Maldives Holiday Guide

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With over 1190 volcanic and coral islands (200 of which are inhabited) dotted across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives have become one of the most popular destinations for couples and honeymooners, thanks to its wonderful climate, crystal clear beaches as well as great diving opportunities thanks due to shallow lagoons and reef walls

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It also offers an array of other activities such as catamaran sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, night diving, night fishing and kite boarding. All these are available with more or less all of the resorts.

If this sounds like your sort of place, then take a look at our handy Maldives travel guide to ensure you know all there is to know before you jet of on a long haul holiday of a lifetime.

Best time to visit Maldives

The best time to visit is between November and April, when the temperature averages 30 degrees. Perfect for that tanning session!

Visas

If entering Maldives as a tourist, you will be granted a 30 day visa upon arrival and your passport must be valid for a minimum of one month. However, if arriving by air, most airlines state that your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of entry into the Maldives.

Travelling to and from Male and your resort

Make sure you choose a flight to Male which coincides with the speedboat or seaplane transfer to your resort, otherwise you will need to book an overnight stay in Male. Your travel agent should remind you of this when booking.

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Flight time

Flights from the UK to the Maldives take between 10 and 11 hours, depending on which airport you fly from.

Languages

The locals speak Dhivehi, with English widely spoken in most areas.

Money

The monetary unit is the Maldivian Ruffiyaa, Make sure you bring sufficient funds as on some islands cash machines can be scarce. Travellers’ cheques are not widely used. Major credit cards are accepted at resorts and hotels.

Alcohol

The Maldives is a Muslim country and the only place you can enjoy a drink without any worries is in the private resorts, so you won’t have any issues getting alcohol within your holiday resort. It is also not advisable to travel during Ramadan as many hotel staff will be on annual leave and also the availability of food during the daytime will be a challenge and many services and shops will be closed.

Time difference

The Maldives are five hours ahead of the UK.

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Covid 19

When travelling to Maldives, travellers should always check the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice. Below is the latest advice as of 24/01/2022:

Those who have received two vaccination doses and have a negative PCR test result can travel internally to islands that are not under monitoring without having to quarantine. Those who have not received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine can only travel to inhabited islands with guesthouses if:

60% of the island population have completed two doses of a WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine;
95% of all employees in the tourism sector of the island have completed two doses of a WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine;
90% of the island population over the age of 60 has completed two doses of a WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine;

Unvaccinated visitors that travel to islands that meet the above vaccine coverage criteria must take a PCR test 7 days after arrival.

Tourists can travel between islands and resorts that do not have COVID-19 cases and are not subject to monitoring for COVID-19, but need prior approval for inter-island travel from [email protected]. If you have stayed at a tourist guesthouse (as opposed to a resort island) at any point during your stay in Maldives, you need to conduct a PCR test 72 hours prior to your scheduled departure from Maldives.

Follow these simple steps and your 2022 holiday to the Maldives will no doubt be a fantastic one! Leave us a comment below if you have any more tips based on your experience.