Maldives Travel

Maldives: Male Island ☀️ On the eve of summer vacation, this working parent managed to get a 9-day break. With three adults and two kids, we headed to the local islands of the Maldives—aiming to enjoy the stunning sea without breaking the bank. Of course, during the rainy season, we dreaded spending big bucks on a resort island only to watch the rain 🌧️. Luckily, we got mostly sunny days. Itinerary June 21 (Sat): Guangzhou ✈️ Kuala Lumpur ✈️ Male ⛴️ Ghuli June 22 (Sun): Ghuli ⛴️ Maafushi June 23 (Mon): Maafushi - Day trip June 24 (Tue): Maafushi - Fulhadhoo June 25 (Wed): Fulhadhoo June 26 (Thu): Fulhadhoo June 27 (Fri): Fulhadhoo June 28 (Sat): Fulhadhoo - Male June 29 (Sun): Male - Kuala Lumpur - Guangzhou Travel Costs & Tips Round-trip airfare: ~¥2,080 per person (Originally over ¥3,000, but a sudden ¥1,000 discount popped up—snapped it up!) After landing at Male International Airport (Hulhulé Island), we bought ferry tickets outside to Male Island. Cost: $1 or 15 Rufiyaa (MVR) per person—even our 6-year-old paid the same. The 10-minute ride drops you off near the blue two-story MTCC Ferry Terminal (left of the dock). In downtown Male, we exchanged USD to MVR at a rate of 1:19.45—much better than the airport’s poor 1:15.42. ‼️ Note: When leaving Male, we tried to exchange leftover MVR back to USD but were told: If you didn’t buy MVR at the airport, you can’t exchange it back there. Luckily, the airport duty-free shop uses 1:15.42 for USD payments, so we splurged on 6 cartons of Lotus cigarettes at $51 each 🔪. Pro tip: Keep ~$100 handy. Our final transit hotel in Male, UMET Hotel, only accepts USD for the $6/person "green tax." All other places we visited, including day trips, accept MVR 👍🏻. Ghuli Island Details After lunch and grocery shopping, we returned to MTCC to catch the 15:00 Ferry No. 309, arriving in Ghuli at 16:20 (22 MVR; only 1 daily trip—see Photo 13). Note: All ferries stop on Fridays, and services may cancel in bad weather. Speedboats are an alternative at $25/person. Ghuli’s has a slide 🛝, net swings hanging from trees, and a nearby restaurant, Salt Harbour—a casual spot with fried rice/noodles for 55-70 MVR, plus a 7% service charge. We’d originally booked Guhli Avyanna Hotel, but were informed pre-trip that our reservation couldn’t be honored. Via WeChat, staff member Vidura helped us switch to Aimi Hotel at a lower rate. It’s steps from Bikini Beach, offers port transfers and welcome drinks, and includes breakfast. Avoid the family room at Aimi, though—it’s nearly windowless. We dropped our bags and raced out to see the glass-clear sea and sunset 🌅. That night, we strolled to the pier to watch locals fish; reef sharks and rays glided in the shallow water nearby. The next morning, we watched sunrise from the hotel rooftop. Our ferry to Maafushi departed at 16:25, and Aimi kindly let us check out at 16:00 for free—giving us extra time for a glass-sea swim and a nap. Vidura even generously showed us around Avyanna Hotel. #Maldives