Yes, it’s quite possible to travel to Maldives on a budget.
**This was back in 2017.
Originally I just planned to visit my friends in Kuala Lumpur so I’d already booked a promo flight. Three weeks before the said trip, we chanced upon $90 (Php4400) flights from KUL-MALE. We booked the flights right away! Being quite the spontaneous bunch, we didn’t really plan the itinerary to the letter and figured we’ll see how it goes. One thing was for certain, we were going on a tight budget. Did a little bit of research and indeed it was possible.
For our first night, we needed to stay at Hulhumale, the island near the airport as the boat trips weren’t scheduled until the next day. We decided to go on Couchsurfing to see if anyone could host us for free. That’s one night saved. Since we were arriving super late at night, we found it impractical to spend it on a hotel. Luckily we found someone to host us.
Then the adventure began! We would be staying in the local islands. It took some time to decide but we chose Dhiffushi and Maafushi upon some suggestions. Guests houses were only about $30 a night. We rode the local boat which was about $3 (compared to the speedboats around x10 the price). The trip took longer (about 3 hours) but we didn’t mind the view. Our days were just spent lounging around the beach the whole day. It was paradise! We ate at local restaurants so didn’t spend all that much on food too.
We did decide to splurge a little for a day tour at an exclusive island resort so we could have the water villas experience. We spent around $105 including speedboat transfer to the airport. Great deal!
The Maldives did live up to the hype. The crystal clear turquoise waters were heavenly, almost like it was photoshopped! Overall it was an awesome experience. If you don’t mind staying at a local island and ride the boat for 3 hours (sometimes more for the other islands), then this would work for you. I understand some people who travel to the Maldives for the luxury experience. But for me personally, it’s the same beach anyway.