Is Visiting Male Worth It When Holidaying in the Maldives?

The Maldives doesn't need much of an explanation - its basically everything its cracked up to be. Overwater bungalows, crystal-clear waters, colourful fish and coral reefs. We visited a couple of years ago, and I like many other travellers wondered whether we should make time to explore the capital city, Male?

TL;DR

We took the time to visit Male - mostly to extract the maximum time spent at the pricey resorts.

Understanding Male: The Capital of the Maldives

Male, the capital city of the Maldives. It's where the international airport is and where you will land when visiting one of the many resorts. With a population exceeding 200,000, on a tiny island of just 8.30 square kilometres, it is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Its a lively noisy urban centre that offers such a massive contrasting experience to the quiet island resorts. Whilst we were there - it never slept.

The Attractions of Male

I won't bore you with everything it's got - but think culture, history, local markets, parks, shoreline, a busy dock and a bustling airport. Oh, and loads and loads of people and scooters.

The Pros of Visiting Male

• Male provides a window into the daily lives of Maldivians - it looks like a tough life.

• Visiting Male allows travellers to sample the local culture. Note - there isn't any culture on the resort islands

• Unique experience - from tasting local dishes to visiting historical sites

• Engaging with local artisans at craft markets

• Very accessible by foot

The Cons of Visiting Male

• It's crowded and busy - we experienced it as a city that never sleeps - so noisy

• Limited beach access - it its not a holiday location

• Will eat up time if your schedule is tight

Is It Worth Your Time?

To be brutally honest. No - whilst it's a friendly and mildly interesting city, best to take the first boat / ferry / plane transit out to your resort after you land at the airport.

However - if you are time rich, and looking to get the best value form your Maldives spend, consider this....

If you arrive late into Male or are scheduled to depart early - you will cut into your time that you've paid for at your luxurious and expensive resort.

Be like retiredcormac and integrate Male to drive some additional value.

Our BA flight back to London was scheduled to leave at 11:00 on our last day at the Hilton Amingiri resort - meaning getting up at a horrible 05:00 to checkout at 06:00.

Instead we chose to add a night in Male at the end of our stay. We stayed at the Hilton and enjoyed the resort until late on our last day, without having to pay for that night, and booked a cheap hotel in Male that included a free return airport transit instead.

This worked really well, and also gave us an opportunity to explore Male - it isn't big and doesn't take long.

Final Thoughts

Retirement provides time.

This, together with booking independently and creating your own itinerary allows you to drive better value when travelling. Meaning you have more money in your pocket to book more holidays.

p.s. If you do want local Madive culture - go to one of the local, non-resort, islands instead.

Happy travels!