Best places to stay in Maldives on a budget
Instead of going for budget hotels or budget resorts in Maldives, if you're looking for affordable accommodation Maldives, I highly recommend you to stay in an Airbnb when you're here, because the local life is a far cry from the idealistic tourist bubble you are led to believe.
Male city
I mostly stayed in Airbnbs when I was in Male city, and I can say it would be one of the best ways if you're looking for budget accommodation in Maldives.
Hulhumale
If you're living in Hulhumale, where the reclaimed island of Male city is and also the island where the airport is located, Haishal's Airbnb is a good choice.
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He is 100% credible, well-versed in English (he works in the hospitality industry), and he is patient in explaining all the logistics about getting to and around the Maldives. His room and toilet is a little tight on space though, but extremely convenient if you need to live near the airport since it leads you directly to the airport with a 24-hour public bus.
Maafushi
In Maafushi, we stayed at Kaani Village and Spa, a great budget beach resort in Maldives.
It is also one of the few hotels in Maafushi to have a pool, for SGD93 per night. We liked how our room faces the small stretch of pool, that when you open your room door, you can dive right into the pool!
Velana Hotel is another hotel we'd recommend in Maafushi. It faces the opposite end of the more touristy beach, but on the plus side you get to stay away from the crowd.
They recently celebrated their 1st anniversary, so their rooms are still very newly furnished. We particularly liked that they have indoor, outdoor garden and outdoor beach dining options.
We were recommended by a local to try their dinner menu out, and we were impressed not just by the plating, but also the taste of the food!
If you're at Velana Hotel, say hello to the friendly black little cat for me!
Check out prices on HotelsCombined, Agoda and Booking.com
Maldives Food
Local
Surprisingly, local Maldivian food are really cheap. Maldivians eat a lot of fish and curry, though you still see chicken, beef and prawns in their menu. Their main staple is either rice or noodles.
They do have local Maldivian dishes, and one of them is called short eat. A short eat is a bite-sized snack that you see displayed in most stalls. They can be sweet or savoury, and are mostly filled with coconut. This includes small triangular sandwiches, toast or eggs.
Each short eat costs approximately 3-4rfy (USD0.30/SGD0.50).
Regular dishes from local eateries in Male can cost as little as USD4/SGD6. For this price, you can get rice with chicken, or fried noodles with assorted meat.
International Buffet
Even at Maafushi, a decent buffet dinner goes at USD13/SGD19. We recommend having it at Arena Beach Hotel. It is one of the most patronized dining option at Maafushi, and was one of few who offered more varied dishes.
Alcohol
Because Maldives is a Muslim country, Alcohol is prohibited in local islands, and that means Male and Maafushi. However, Maafushi has a permanent boat stationed offshore where you can get your alcohol fix. Complimentary boat transfer can be arranged by your hotel to the boat. Beers start at USD6/SGD9, and there are only 2 varieties of beer – Tiger and Raffles.
Restaurants impose a 10% GST and 6% service charge on food. These taxes vary depending on the restaurant. Tipping is not common practice in the Maldives.
Maldives Tours
There really isn't a specific Maldives budget tour that you can go to. Most of them are pretty standard, but you can get the best deal in Maafushi than if you were to be on a private island with the hotel's own private tours.
