can also be expensive. Plus, booking options may not be as flexible compared to speedboat transfers.
• A few things to note about seaplane transfers:
  • They only fly when it’s light outside. Keep this in mind if you have a flight arriving later in the evening or if you have an early departure. You may need to book a night in Malé to accommodate this.
  • Most have luggage weight restrictions that differ from your regular flight. Check this in advance to avoid extra charges.
  • Most planes are small, hot, and crowded inside. Additionally, you may stop at several resorts before getting to your own. You also may not have a window seat.
• Lastly, more distant resorts require you to take a domestic flight from Malé to another location first then an additional speedboat or seaplane transfer.

Choosing a Maldives Resort Based On Size & Activities

Another key factor in picking a resort is the type of experience you’re looking to have on your beach vacation. Along with the below factors, keep an eye out for the atmosphere the resort is going for. Some will specifically call out being meant for honeymoons and weddings, some for entertainment, and others for groups and families.

Many resorts offer secluded getaways on smaller islands, some which are adult-only accommodations. If you’re looking for a romantic gateway or want the experience of being on your own remote beach, these types of resorts may be the best option for you. What you gain in seclusion and having an intimate setting you lose in available activities and entertainment options. You may also have more limited dining options.

Resort Activities

• If you’re looking for a more active vacation, consider a larger resort that offers a variety of activities. The most common activities include excursions, water sports, and entertainment. These resorts are often going to be busier and less secluded but are a good option if you struggle passing your days only relaxing by the water (which is the case for us!).
  • Note that larger resorts may not be as easy to get around on. Our stay at Sun Siyam Olhuveli spanned two smaller islands but there were shuttles that ran between the islands (or around 20 minutes of walking from one island to the other). Overall the shuttle worked fine for us, but we did have to wait for it at times.
• Here are some of the typical activities and entertainment options to look out for:
  • Snorkeling equipment available to rent
  • Non-motorized water activities like standup paddle boarding and kayaking
  • Motorized water sports like jet skiing, tubing, and parasailing
  • Live DJs and music at bars
  • Beach activities such as bonfires or cocktail parties
  • Excursions off the island for snorkeling, diving, site seeing, and visiting other local islands

House Reef Snorkeling and Diving

• One of the highlights that many resorts offer is their own house reef. This as a great way for guests to get up and close with tropical fish, corals, and sea life without leaving the resort. This was one of our favorite parts of our resort and we’d highly recommend looking into this if you’re interested in snorkeling or diving. Sun Siyam Olhuveli offered snorkeling equipment we could rent for the duration of our stay (for free!) which allowed us explore the house reef whenever we wanted to.

Choosing a Maldives Resort for Accommodations & Dining Options

Along with the size of the resort you’ll also need to consider your accommodations and dining options. These as these can greatly by resort.

Accommodation Type

For accommodations, are you looking for an overwater bungalow, a high-end villa, a private pool, an economical hotel style room? Make sure to do your research on the room types the resort has and try and find as many pictures and video walk-throughs as possible. This will help you set your expectations for what you’ll receive prior to booking. We found many walk-throughs on YouTube for our resort. If you’re looking to do an iconic overwater stay, check to see if you can truly go in the water around your bungalow. On some islands, these villas could be situated in areas of strong currents that don’t allow swimming or be situated on top of coral or rocks.

Dining Options

Most resorts will offer a variety of dining options. Larger resorts typically have a few buffet-style restaurants as part of their dining packages, plus some higher end restaurants available for an additional cost. If you’re looking for award winning chefs and gourmet dining you can find those throughout the Maldives as well. Along with dining options, resorts will offer a number of different bar options ranging from serving poolside drinks to offering specialty cocktails during the night time entertainment.

When booking your stay you’ll have the option to choose the dining package that fits your needs. The typical options are:

• Half Board – Breakfast & Lunch. A good option if you’re looking to dine out for dinner at specialty restaurants.
• Full Board – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (drinks not included)
• All Inclusive – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner + Drinks. Higher end drinks are typically extra, but for our stay we were happy with the options available with the all inclusive package. Note that the all inclusive packages typically come with extra perks. For our stay at Sun Siyam Olhuveli this included choosing to go on excursion of our choice, water sport rentals, and discounts at restaurants.

Booking Your Maldives Resort

You’ve decided what you’re looking for when choosing a Maldives resort – now how do you find and book one? We found this step to be quite challenging. After sifting through many “Best Of” websites we found that a site like Booking.com was the best way to do initial research. This give the ability to filter on availability, star ratings, and prices ranges. Additionally, you can also pull up a map view of available resorts. The map view was key for us when looking to find a resort closer to Malé and thus accessible by a speedboat transfer.

Once you have a few choices you can go directly to the resorts’ websites to review offers and booking options. We found that booking directly through the resort’s website offered special offers we didn’t see elsewhere. More importantly, we could also see the fine print around what was all included in the dining packages plus extra applicable charges (like paying for transfers). Booking directly with the resort also allowed us to have direct contact to talk through changes and excursion bookings ahead of time.

For more travel inspiration, check out our additional blog posts on international travel.!