Paradise in Maldives

Visiting Maldives is in our bucket list but was never our priority because we are past our beach-going, resort-living phase. Then Singapore Airlines launched in February their KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escape for March and April, 2 instead of the usual 1 month. This gave us additional time to plan. It was only 14,000 miles (after 30% off) for one-way Economy class tickets to Malé. That’s 56,000 miles and S$292 fees for 2 pax, a pretty sweet deal.

We didn’t know much about Maldives prior to this, and we had to make decisions quickly to secure good deals. Peak travel season in Maldives is between November to April. A quick price check with some popular water villas show room prices tampering down in April. We wanted to travel over the weekend to minimize the leave days needed. We eventually settled on SQ438 to Malé and SQ431 back to Singapore. That means we land in Velana Airport on Friday night and return to Singapore on Tuesday night, effectively a 4D4N trip.

Should we spend all 4 nights at a resort ? Which of the hundred resorts should we choose? And how much would it cost?

Selecting the Right Villa and Resort

Maldives is made up of over 1,000 islands of which 200 are inhibited. The 2 primary ways to get from Velana Airport to any of these islands is via speedboat or seaplane. This can extend travel time as much as 1.5 hours each way. We wanted to minimise transfer times and cost (seaplanes can cost upwards of USD300+ per pax) and narrowed down on resorts that are less than 30 minutes speedboat ride from Velana Airport.

Most resorts have different room options. Namely the Beach Villas, Ocean Villas, and Water Villas. Basically these rooms have varying closeness to the sea - overlooking the beach, ocean or over water respectively. We wanted to get the full “Maldives experience” and decided on Water Villas.

We decided on OBLU Select Lobigili aka Island of Love because it has good reviews, complimentary speedboat ride (only 15 mins from Velana), adult only (no screaming kids), and their LOBI plan includes all day dining and unlimited drinks (alcohol inclusive). But their Water Villa costs ~S$1,200 per night, and we are looking at the period where prices are already tampering down.

We eventually decided to spend 2 nights at their Water Villa. We will get a basic room in Hulhumalé for our 1st night (we land 10+pm on Friday), and another room at Malé on our last night to explore their city. In hindsight, we could have done 3 nights at the Lobigili, but more on that later.

OBLU SELECT Lobigili

We loved every bit of Logibili. Even when all 68 villas were booked throughout our stay, their service and attention remained first class. A hostess was assigned to us and would answer our queries and requests. Their app was easy to use and showed all the information about the resort and the activities we could do - both complimentary and paid ones.

The food options were delicious and varied. Ylang Ylang, their main dining restaurant, overlooks the beach and you can choose to sit indoors, outdoors or in the Library (with aircon). You can order as much as you can eat, 3 meals a day. Their food was portioned small enough to encourage us to try even more dishes. Be sure to check out their Indian food selection, it was one of the best Indian food we had.

The staff always made sure we had drinks in our hands. We enjoyed their Lobi-Tini, a mocktail that is sweet and tangy, full of resort vibes. Everything in our mini-bar is inclusive too. You can drink as much as you want while lazing in their gorgeous Villas. Our room attendant refreshed our room twice a day, topping up the amenities, drinks and snacks. We were so spoiled, it was addictive.

Opened in Mar 2022, their Nest Water Villa was new and nicely designed. They have included additional amenities - a pillow menu, beach slippers, beach bag, sunhats, room robes, sunscreen lotion and insect repellent lotion. There was no need to use our own. Their sunscreen lotion was luxurious with shea butter and aloe vera, a must use on the sunny island. We didn’t feel the need to use our sunscreen.

We went for sunset fishing, snorkelling, and stand up paddle boarding, all inclusive. We also went to their well-equipped gym for a morning workout and played some tennis. Everyone at the resort would have sunbathed at their infinity pool that overlooks the sunset, and the staff at the Swing Bar will constantly top-up our drinks.

Lobigili has one of the largest underwater restaurants in Maldives - ONLY BLU. There is a complimentary ONLY BLU dining experience for guests staying 4 nights or more, else it costs USD120++ per pax. We didn’t try it because dining at Ylang Ylang was such a good experience for us already. For guests staying 4 nights or more, they get additional complimentary dining at Gaadiya 17 and a 45-mins spa treatment.

There were little surprises too. But we will not spoil that for you by sharing it here 😉. It was a luxurious escape on the Island of Love. We highly recommend OBLU SELECT Lobigili.

Malé & Hulhumalé on a Budget

We wanted to explore Malé, to get a feel of how living their city is like. Before our trip to Malé, we got the sense from redditors and resort staff that it is a dense, concrete city without much to do. We agree with their observation after visiting it.

We visited main attractions like Masjid Al-Sultan Muhammad Thakurufaanu Al-Auzam (Good Friday Mosque), Republic Square, Fish Market and Fruits Market. All of which are just next to each other. There were also a few sports and outdoor activities happening near the artificial beach. However, the city doesn’t seem to have much for tourists to do.

Staying at an Airbnb and Beehive Premier hotel was a stark contrast to the resort, not a fair comparison we admit. The Airbnb was barebones. The constant noise from motorcycles on the road through the night necessitates ear plugs. Our Beehive Premier room had a tight shower space, with loose fittings, and the TV was “under maintenance”. Fortunately, the bed, wifi and breakfast were decent enough for one night stay.

Google Maps is the best resource for food options. Hulhumalé probably has better food choices. When you are at Republic Square, head over to nearby Seagull Café for a break.

In hindsight, we could have spent another day at OBLU SELECT Lobigili, maybe a first night at their Beach Pool Villa then “upgrade” to Water Villa for 2 nights. This buys us another day in paradise since we could give Malé a miss anyway. Our hostess told us many guests do a 2+2 combo, staying 2 nights at their Beach Pool Villa then 2 nights at Water Villa, effectively spending 4 nights at Lobigili.

The people we met in Malé and Hulhumalé were pretty nice and chill. There were locals who approached us to offer help when we looked rather lost while locating our Airbnb location at Hulhumalé on our first night. The serving staff in Malé was patient and nice too. However, we can’t say the same for taxi drivers.

Getting Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR)

On the night we landed, It took us almost an hour to get a taxi at Velana airport, probably because it was near midnight. Despite the airport displaying the taxi charges (it costs USD6 to get from Velana to Hulhumalé), we were charged USD10 instead. Likewise when getting a taxi from Hulhumalé to Velana, the taxi driver agreed on 80 MVR before boarding, but didn’t provide change in USD or MVR when we gave him USD10. He simply shrugged his shoulders claiming he has no change. It was frustrating dealing with dishonest taxi drivers. Not a good way to begin our trip really.

We observed that taxis were plentiful at Velana during the day, but scarce at night. Make sure to have smaller USD notes in hand (USD1 notes are useful for tipping) or prepare to overpay for your taxi rides. Do not expect them to return your change in USD (except at the airport maybe) as locals only deal in MVR.

MVR is a non-convertible currency, and you can only get MVR in Maldives. The best place to exchange currency is at Velana airport. It is alright if you do not have MVR, most places accept USD and have credit card payment options too. Be prepared to receive change in MVR using a conversion rate of USD1 to MVR 15.4. We only used USD40 cash during our time there. Our Wise debit card and virtual card in Apple Pay worked well.

Getting 5G Data in Maldives for FREE

There are very few global eSIM providers that include Maldives in their plan. Dhiraagu and Ooredoo offer tourist SIM packages with their not so cheap, lowest plan at USD40 for 20GB with 30 days validity. Airalo offers Ooredoo eSIM plan.

If you are ok without constant connection, there is a free alternative. Just after luggage claims and before the final arrival door where drivers with signs pick up guests, look out for two telco’s vending machines with signs that say FREE SIM Card. It is a prepaid SIM card with free 500MB that is valid for 1 day. You can topup the prepaid SIM card for tourist plans too.

Collect a Free SIM card from each of the vending machines, and you have 2 days of data with 500MB per day. This data can come in handy even when you will be using your resort’s Wifi most of the time. Bring your own SIM ejector tool as this is not provided. Each SIM Card has a 30 days validity. The Free SIM card vending machines cannot be found anywhere else, so make sure to collect them before you exit the arrival doors.

We highly recommend anyone to OBLU SELECT Lobigili, Island of Love, for a “Maldives Experience”. However, if you are keen to go diving or snorkel on other Atolls, there are other resorts worth a look.

Our first Maldives trip was impromptu and we only made basic plans. If we were to visit Maldives again, we would probably go island hopping or explore local islands beyond Malé, like Addu City or Maafushi. Let us know if you have any questions!