Maldives: Local island VS Resort island

Now that the law has changed, there are several more options for tourists when visiting the Maldives. Tourists within the last 2 years have been granted permission to be able to stay on local island making visits to the Maldives way more affordable than before.  However what type of accommodation would suit you best?

Local islands

Since the law was passed to allow tourists to stay on local island, more and more hotels and guest houses have been popping up all over local islands. Staying on a local island makes a trip the Maldives much cheaper than staying on a resort island due to the more affordable accommodation rates and local ferry that can be used to access the island. By staying on a local island, you will have a better understanding of local life within the Maldives as well as the cultural and religous aspects of day to day life.Whilst this is a good aspect, it can also become a negative as religion must be adhered to within the Maldives and not all local islands have access to a bikini beach for guest to swim in their swim wear.Local islands are also not developed for tourists and some can lack in amenities such as shops, restaurants and dive schools. As tourists are newly being welcomed onto local islands all hotels and accommodations should appear new, fresh and clean. Boosting the local islands economy is a large pro too!Resort islands

Staying on a resort island in the Maldives is the ultimate luxury. With resorts boasting their own island, there is usually plenty to keep you busy with many amenities.  Getting to the island can be tricky and expensive if your resort does not provide free resort transfers. Speed boats and water plants can cost anything upwards of $250 US each way.Booking a resort island that has free resort transfers can save you a small fortune before you have even arrived! by sea plane to your resort island is an amazing experience within itself as you go over many other islands and discover amazing views. Travelling Eating on resort islands tend to have a variety of options usually including both buffet style meals and A la carte menu’s for you to choose from. Alcohol – Local islands are not allowed to serve alcohol, so by staying on a resort island you will be able to drink through out your stay too! Since resort islands host many more tourists than local islands, activities planned for tourists are more frequent. Day to day activities on the island and further afield excursions are always available.   Our stays We had the pleasure of staying on both a local island and a resort island for parts of our trip to the Maldives. Local island accommodation: Yonder retreat  Resort accommodation: Nika resort and spa  After staying on a local island we had the pleasant opportunity to boost the economy within the local island and interact with locals on the island such as the captain and fisherman.Exploring the local island ensured we had a complete local island tour that many from the resort islands pay for as an additional excursion.Although we did find the food to be limited as there were no local restaurants on the island, however the staff within Yonder retreat offered several beach dinners to break up the evenings. Staying on a resort island was a great experience. The stay at Nika resort felt luxurious from the moment we arrived. The resort boasts an array of accommodation such as over water bungalows, private beach villas and garden villas. Nika resort offered a range of excursions off of the resort island, however also offered in island activities such as diving, snorkelling and yoga.Food and snacks on Nika resort were constantly available in the form of bar snacks, buffets and A la carte menu’s. Nika resort also offered several bars to choose from serving a range of alcoholic drinks both beach front and further inland.  We enjoyed our stay’s on both the local and resort island and cant wait for our next visit to the Maldives!

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