What's wrong with the fabulous Maldives? Isn't this heaven on earth? From personal experience, I was convinced that this is not entirely true, and now I want to show reality to you. Find out about all the disadvantages of vacationing in the Maldives!
Most of the disadvantages that I will list below will not affect those who go on vacation to the Maldives to an expensive resort: there is no need to contact locals, search for food, or solve everyday problems. But all these disadvantages will greatly spoil the rest of thrifty tourists, who have $ 1000 - this is not a budget for a day, but for the entire vacation. More and more such travelers come to the Maldives, so I decided to warn my fellows. In general, if you want to have a cheap vacation in the Maldives (and this is real!), Get ready to dance with a tambourine to your heart's content, and also endure some hardships and hardships. However, in fairness, I would like to note that all these inconveniences do not negate the advantages of a vacation in the Maldives.
Well, now let's find out what awaits us!
1. Unreasonably expensive hotels
There are no hotels cheaper than $ 50 in the Maldives, and for this price you still need to try to find - most often prices start from $ 70-80 per day. Living conditions are quite good, but they still don't cost that much. The red price of a kopeck piece in budget Maldivian guest houses is $ 15-20. At least in all neighboring countries (Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Malaysia), these are the prices, and they are fair.
Read my tips on how to book hotels cheaper.
2. Bad food
Food is the saddest thing in the Maldives. I have never eaten worse anywhere! They cook simply disgusting, and often food intake also turns into digestive problems. There are very few restaurants on the local islands, and there are no establishments for local ones on most of the islands at all. Well, the prices, as is customary, in the Maldives are shamelessly raised. For $ 10 per person, you can take only one modest dish, which will hardly satisfy your hunger and certainly will not delight your taste. Also, the Maldivians cook for a very long time - you can wait an hour and a half. Don't count on groceries in stores - the assortment is scarce, there is nothing to buy. Many of our tourists, who like to relax in the Maldives and are aware of the food situation, fly to the islands with a suitcase of their food: stew, buckwheat, rice and so on. Now do you understand how bad everything is?
It is most profitable to order lunches and dinners in your guest house. Read the reviews on the Booking on the food at this hotel to make sure that the food there is decent.
3. No fruit
Well, what kind of paradise is without fresh delicious tropical fruits? Yes, no! In the Maldives, fruits are in greater deficit than in Russia: only papayas are grown on the islands, the rest is brought from the mainland. But even import does not save - the choice is small, they are rare on sale and are quite expensive. Coconuts generally sell for $ 5 apiece! Can you imagine? In neighboring Sri Lanka, we bought the same for $ 0.3 - a difference of 15 times.
4. Mentality
Now about the people! Maldivians are very strange. Yes, nature has deprived them of many: the country has no natural resources, the land area is very limited - it is difficult to develop the economy in such conditions. But it is possible! The examples of many small countries prove this convincingly. Our Arkharovites prefer to score on everything. Maldivians are lazy, do not want to work, do not want to develop, do not strive to make their life better.
Be prepared for the fact that the word of the Maldivian is worthless: they are pulling with an answer and a deed, they are truly waiting for the promised here for three years. Even the answer to a simple question about the ferry schedule from the hotel owner can be expected for days.
And the Maldivians are completely inhospitable, unsmiling and unfriendly people. It is felt that they are not at all happy with guests and tolerate them only for the sake of money. This mood is in the air and is perfectly captured. Children and adolescents are especially unfriendly. Oh, if you only knew how uncomfortable it was to be in the Maldives, having arrived there right after Sri Lanka, the country of the most smiling people in the world! At first, like idiots, we smiled good-naturedly at all the Maldivians on the street, but without receiving a single smile in return, we began to wean ourselves from this habit.
5. Poor logistics
The network of flights with neighboring countries is completely undeveloped, which greatly complicates the life of travelers. For tickets to Male from Colombo (an hour and a half fly), we paid 18,000 rubles for two. Just tin! In Europe and Southeast Asia, a flight for such a distance between countries costs only $ 10-40. To then fly from the Maldives to Malaysia, we also had to pay the same amount.
Inland transport is no better. The ferry schedule, which is the cheapest transport, is complicated and inconvenient. Ships go to many islands only 2-3 times a week, on Fridays you can't go anywhere at all. The time of departure and arrival is often inconvenient, sometimes you have to get there with transfers, and the journey can take a whole day. In general, you will not get right from the plane to the paradise beach. Get ready to run, look for the right transport and spend a lot of time. And yes, state ferries are often canceled - so you have to either spend money on a speedboat, or lose money paid for the hotel, or both if there are no private boats that day.
Read my story, how we sailed from island to island at night on a boat of fruit merchants.
6. Guard with money
Local tugriks are almost not in use, they are reluctant to be accepted in hotels and the tourist sector. Dollars are held in high esteem here, but there are also difficulties with them - for example, if you pay them in shops or on ferries, then the prices will be calculated at an unfavorable rate, change will either not be given, or they will still be given in local currency. It is impossible to withdraw money from an ATM without a commission, at least they will take $ 10 for any transaction, plus, judging by the reviews, they convert at an unfavorable rate. When withdrawing money, people lose about 10% - this is just a robbery.
I racked my brains for a long time, understanding all these nuances, in the end I had to withdraw money from the card in Sri Lanka, buy dollars there (double conversion + 1% commission) and fly here with them, exchanging part for local candy wrappers. So fly to the Maldives with cash dollars, and not with a bank card, as in normal countries.
Find out how much it costs to stay in the Maldives.
But the financial jokes do not end there: in the Maldives, you will not be able to exchange rufiyaa back for dollars before departure unless you have a bank statement about the initial currency exchange. So you have to calculate how much money you will spend on vacation, otherwise you risk taking home unused tugriks without the opportunity to get your dollars back.
But even that is not all!
7. Taxes
Get ready to be a generous sponsor of the Maldivian treasury! For this, the authorities have created all the conditions - there are so many taxes and fees here that the head is spinning: 12% VAT, 10% service fee, and recently they came up with another $ 3 per person per day Green tax, plus do not forget about banking commissions and losses on currency exchange ... Now calculate how much of your vacation budget will be taken by their state.
8. Mosquitoes
Yes, mosquitoes are found in this paradise, and in abundance! Get ready, they will gnaw you mercilessly: during the day, next to the thickets on the beach, and everywhere after dark. As a favorite of mosquitoes, and even an allergy sufferer, I had a hard time.
9. Garbage
There is also plenty of garbage in paradise. Tourist beaches, of course, are removed, but the rest of the coast will be littered with packages, bottles, glass and other human and natural rubbish. Such a picture in advertising brochures will definitely not show you, but the truth is that this is the kind of landscape that is often found in the Maldives.Plus, incinerators on some islands make their contribution, which can greatly spoil the atmosphere on vacation.
10. Boredom
And finally, the main reason why the Maldives cannot be considered paradise is that it is very boring there. The first two or three days you will be delighted with white beaches, azure water and interesting snorkeling, but then you will want something else, and there is simply nothing else on these tiny islands. No cultural and natural attractions, walking routes, educational and exciting activities. Boredom! However, perhaps this is how many people imagine paradise: only the sea, the sun and complete idleness. But to me it feels more like hell.
Conclusions
Should you go to the Maldives?
Despite all my lamentations above, I can confidently say that it is worth it. You need to go here at least once: this is a wonderful place! Just imagine: you will be on tiny islands in the middle of the blue ocean and walk through it on fragile boats from island to island, admire the underwater inhabitants and beauties, swim in the purest azure water, lie in the sun, relax - it's all a damn pleasant experience. Read why I love the Maldives.
Just be prepared to face a number of problems and inconveniences, especially if you are not going to a resort, but to a local island for an inexpensive vacation. You will have to try to independently organize the entire recreation program and not overpay. Well, also keep in mind that after two or three days in this paradise it gets pretty boring.
Read our tips for a vacation in the Maldives - they will help you avoid most of the problems.
