It has been on my bucket list for a long long time to visit The Maldives. The overwater bungalows, the turquoise clear waters, and the white sand powder beaches seem so appealing and yet so unattainable. Exactly how much does a Maldives trip cost from Canada?
I had the fantasy that I would go to The Maldives on my honeymoon and be care free about spending $1000 a night on a room (I just couldn’t do that though, $1000 a night on a room is too rich for my taste).
Unfortunately my honeymoon did not end up being in the Maldives but fortunately, BUT I had another opportunity to go to the Maldives for a much more economical option, using a Travelzoo voucher.
Here’s how much our Maldives trip cost from Canada with some tips on how to travel hack it so this seemingly out of reach dream trip can become a reality for less than you think.
You don’t necessarily need to have FatFIRE income to travel to the Maldives.
This post will go over the best time to visit the Maldives, whether Maldives is expensive to travel to, how much our Maldives trip cost from Canada, how much a typical un-travel hacked Maldives trip cost from Canada is, and what current Maldives travel restrictions are present.
Table of Contents
Maldives Pronunciation
First things first though, Maldives is not pronounced the Mal-DIVES, it’s pronounced the Mal-DEEVS.
So get the Maldives pronunciation straight before you start sounding pretentious- when you are telling your friends and family you are going to the Maldives!
Best Time to Visit Maldives
When is the best time to visit one of the 132 (and expanding) resort islands in the Maldives?
The best time to visit the Maldives is between November and April because the monsoon season are the other times (where you could expect high winds and 5-10 inches of rain per day).
December to April is absolute the best time to visit because of the dry and warm weather.
December is one of the most popular times (and most expensive times) to visit the Maldives because of the weather and because of the winter holidays of most folks visiting the islands so if you don’t like to go when other tourists go, avoid December.
Is Maldives Expensive?
Yes, the Maldives can be very expensive, in fact some places like the Velaa Private island are $3000 USD to $10,000 USD a night to start.
However, even though Maldives can be expensive (like think $30,000 per person for the trip), Maldives doesn’t have to be expensive.
For example, if you stay in the capital city of Male, a room on Hulhumale, an artificial island, can cost around $100 USD a night.
Or there are local non-resort islands. However, that’s probably not the Maldivian experience you are looking for.
If you’re looking for overwater bungalow resort travel experience, you can keep your eyes peeled for Travelzoo deals or use hotel points.
If you take advantage of a Travelzoo deal that can help you save money too. I have noticed recently that there have been a lot of Maldives Travelzoo deals lately. Read the fine print though, some of them don’t include the minimum of ‘half board’ and just include breakfast which could really add up your Maldives trip cost.
Finally, if you have a lot of hotel points, there are resorts that you can redeem using Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, or Accor points according to The Points Guy blog.
Suddenly, that $700 USD a night resort room in the Maldives becomes $70 USD for the entire week.
Take for example, Ricky from the Prince of Travel staying at JW Marriott Maldives Resort and Spa. He probably traveled there first or business class too using points!
Hotel points are easier to collect if you live in the United States though as they have better credit card offers than us up here in Canada.
Maldives Trip Cost From Canada
Here’s the exact breakdown of our Maldives trip cost per person from Canada which is mildly travel hacked.
- International Flights to the Maldives from Canada: $525
- Domestic Transfers including domestic plane and speed boat ride: $175USD= $240 CAD
- Overnight in Male (Hulhumale): $150 CAD (but actually was free using TD Rewards points)
- Resort Accommodation: $875 USD= $1200 CAD (7 nights half board including)
If you travel hack the Maldives (mild effort travel hacking) the total for 7 nights including half board (breakfast and dinner) is $2115 CAD for two people.
For us, we spent about $4350 CAD for a family of four (as the promotional transfer from the Travelzoo voucher was not included for children)…actually less since we have a US dollar credit card and US dollar account so we don’t have to deal with currency conversion.
Unfortunately the USD/CAD conversion doesn’t favour us Canadians very much right now.
International Flights:
I spent probably about a year to 18 months opening up credit cards for the Aeroplan offers to collect 390,000 Aeroplan points (travel hacking definitely gets more difficult the more seats you have to hack).
Some of the credit cards my husband and I signed up for include (I did the brunt of the credit card opening):
YVR to SIN (Vancouver to Singapore) was 96,000 Aeroplan points per seat and $200 return per seat.
Then, from SIN to MLE (there’s a direct flight about 4 hours long) the cost is $690 SGD which is pretty much 1:1 CAD right now, about $670 CAD. However, I used another credit card the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card where there was a 50% promotion for “any way you travel” and got $650 off the booking.
This made each ticket about $325 return because I got approved for two CIBC Aventura cards (I didn’t intend to get approved for two cards, but lucked out).
This brings the cost to about $525 return for a flight to Maldives from Canada per person.
If you did not travel hack your Maldives trip from Canada, it is about $1500 to $2500 per person for a flight from YVR (Vancouver) to MLE (Male) return.
Domestic Airport Transfers:
For the Domestic Airport Transfer $700 USD= $970 CAD
The Travelzoo voucher we got for included one of the two transfers adults and children age 2-11 had a reduced transfer fee. Normally it would cost $350 per person for a return transfer which includes a domestic flight and a speed boat.
A Maldives float plane or seaplane transfer would cost more than this.
Airport transfers from Male tend to only be done during daylight hours because of the speed boat, and if you are in a seaplane, they can’t fly at night obviously. Also, sometimes they can get cancelled if the water is too rough or choppy.
Overnight in Male:
Because of airport transfers only occurring during the day, this wasn’t expected to be a travel expense but the flight got changed and we would arrive in the evening, which would be too late for the domestic airport transfer.
I found a hotel which included a free airport transfer and breakfast for $110 USD booking through Agoda, but this turned out to be free using the TD First Class Rewards points booking for any way travel.
Most people stay on Hulhumale which is an artificial island as part of Male.
Resort Accommodation:
We bought a Travelzoo voucher in 2020 when COVID was ravaging the globe and all forms of travel and paid $875 USD for 7 nights including breakfast and dinner (and kids stay and eat free).
It was kind of a risk, I mean, at that time I was a bit worried that Travelzoo would fold and go out of business.
Unfortunately, the overwater bungalow experience will have to wait for another time given our young children traveling with us. That just doesn’t seem kid friendly, lol.
Normally according to Tripadvisor, this Maldives resort is $740 a night, for a total of $7500 for 7 nights including breakfast and dinner buffet for peak season January February.
There are other Maldives resort pricing options.
There’s even a Holiday Inn Resort in the Maldives and that’s about $350 per night for peak season pricing.
If you want to go all out (or have that many Marriott Bonvoy points to burn) the W Maldives is $3390 per night and it includes breakfast according to Expedia.ca.
So totalling all that up, a Maldives trip cost from Canada can be expensive if you don’t do any form of travel hacking.
- International Flights from Canada: $2000 CAD per person
- Domestic Airport Transfers: $479 CAD per person
- Resort accommodation: 7 night accommodation for $650 per night= $4550 CAD for a couple half board option
Therefore the total is about $4750 per person if you stayed for 7 nights if you had half board.
This doesn’t include lunch which which probably add another $350 CAD per person if you spend around $30 CAD for lunch.
Most people just stay for 4-5 days in the Maldives though and stick to one island (because otherwise, the domestic transfers will just eat up your Maldives budget).
The tourist visa for the Maldives is only 30 days anyways so it’s not like you would stay here for months.
As mentioned, another thing that eats up your Maldives budget are the a la carte meals, eating in the Maldives is expensive, and a hamburger could be around $25 USD plus 23% taxes.
Therefore, finding a resort that includes at least two meals a day included is imperative.
Maldives Travel Restrictions
What are the current Maldives travel restrictions, if you are planning a trip soon?
There are no further travel restrictions for the Maldives.
An arriving or departing PCR test for COVID-19 is not necessary anymore, however, you have to complete a traveller’s declaration within 96 hours of flight time the Maldives in order to qualify for the tourist visa.
Maldives Bucket List
The Maldives is on a lot of people’s bucket list, and for good reason.
A small tropical island (one of over 1200) in the Indian Ocean with pristine sand and Tiffany Blue water, snorkelling, scuba diving, and other fun water activities will possibly be a once in a lifetime experience.
Unfortunately the Maldives is sinking and is estimated to be mostly underwater in 2050, therefore if it is on your bucket list (so you can retire happy), it might be a good idea to start planning that trip soon.
Hope this post helps you look at how much a Maldives trip would cost from Canada and how you could potentially lower the cost by planning for your bucket list dream trip a little in advance.
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How much did your Maldives trip cost from Canada?
GYM is a 30 something millennial interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for blog updates, a free dividend yield spreadsheet, and the free Young Money Bootcamp eCourse.
Great job with travel hacking! That’s a great way to visit the Maldives. I enjoyed it, but I don’t think I’ll go back. Thailand is nicer and way cheaper. I guess it was a mistake to put the Maldives at the end of a 3-month long vacation. We were ready to come home by then. The boat rides weren’t fun either.
@Joe- Thanks! The trip planning was half the fun. 3 month long vacation sounds just amazing but I can see why one would feel a bit tired of traveling 🙂
The Maldives was never on my list but hearing you and others talk about it, now it is ha ha.
How was it with kids?
@Maria- Pretty great, I think it’s great for young kids, they love snorkelling. I think teenagers coming here would be a bit bored unless they don’t mind snorkelling every day. There are some water sports too but with a hefty price tag. The water bungalow is a bit scary with kids, there are no railings and it’s just a drop to coral if they fall, lol. Getting to Maldives is a bit hard, the domestic flight and boat transfer takes about 4-5 hours.
It’s cheaper than Bora Bora!