Maldives is an archipelago of thousands of islands. While visiting all of it is impossible i made a fare attempt to visit atleast a few of them, to total of 5 islands.
HULHULE:
This is the airport island of Maldives. The only way you can enter Maldives via air is through the Ibrahim Nasir International airport. One cannot stay on this island as it is only meant for flying in and out . But one can make its way through to Hulhumale or Male for a overnight stay before heading towards other islands. This island has a variety of food options including the Burger King, and given its location they fall on the expensive side.
Depending on the island you need to go you can choose either a taxi, a bus or ferry. The ferry is the only way to go to Male. It will cost you roughly 10 MVR for one person and approx time is 10 min. Ferry leaves every 15min. If you happen to be staying at the Hulhumale island, then taxi and bus are the only options. A taxi will cost you 6-7$ and the airport bus will cost you 20MVR (1.33$). Also luggage’s are allowed on the airport buses. Travel time is approx 15-20 min and their are buses available every 30 min, 24/7 round the clock except for the 12.30pm and 1.00pm buses that functions only from Sat-Thurs. Exit from the Burger King side onto the main road and turn towards your left, the airport bus stop is 20 feet away. If you couldn’t find it, ask for help to any of the localities.
HULHUMALE:
I took the 2.30 airport shuttle to Hulhumale and was dropped off at the first stop in 20 min. My bookings were made for a private room in Ibrahim’s house with the facility of utilizing the kitchen.The room was European style, simple, neat and clean with an attached bathroom/toilet. Ibrahim had shared the google location of the house which helped me find it without much trouble, 5 min walks from the bus stop.
Hulhumale is a tiny island which can be covered on foot in 30-40 min. The hulhumale ferry terminal is on the other side of the island, a walkable distance of 1.5km. Hulhumale has a nice beach for swimming unlike Male which has an artificial beach. There are several dept stores that you can visit for eateries. Hulhulmale also has a fair share of cafe’s and pizza joints for a good meal.
We had to catch the 10am ferry to Fulidhoo from Male, which means we should be in Male atleast by 9 to make sure tickets dont get sold out. We left our guesthouse at 7.30am and walked till the Hulhumale ferry terminal which took us 20min. One can choose to book a cab or take the bus. Since we couldnt find either we walked. The ticket till Male cost us 5 MVR per pax. Ferry to Male is available every 15 min from morning 5.20 am. We were ushered into the ferry and reached Male 20 min later.
MALE:
Male is the capital city of Maldives. This city is uber developed with buildings every where and tiny roads. Taxis are the means of transport here. One can walk too, but it can be time consuming in case you are in a hurry. Taxi’s should cost you anywhere between 25 MVR to 35 MVR to go to the other side of the island. Do not pay more than this.
Ferry to Fulidhoo starts from Villingilli Ferry Terminal which is on the other side of the island. Walking is feasible too, but time consuming. If you are in hurry like me, take a cab instead for 35MVR. Ones in Villingilli Ferry Terminal go to the counter and buy your tickets. Boarding starts at 9.30 am. From my personal experience you can get the tickets even if you come at 9.30 am. Their is no need to hurry or pay for the cab.
I dint find enough time to explore Male the first day, but last day we reached Male at 8.30 and i had a solid 4 hours to explore this place. We found few cafe’s here, along with few that catered to Indian palates. This time we walked from Villingili ferry terminal to airport ferry terminal. It took us 30 min to cover a distance of 2.3km. Also the sun was up which the weather was on the hotter side which made the walk a little tiresome. We got 2 tickets to airport for 10 MVR per pax and reached airport in 10 min. Ferry to airport leaves every 15 min.
MALE OR HULHUMALE, MY PICK?
I prefer Hulhumale over Male. Male is overly crowded and too touristy whereas Hulhumale is yet to be exploited.
I & My Flipflops 