Located south of India and stretching all the way to below the equator, the Maldives is home to over 80 resorts with “water villas”, as they are tend to be called there. Each resort, by local law, rests on its own private island, and they range from tiny boutique resorts to large family resorts that cater with hundreds of rooms.
All of the islands in the Maldives chain are completely flat, meaning you won’t find mountain views like you would in the South Pacific. However, each island is surrounded by its own clear lagoon and thus offers great snorkeling and scuba diving, making it still feel like paradise.
What you’ll find is that the Maldives resorts range from all-inclusive package hotels that offer one large buffet restaurant serving every meal for a week, all the way up to super-luxury islands where there are an impressive 10 restaurants and bars that serve only 70 rooms.
Prices
Maldives water villas start at around US$306 per night
All-inclusive Maldives water villas start at about US$370 per night for two people
Getting there
The Maldives is an island chain that is incredibly and widely spread out, but with that said, all vacations to the country will still start out with travelers flying into the Malé International Airport, which is just northeast of the main island of Malé. To reach this airport from Europe you’ll almost certainly be taking an overnight flight, changing planes in the Middle East (Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai), and arriving in Malé in the morning.
Once you land at the Malé International Airport you’ll be met by staff from your resort who with either guide you to a private speedboat that takes you directly to the island. Or they’ll put you on a sea-plane for a short flight to the island. When you make your hotel reservation they’ll include the cost of the boat ride or flight, so it’s best to save money and book it yourself online.
More information
Overwater resorts in the Maldives
Any chance for a wheelchair user?
Roger,
I would think so, but I don’t have a list of the wheelchair-friendly places. All of the Maldives islands are flat and the overwater bungalows are all on flat docks. I’d think that nearly all resorts are wheelchair friendly so I’d say choose a resort and then just make sure once you’ve decided. Best of luck! -Roger
I have a question and a comment.
Question – Is there a place to find discount codes or pay for 2 days get 3 days discounts?
Comment – Any chance you could consider adding a category “Best Resorts with sand (only) surrounding the villa’s (no rocks so you can easily walk around). And maybe water level that is not over your head. For Reference I stayed in Bora Bora at the Pearl resort and LOVED it because the sand around the villa’s was wonderful and easy to walk on without rocks and coral and the water was only chest high. Just curious.
David,
I’m not aware of any discounts like that. In fact, since some resorts have remained closed since the pandemic, many of the others have raised prices quite a bit. So finding one that are only charging their rates from two years ago is difficult.
That is an interesting suggestion for an article. I think it would be tough to research though. The resorts I’ve been to in different parts of the world all have different high tide and low tide levels that can make swimming much better or impossible. At least the conditions are nice for big parts of the day in most cases. I’ll look more into this. -Roger