Once you finally arrive in the beautiful Maldives, you'll feel as though you've found a tropical paradise, especially at your overwater bungalow resort. Spread over an extremely large area just southwest of India, The Maldives is located thousands of kilometers from Europe, and even quite a long way from the Middle East, as well.

Thankfully, you'll find that there are many flights that venture to the Malé International Airport from all over the globe, making it so that most people will only have to change planes one time during their trip. Also, since these are all long-haul flights you'll be in a wide-body plane, so even those in economy class will have a good-sized seat that grants passengers with decent legroom, which should help make any flight more enjoyable.

If you are planning on staying in one of the overwater bungalows in the Maldives you'll note that it's a reasonably priced and efficient flight from Europe. However, if you are coming from North America you might instead want to consider the overwater bungalow hotels in Bora Bora or elsewhere in the South Pacific, as they are equally nice and much easier (and faster) to reach from the Americas.

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Getting to the Maldives from Europe

When traveling from Europe to the Malé International Airport, you’ll find that there are only a few nonstop flights. However, the few airlines that do provide those nonstop flights like to offer competitive prices, meaning that if you have the availability to book early, you’ll be able to avoid changing planes in the Middle East halfway there.


London to Maldives

BMI Baby, British Airways, and SriLankan Airlines all fly nonstop, taking about 10.5 hours each way.


Frankfurt to Maldives

Condor Airlines flies nonstop, taking about 10 hours each way.


From anywhere else in Europe to the Maldives

There are some seasonal charter flights nonstop that originate in Paris, Brussels, and Milan, but for the most part nearly everyone is going to have to change planes in the Middle East, either in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, or Dubai. Luckily, the airlines representing each of those cities are excellent and very comfortable for long-haul flights.

 

Also, you’ll find that flights head to Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai from most major cities in Europe, taking roughly 6 hours. The layovers are usually about an hour or two, with the onward flight to the Maldives taking about 5 more hours. Prices start at around US$1,000 for the roundtrip flight, and tend to be very competitive since there are so many airlines to select from. Because of that, it’s a good idea to book as early as you can since there are rarely fare sales that bring prices down a bunch, and if the planes are filling up on your desired days the price will go up.


Getting from Malé International Airport to your resort

When considering distance and time difference, it’s important to keep in mind that every flight will be an overnight flight. This doesn’t change whether it’s a nonstop or changing planes in the Middle East. Fortunately, most flights seem to leave Europe in the sometime in the late afternoon, so you end up changing planes around midnight, or they leave Europe late in the evening, so you change planes at about 6am.

 

Once you do land at the Malé International Airport, you’ll be greeted by employees from your chosen resort. Some of the larger resorts will have their own private lounge, while the smaller resorts just have roving employees that wait for your arrival.

 

The resorts that can be found closer to the airport will put you on board a private speedboat for a journey that generally lasts 20 minutes to an hour, while the more remote resorts will do the same for a sea plane (which takes off of the water and then lands back on the water) for an amazing flight to the hotel, which is tends to be one of the highlights of an entire holiday, and because of that, is a great way to begin a tropical escape. What you’ll want to keep in mind is that this transportation does comes at an extra cost and must be arranged in advance, and that the sea plane flights in particular are a bit pricey, usually running about US$400 or higher roundtrip per person.


A note about bringing in alcohol to the Maldives

If you’ve heard about alcohol prices being expensive in the Maldives, you’ll want to note that it’s very true. You’ll also want to note that the country is also extremely strict about allowing alcohol brought into it from inside luggage or duty-free containers. If you show up with alcohol, it will be confiscated and kept for you until you fly out, so best not to bring it at all.

 

Photo by Craig Grobler on Flickr


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8 thoughts on "Editor’s Choice: 6 Best Maldives water-villa resorts with excellent scuba diving"

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  1. We have a group that is looking for a resort with scuba diving for the end of July. It would be several couples and some teenagers. Are there any resorts where the diving is included?
    Thank you
    Sam

    Reply

    1. Sam,

      I’m not aware of any Maldives resorts where scuba diving is included or even heavily discounted. The good news is that almost every island offers diving and most offer instruction. So your best bet is to find a resort that you like at a reasonable price, and the diving package will probably also be reasonably affordable. Best of luck with this. -Roger

      Reply

    1. Kelly,

      I’m glad this site has been helpful. Our list of scuba diving resorts will cover snorkeling as well. For the most part, snorkeling below water villas in the Maldives isn’t very exciting because there aren’t large reefs inside the lagoons where the resorts are located. In general the resorts all offer boat rides to nearby reefs, and many of those boats to go the same places. Most resorts seem to offer at least one if not two snorkeling boats per day, and they are usually included in your room price. There are probably some exceptions though. And of course the larger resorts are more likely to have more boats and departures than small resorts. So my advice would be to choose a resort based on everything else and then check to see if they offer snorkeling trips. If so then check the TripAdvisor reviews by searching for "snorkeling" and you’ll get the reviews that mention it. -Roger

      Reply

  4. Hello
    We are looking for an OWB that has a pool for May. Would you have a recommendation for which would be best? We have heard you want to be in the Northwest in May to avoid bad weather

    Reply

    1. Lori,

      After having read literally thousands of Maldives resort reviews, I see very few that ever mention any weather disappointments. Still, the weather in the north might be less volatile during the summer season, and you can get a great deal at some of the resorts up there.

      Specifically, have a look at the Beach House at Iruveli Maldives, which is a 5-star resort that is as far north as you can go in the archipelago. In May they are offering their huge water villas (110 square meters) for only around US$550 including all taxes, and each has a plunge pool out on the terrace.

      If that one doesn’t work for you, let me know and I can probably find one or two others, but this is the best one that comes to mind. -Roger

      Reply