Jeremy

Jeremy founded Living the Dream in 2008 to chronicle his long-term trip around Asia. Since then he has been on two long-term trips, visited 69 countries, and is just getting started. He is now on a Lifestyle Design quest to build businesses to pursue a life of travel.

Should You Visit a Resort or Local Island in the Maldives?

The Maldives is made up of over 1,000 islands spanning hundreds of miles in the Indian Ocean. Some are several miles wide, while others can be a few thousand feet wide (or less!).

While most of these islands are uninhabited, several hundred are occupied either with local villages or with resorts- often just one per island. This makes picking islands to visit a difficult endeavor for a number of reasons, with sheer quantity to choose from being one of the biggest.

In this one, we want to look at one aspect of the decision-making process you need to consider, and that is whether you want to visit a local Maldives island or one occupied by a resort. Your choice here could significantly impact your experience overall, and deciding between these two general categories is the first step in figuring out what island is ultimately best for you.

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How Much Does It Cost to Visit the Maldives? (2026 Update)

If you are looking to visit the Maldives, odds are good one of your first concerns will be with regards to the price. There is no way around it, the Maldives is an expensive destination.

But while this country is among the more expensive places we’ve ever visited, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that you can still visit this one somewhat cheaply. But unlike other destinations, if you want to visit the Maldives without spending a lot of money, you will need to make some concessions based on what your experience will be like, and it may not be in ways you expect. 

In this article, we’re going to discuss the minimum spending you’ll likely see when visiting the Maldives within the topics of accommodations, food, transportation, and attractions.

At the end of each section, we’re also going to provide rough total estimates for an example scenario of 10 nights at local islands (for two) and a second option for replacing three of those with a budget-friendly resort to highlight some of the pricing variations you may likely see in the country. 

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How We Got a $17,900 Maldives Vacation for Just $6,500

When you close your eyes and think of the Maldives, odds are good you’re picturing overwater bungalows, crystal clear waters, white-sand beaches, and, if you’ve ever researched the destination, a big bill at the end.

We’re getting into a trend of going to remote island destinations with points as we’ve found we can get a pretty good trip value and minimizing our spending. The Maldives was (mostly) no different.

So, what did it cost us? Our total Maldives spending was 665,000 Hilton points, 170,000 United points, and just about $6,500. This got us 14 nights in the Maldives including two resorts, one local island, and one overnight in Male at the end before an early morning flight.

In this one, we want to break down that spending a bit more.

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Discovering What it Means to be Human by Nature in Kerala, India

When you visit a destination, what memories do you walk away with? Are they about the landscape? The food? The people? Or a combination of it all?

During our visit to Kerala in southern India, it was most certainly a mix of everything. But in thinking about it, the human element that tied everything together was a prominent feature in every destination we visited.

When Kerala Tourism reached out and asked if we wanted to be a part of their Human by Nature campaign, to share our experiences with the human side of visiting Kerala’s natural wonders, we were in. In thinking back on it, the human element was truly a big part of our trip to the state!

In this one, we wanted to share how the Human by Nature theme played a big part in a few of the destinations we visited.

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