Practical info

Once the island is picked and booked, these are the pre-trip questions asked most: whether you need a visa, how to carry money, what is easy to leave out of the bag.

Entry

Visa & entry

The Maldives has one of the world’s most open entry policies — most nationalities get a free 30-day tourist permit on arrival with no visa to arrange beforehand. One exception: since April 2025 the Maldives bars entry to holders of Israeli passports (people travelling on another country’s passport are not affected). Check your own country’s specific rules before you go.

· Within 96 hours of departure, fill the online "Traveller Declaration" — the official site is immigration.gov.mv and it is completely free. There are paid look-alike sites; use the official domain and do not pay for a free form.
· On arrival you may be asked to show a return ticket and resort booking confirmation — paper or a phone screenshot is fine
· Not allowed: pork products, alcohol (without a permit), pornography, non-Islamic religious books. E-cigarettes (including liquid and accessories) are fully banned to carry or use. Cigarettes have a duty-free allowance (~200); over that, customs will hold the excess.
· Buy travel insurance covering overseas medical care and evacuation — worth it especially for water activities / diving
· Keep passport validity to 6+ months beyond your departure date to avoid a strict desk

Payment

Currency & payment

Malé and the resorts quote and settle mostly in US dollars. Local rufiyaa (MVR) is used mainly on local islands and tourists rarely need it directly.

· Resort bills almost always take cards (Visa / Mastercard most common); a few remote islands are cash-first — ask when booking
· For tips and small purchases on local islands, carry some US dollar cash — small notes are more useful
· Before checkout, confirm the service charge (~10%) and taxes (17% GST + a green tax of ~$12 per person per night) are itemised — together these can add ~30% to the room rate, so no surprises at the desk

Getting there

Transfers to the island

Resorts are reached by speedboat, seaplane, or a domestic flight plus speedboat — the resort arranges it and the cost is usually separate. Which one you get largely decides how tired you are on arrival day.

· Seaplanes fly in daylight only — usually the last departure is 15:30–16:00. Land in Malé too late and you overnight in Malé and fly the next day, so book an international flight that reaches Malé in the morning or midday
· A seaplane is not point-to-point: it may stop at other islands to drop off and pick up, so the real time runs longer than the stated "XX minutes". Baggage is typically 20–25 kg per person plus 5 kg hand luggage, with excess charged by the kilo
· A speedboat runs regardless of daylight, around the clock — the easiest option with elders or young children, and for catching an early flight home. North Malé, South Malé and some atolls have speedboat-reachable islands
· A domestic flight is for the far-southern islands: transit in Malé then a speedboat, with baggage re-checked at the domestic terminal — leave at least 1.5–2 hours to connect
· The seaplane terminal is next to Malé airport; in high season check-in plus waiting can take 1–3 hours. Leave a buffer on both ends and do not cut it fine against an international flight
· Almost no transfer is included in the room rate — confirm the quote when booking (round trip, adults and children priced separately). Buying it on the spot is usually more expensive

Wifi · power

Connectivity, power & water

Resorts almost all have wifi (villas and public areas); speed depends on the island and where your villa sits. For reliable data throughout, buy a local eSIM / SIM on landing in Malé.

· Dhiraagu and Ooredoo have counters in the Malé airport arrivals hall selling tourist SIMs / eSIMs — a week of usable data costs a few US dollars. You can also buy an eSIM before you fly and activate it on arrival
· Resort wifi is free but slows at peak times and at the far end of the water-villa jetty — schedule video calls and big uploads off-peak
· Power is 230V with UK three-pin sockets (Type G); bring an adapter. Most villas have USB ports and a universal socket, but do not count on them everywhere in the room
· Tap water in the room is desalinated — fine for brushing teeth. For drinking, the resort provides glass-bottled water daily (many islands bottle their own, free), so there is no need to buy extra
· Air conditioning runs cold year-round; water villas and beach villas get chilly at night, so pack a light layer
· Bring a power strip: charging a camera, a drone and a power bank at once is much easier

Health · safety

Health & safety

There is no malaria in the Maldives and a normal trip needs no special vaccinations. What you actually guard against is sunburn, dehydration, coral cuts and currents — plus the no-fly window after diving.

· The equatorial sun is harsher than you expect: SPF 50 reapplied every 2 hours, and a long-sleeve rash guard beats re-applying sunscreen. Stay in the shade around midday (11:00–15:00)
· Snorkel in water shoes / cut-resistant socks and do not stand on coral or rock. Stonefish, sea urchins and fire coral all live in the shallows — if you see them, do not touch
· The tide pulls currents out, especially at channel mouths and the reef edge. Swim along the shore, follow the buoys, and if your fitness is average do not head for deep water. Watch children the whole time
· Do not fly (seaplane included) within 18–24 hours of diving; leave longer after multiple dives. The last day of a trip is usually scheduled as no-dive
· The nearest hyperbaric chambers are in Malé and some atolls — evacuating a dive incident from a far island takes time, which is why insurance covering diving / medical evacuation is worth it
· Dengue has isolated cases in some seasons, so bring repellent. Pack enough stomach medicine, motion-sickness pills and regular prescriptions for the whole trip — the island clinic only handles emergencies

Tipping

How to tip

The 10% service charge on the bill is a tax, not a tip. Whether you add more, and how much, is up to how happy you are — US dollar cash is the most universal.

· Butler / Thakuru: once at the end of the stay, scaled to the number of nights — commonly US$5–15 per night depending on the tier and the service
· Room boy: US$1–2 a day left by the bed, or a lump sum on departure
· Dive / excursion guide: after each trip, US$10–20 per person; the water sports centre usually has a shared tip box
· Restaurant: US$5–10 if you enjoyed it, or one lump sum to the F&B team on departure
· Carry a stack of small US notes (1 / 5 / 10) — large notes are hard to break and there is nowhere on the island to change money
· It is not obligatory. Some resorts let you add a tip to the bill, so ask the front desk if you would rather not carry cash

Culture

Culture & etiquette

The Maldives is a Muslim country. A resort is a self-contained one-island bubble with relaxed rules; the moment you go to Malé or a local island, dress and behaviour follow local custom.

· On the resort island: swimwear and bikinis are fine and alcohol is served normally — this only holds on the resort island
· On a local island / in Malé: cover knees and shoulders in public, and women avoid bare shoulders and legs. Only a designated "bikini beach" allows swimwear
· Nude / topless sunbathing is banned everywhere in the Maldives, resorts included
· During Ramadan (which moves ~11 days earlier each year), local-island restaurants mostly close in the daytime and island excursions are rescheduled; resorts are largely unaffected, though shows / music may be lower-key
· Friday is the Muslim day of congregation — offices and shops in Malé and on local islands open late or for half a day
· Alcohol may only be consumed on the resort island — you cannot take it off the island or bring it onto a local island. Duty-free alcohol is held by customs until you depart

Family

Travelling with kids or elders

When choosing an island, get these straight with the resort: the minimum child age, connecting rooms / extra beds, cots, the kids-club age range, and how you get from the jetty to the room.

· Some high-end islands have a minimum age of 8 (a few 6) — confirm before booking. The quiz auto-filters these out by the child age band you enter
· Connecting rooms / family villas are limited, so book early for the summer peak. Cots, bed rails, non-slip mats and warming baby food can mostly be arranged in advance — spell it out in the email
· Beach villas usually suit young children better than water villas: the sea-facing side of a water villa often has no railing and the jetty has gaps. With a crawler or toddler, prioritise a beach villa with a fenced private pool
· With elders, prefer a speedboat island or a short seaplane hop and avoid the extra leg of a domestic flight. Buggies come on call once on the island; on a big island (over 1 km) ask how far the room is from the main restaurant
· Kids clubs are typically 4–12; younger children usually need a parent along or a paid nanny (around US$20–25 an hour), and the club closes over the midday break
· Excursions, snorkelling and water sports have age / height / swimming requirements for children — ask the water sports centre first, rather than finding out at the boat

Packing

Packing checklist

The destination is hot and humid year-round; most items are standard for any overseas trip — the ones with a reason noted are specific to this destination and easy to forget.

Documents & money

Passport (valid 6+ months beyond departure)
A copy / phone photo of the passport photo page, kept separately
Return ticket itinerary, resort booking confirmation
Travel insurance policy (ideally covering water activities / medical evacuation)
Dual-currency credit card + small US dollar notes (for tips)

Electronics

Phone charger + power bank
A UK-style 3-pin adapter (Type G) — the standard Maldives socket
Waterproof phone pouch (for photos while snorkelling)
Underwater camera (optional)

Clothing

2 swimsuits, to rotate while drying
A long-sleeve sun top / rash guard
Sun hat, sunglasses
Flip-flops / beach shoes
A light jacket (for the plane and the always-strong room A/C)
One smart-casual outfit — a few high-end restaurants require it

Sun care & toiletries

Reef-safe sunscreen — many resorts explicitly require it in snorkelling areas
After-sun gel / aloe vera
Lip balm, ideally with SPF
Basic toiletries — resorts mostly provide them, bring what you prefer

Health & medication

Motion-sickness tablets — you may need them on speedboats and seaplanes
Stomach medicine, cold medicine, plasters
Regular prescription medication, enough for the whole trip — not just a few emergency doses
Insect repellent

Entry and payment rules can change; check the latest official rules before you go. For a specific resort’s dining / occasion fit, go to Browse resorts