Where
dreams come true.
The Maldives are a group of coral atolls that were formed from a volcanic mountain range. All the islands have a low altitude, none of them rises more than 1.8 m above sea level. Barrier reefs protect the islands from the destructive effects of monsoons. From May to October there is rainy season, due to the southwest monsoon. The main season, or dry season, is here from November to April. The average annual temperature ranges from 27 °C to 32 °C. The sea temperature is 27 - 30 °C all year round.
Welcome to Maldives.
Maldives (official name: the Republic of Maldives) is an island country in the south of Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives consists of 26 natural atolls. In total, there are more than 1,200 islands in the Maldives, but they are still increasing, because artificial islands are being built, on which there are new resorts. All islands look exactly as you imagine. White sand beaches, turquoise lagoon and coconut palms.
☼ Capital city: Male'
☼ Population: 606,800 (2022)
☼ Area: 298 km²
☼ Official language: Dhivehi (Maldivian)
☼ Currency: Maldivian Rufiyaa (1 MVR = 15.42 USD)
☼ Religion: Islam
People
The population of Maldives belongs almost exclusively to Maldivian ethnicity, which is the result of the gradual settlement of different people on the islands throughout the country's history. It is generally believed that the first settlers were Tamils and Sinhalese from southern India and Sri Lanka. The official language is an Indo-European language called Dhivehi (Maldivian). Arabic, Hindi and English are also spoken here. More than half of the population lives on the local islands and the rest in the capital city Male'.
Time zone
The time difference in Maldives is + 5 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Economy
The economy is based mainly on tourism, fishing, building and repairing ships. Fishing, which has been the traditional basis of the economy, has been far surpassed by tourism in recent years. A large part of the population makes a living by fishing, collecting coconuts, growing vegetables, melons and tropical fruits. Almost all food supplies must be imported into the country.
Education
There are three types of formal education available in the Maldives. There are traditional schools (makthabs) dedicated to teaching the reading and recitation of the Qur'an, schools taught in the Dhivehi language and primary and secondary schools taught in the English language. Secondary school is not compulsory. There are also private universities in Male', but students mostly leave to study abroad.
Currency
The main currencies used in the Maldives are the US dollar and the Maldivian Rufiyaa. In most shops, you can pay in both dollars and local currency. You can also pay by card in hotels, restaurants and some shops. The Maldives uses an exchange rate of $1 = 15.42 MVR (Maldivian Rufiyaa). There are already ATMs on some local islands (Dhiffushi, Thulusdhoo, Dhigurah).
Religion
Maldives is a Muslim country. Consumption and importation of alcohol, pork, pornographic material and drugs are prohibited in the country. Leave the alcohol at home, because it would be thrown away at the airport and you would pay unnecessary fines for it. Alcohol is served at the resorts. On the local islands, bathing in a bikini is only allowed at marked ''bikini beaches''. You should not walk around the island in revealing clothes. Women should have at least a short-sleeved T-shirt, shorts / skirt, men should not go shirtless.
Plugs
The sockets are of the England type, so you will need an adapter. However, hotels, guesthouses and resorts usually have them available at the reception or use universal worldwide sockets.
Visa
You do not need a tourist visa in advance when traveling to Maldives. You will receive it free of charge on arrival for 30 days. If you want to extend your stay, the immigration office will extend it for 750 MVR ($50) for another 60 days. So in total you will be able to stay for 90 days. But you have to ask for it in time at your hotel so that they can arrange it for you. Upon arrival, you only need a valid passport (must be valid for 6 months after arrival) and confirmation of accommodation reservation.
Flight tickets
How and with what to fly. I personally always recommend only Emirates or Qatar Airways. You pay a little extra for the ticket, but you don't have ten pointless transfers, an uncomfortable plane where they won't give you anything to eat or drink. Emirates flies via Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar Airways via Doha in Qatar. Both flights are almost the same in flight time. Furthermore, guests most often choose FlyDubai or Etihad Airways. The departure tax of $30 is already included in the price of the ticket, so there is nothing to pay at the airport upon departure.
Transport
The most common way to travel between the islands is by a speed boat, by public ferry or seaplane. There are almost no cars on the local islands, but the locals love scooters and motorbikes. You can get around Male' on foot or by taxi. Speedboat times and ticket reservations can be found in the OdiApp application and a taxi can be ordered through the Avas Ride application (local Uber). Then you won't be robbed by a taxi driver as a tourist. In the Maldives, you drive on the left.
SIM card
You can buy a SIM card at the airport upon arrival. There is a choice of Ooredoo or Dhiraagu, but the price is exactly the same. 20GB of data costs $30 and 30GB of data (with a 70GB social media bonus) is $50. The office will help you activate the SIM card.
Healthcare
The main public hospital Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGHM) and the private hospitals ADK and Treetop are located in the capital Male'. Each atoll has at least one small clinic, a pharmacy, and most resorts have their own doctors.
Food
Since the Maldives is almost 99% ocean, fish (mainly tuna) is the most important staple of Maldivian cuisine. Here you can taste skipjack tuna, little tunney, yellowfin tuna, frigate tuna, bigeye scad, wahoo and mahi-mahi. Maldives cuisine is a mixture of Arabic, Indian, Sri Lankan and East Asian influences. Coconut is another main ingredient in many dishes and can be served fresh, grated, like milk or oil used to fry foods. Most meals are served with round-grain rice or roshi (chapati). Check out our Maldivian recipes on our blog.