Why We Love Staying on Maldives’s Local Islands Versus Resorts

by Jackie
Published: Updated:
Two long necked birds on a local beach at a local island, Fulidhoo, Maldives

You’ve decided to visit the gorgeous Maldives for an unforgettable vacation. Which type of island should you stay on – a private resort or a local island? 

Private luxury resorts are popular due to the successful marketing campaign of beautiful overwater bungalows in the middle of the ocean and overall bliss.  

Yet, the local islands also deserve a chance as you can experience the same tropical feel but a more authentic lifestyle for much cheaper. 

After vacationing in the Maldives for 8 days, Justin and I absolutely loved our experience on the local islands (Male, Maafushi, and Fulidhoo) and would highly recommend them. We did water excursions, ate plenty of delicious food, and had our fair share of beach bumming. 

So, if you’re curious about what it’s like on the local islands, here are the top reasons to choose a local island when traveling in the Maldives. 

Before reading the rest of this post, we encourage you to read our travel tips before heading to Maldives

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Quick Summary

If you’re not able to read through the entire blog post, here are the top 3 highlights on why to stay on the local islands.

  • Budget-friendly prices for accommodations, food, and water activities
  • Support the local community
  • Eat local Maldivian food

1. It’s significantly cheaper on the local islands.

The entire trip will cost less for the accommodations, food, outdoor excursions, and transportation. 

As mentioned in our Maldives budget post, we spent $106 per person per day for 8 nights. We spent a total of total: ~$1700 for 2 people, excluding airfare. 

We didn’t feel like we missed out on anything as we went on two excursions, ate at reasonably cost restaurants, and stayed at clean and comfortable hotels.  


With the high-end, all-inclusive resorts, you can easily spend over $1,000 per night for an all-inclusive package of water bungalow accommodations and food. If spending 1 week in the Maldives at the resorts, the trip will cost $7,000+ excluding airfare. 

We haven’t stayed at the resorts but heard stories from my sister and our friends about the cost of these private resorts. Everyone is different in their travel style. Yet, the high cost doesn’t seem worth it to us.

Two private overwater bungalows at a Maldives resort

Do you want to stay in a bungalow at a Maldivian resort? Photo credit: .shock via Depositphotos.com


2. More affordable accommodation options such as guesthouses or boutique hotels.

As of 2009, the Maldives government allowed foreigners to stay on the local islands. This led to an influx of guesthouses and hotels being built and increased tourism to the islands. Foreigners had other options besides staying at the resorts. 

Staying at guesthouses or boutique hotels is more affordable than a resort. The room usually has a private bathroom, air-conditioning, and a fan, and includes breakfast. 

We stayed in one of the large rooms on Maafushi’s Island Ambience. It cost $95/night, had new bathroom amenities, a strong AC unit, a water boiler for coffee and tea in the room, and included breakfast. It was a lovely stay with friendly hosts. We wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again. 

A bed with decorative pillow and bed runner at Island Ambience, Maafushi

This is the hotel room that we stayed at in Island Ambience for less than $100/night

Another reason to stay at these accommodations is to have a sense of community. There is a personal rapport with meeting the owners and workers at the guesthouses. They are willing to chat and help the guests at any time in person or over a WhatsApp message. 


3. Experience the local culture and lifestyle of each island.

All the islands are so different and each has its charms. We wrote a post on the best local Maldivian islands to visit, so you can see the uniqueness.

We stayed overnight on Malé, Maafushi, and Fulidhoo Island. Even though they were near each other (~1.5 hour ride of the public ferry), they were unique with the vibe, crowds, and general lifestyle. 


Malé

Malé is the main capital city and island so it was a concrete jungle with tall buildings, paved streets and sidewalks, tons of motorbikes, and crowds of people

We stayed overnight and spent a few hours exploring some attractions. Since we live in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the Malé’s environment is similar to any other large city. 

Green trees and plants surround the Sultan Park's walkways in Male, Maldives

Sultan Park is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the busy Male City.


Maafushi 

Maafushi is smaller than Male but still considered a larger island. There was more of everything –  restaurants, accommodations, crowds, and tour options. But it wasn’t as congested nor had the high buildings compared to Male. 

Three days on Maafushi was the perfect amount of time to relax, go on two snorkeling trips, see attractions, and experience the island life

Jackie Szeto and Justin Huynh, Life Of Doing, stand next to the Maafushi Sign

We loved staying on Maafushi Island for a few days


Fulidhoo

Fulidhoo is a tiny island where you can walk across in 5 minutes. 

The laid-back pace and quietness were serene for a few days, especially after Male and Maafushi. But it could be too quiet or boring for some people. 

We loved the super clean beaches and waters to snorkel, kayak, see local attractions, and relax for a few hours. 

Jackie Szeto, Life Of Doing, kayaks around the Fulidhoo sign in the turquoise waters of Fulidhoo Island

The blue waters are beautiful to go kayaking and checking out the #Fulidhoo sign


Related: Read our post on the differences between Maafushi and Fulidhoo


Cultural Aspects

Since the main religion in the Maldives is Islam, we heard music and chanting from the nearby mosques’s PA system early in the morning, afternoon, and night

The announcement didn’t bother us, but it could be a deciding factor to stay at a local island versus a resort. 


4. All your spending supports the local communities!

When staying on the local islands, you support the community and its people. So the money you spend dining at the restaurant, going on excursions, and staying overnight at a guesthouse goes to the local people. 

Large international hotel corporations own private resorts. Some of the top hotel chains in the Maldives are Hilton (Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort), Intercontinental (Maamunagau Resort), and Marriott (JW Marriott, W, Le Meridian, St. Regis). 

It depends on your values but the high dollars spent on the private islands eventually fund the CEOs and top leaders. 


5. Experience the local beaches (No bikini beaches) versus bikini beaches.

Did you know that local beaches are called “No Bikini Beaches”? 

People cannot expose skin (except arms and legs) or wear bikinis, swimsuits, and swim trunks to the local beaches. There may be signs around the No Bikini Beaches which is denoted above. 

No Bikini sign on the local beach of Maafushi, Maldives

Please respect the rules on the “No Bikini Beaches”

Wearing a T-shirt and shorts is perfectly fine. Please respect the local rules. 

If you’re in the Bikini Beach area, the rules do not apply and you can expose the skin and wear swimsuits. 

Also, if you’re on a beach in a private resort, there aren’t any rules for covering up. 


6. The atmosphere can be livelier than in resorts.

The resorts are perfect for honeymooners and those who want to have a private, secluded vacation and not see anyone for miles. 

But the local islands have more life. You’ll see locals and tourists walking around the island, eating at restaurants, hanging out on the local beaches to see the sunrise and sunset, swimming in the waters, and living life normally.


7. It can be cheaper to get to the local islands with boat transfers.

Taking the public ferry or speedboat will reduce the overall travel cost. No need to rely on expensive seaplanes. 

We stayed closer to the Male International Airport area and took the public ferry to transfer between the islands. It only cost us $1 and $3.50 per person, respectively.

Check out our ferry transportation posts to see what it’s like: 


8. You can do more water activities and adventurous excursions.

Resorts may have limited offerings due to the group size and lack of facilities and tour operators. 

But there are more chances to do water sports, snorkeling excursions, and/or diving adventures on the local islands. 

When we were on Maafushi’s Bikini Beach, there were many water activities to experience. We saw a group of people riding a banana boat at sunset and a couple floating in the area on a parasail. People could also rent an inflatable sports car to float on the water. 

Taking a snorkeling excursion is highly recommended and reasonably cost too. We took two snorkeling excursions from Maafushi:

It was incredible to see the majestic marine life up close. We also received free GoPro and DJI videos taken by the tour operators. 

Justin Huynh, Life Of Doing, swims next to the Vaanu shipwreck and sees coral on the shipwreck

Justin swims next to the sunken ship. Photo credit: iCom Tours

Unfortunately, we haven’t done a diving certification so we don’t have any experience. On our excursions, we saw a few speedboats bring out divers in their full gear and tanks, so they must have practiced their diving skills. 


9. Try the local cuisine.

You’ll have more options to eat local Maldivian food on the local islands versus Western food options at the resorts.  

The local cuisine focuses on rice, fish (reef fish and tuna), seafood, and coconut. The flavor is a watered-down version of Indian food so it’s not as spicy. 

We loved eating mashuni (tuna with shredded coconut flakes, chili, and onions) with roshi (flatbread) for breakfast. 

A breakfast plate of roshi flatbread, tuna with coconut shavings, and a fried egg at Island Ambience, Maafushi, Maldives

We had this traditional Maldivian breakfast at Island Ambience in Maafushi Island

Prices will be more affordable than at the resorts. We spent between $5-$20 per person for meals. 

You can also eat grilled seafood for a reasonable price. As a heads up, some mid-range restaurants require a 4 to 6-hour advance notice if you want grilled fish or other seafood. 

If you’re visiting Maafushi in the future, check out our guide on where to eat in Maafushi. 


10. No alcohol on the local islands.

We mentioned this aspect in our Maldives travel tips post, but the local islands do not serve alcohol. It’s against the Islam religion. Justin and I don’t drink so this didn’t bother us. 

The only way to get alcohol is by visiting a party island, visiting a resort on a day trip, or staying at the resort. It’s something to consider if drinking is important to you on a vacation. 


Final Thoughts

We recommend staying in the Maldives on a local island instead of a resort. It’s a different experience with the atmosphere, culture, cuisine, and accommodation. We prefer this travel style since it’s more low-key and just as memorable. 

Need other inspirational posts about the Maldives? Check out what we’ve written below: 

Like this post? Save it to your Maldives Travel Board on Pinterest

Top photo of two long necked birds on the Fulidhoo local beach, and bottom photo of private overwater bungalows at a Maldives resort

Pin #1 (bottom photo) photo credit: .shock via Depositphotos.com

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