Maldives: The ultimate seaside break

🏝️ The Maldives are 9,150 km from France. It takes 12 hours to fly from Paris to Malé international airport. Air France operates several direct flights a week between Paris Roissy CDG and Malé during the high season between October and April. After that, you need to take a Maldivian airline, such as Trans Maldivian Airways, to reach the furthest atolls by propeller plane or seaplane (25-minute to 1-hour flight). The nearest atolls can be reached by boat, from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Malé international airport is on the island of Hulule, 1 km from the capital. There's only one way to get to the city centre: by boat.

Entry formalities and visa

If you are staying for less than 30 days, a visa is issued free of charge on arrival in the Maldives, on presentation of your passport, which must be valid for at least 6 months after the end of your planned stay, a valid ticket for departure from the Maldives and confirmation of your hotel reservation.

⚕️ COVID Info

Since 13 March 2022, the requirement for a PCR test has been abolished for vaccinated and non-vaccinated tourists travelling to the Maldives. Vaccination is no longer compulsory for hotel stays and cruises. In short, things are back to normal! You still need to fill in an online health declaration form at least 96 hours before your flight to and from the Maldives. No vaccinations are required to enter the Maldives.

🥘 Culinary specialities?

Don't like meat? You've come to the right place! In the Maldives, fish is king, as is seafood! Most Maldivian dishes are very spicy, usually accompanied by rice. There is a whole range of curries prepared with chillies. In the big hotels, you'll find imported beers and spirits. Exotic fruits abound: coconuts, mangoes, papaya, pineapple, etc. For breakfast, Maldivians eat "Mas huni", a dish made from crushed tuna mixed with onions and chillies, eaten cold with "roshi" (which resembles chapati, the traditional Indian bread). Desserts are generally very colourful and sweet, such as zileybi (sweet doughnut rolls). Black tea, the traditional drink, will wash it all down! Limited cultural tourism

The cultural dimension is limited and encounters with the locals almost non-existent. The capital Malé, where you can visit the great mosque and the national museum, is home to most of the inhabitants, and most of the islands are uninhabited. That said, excursions are available to visit the few islands with their typical villages.

🛩️ Travel between islands

Transfers between islands are generally by boat. The more remote islands are accessible by small propeller plane, or even better, if you get the chance, by seaplane, like Tintin and Indiana Jones! Air Maldives operates domestic flights between Malé airport and the atolls of Thiladhunmathee South, Hadhdunmathee, Huvadhoo South and Addoo. The other atolls are linked by seaplane. Within the atolls, you can travel by boat (traditional dhoni or the faster speedboat). On the islands, rent a bike or go for a walk: it takes no more than 30 minutes to go around most of the islands. In Malé, a taxi ride costs 15 rufiyaas, the Maldivian rupee (i.e. less than one euro) whatever the distance.

🐊 The wildlife of the Maldives

Admittedly, most of the wildlife in the Maldives can be admired underwater, but you can still have some lovely encounters on dry land. You're sure to come across the grey heron or the grey heron, and other common wading birds such as the crane, as well as flying foxes, the giant bats! And if you're lucky, you might spot a sea turtle coming to lay its eggs on the beach, or its hatchlings trying to reach the lagoon, among the crabs and birds!

👜 What to bring back in your bag?

One thing's for sure, forget shoes and socks for the duration of your stay! Here, it's no news no shoes... Local handicrafts are fairly limited in the Maldives. Most souvenirs are imported items: lacquerware from China, pareos and wood carvings from Bali, mats and silver jewellery from Indonesia. One of the few items 'made' locally is the stencil-decorated T-shirt. If you like to bargain-hunt, go to the Singapore Bazaar in Malé: almost all the items are imported, but this is where you'll find the widest choice.