M.A.L.D.I.V.E.S. it was then. Sea, sand and then somewhere in between there's paradise. It was one of those places that I would have considered as a honeymoon destination but 7 days is in my opinion too short for a honeymoon and as frivolous as I am, Santorini won.

Here's our checklist before we made any bookings and hopefully it helps for your holiday planning as well because little is written online about Maldives.

Flights to Male

Few airlines that operate in Singapore fly to Male - SQ, Tiger Air, Sri Lankan and Malaysian Airlines. We opted for SQ with its promotion - $577 a ticket which is cheap considering flying to Bali during the same period would set us back by at least $400. It is good to note that June and July are actually the low months for Maldives so August is still considered affordable. Travelling in their peak months would mean every single thing doubling.

Travel times for SQ were either in the morning or in the evening. We opted for the evening flight to reach Male at 10ish pm, they are 3 hours behind us.

Transfers

The airport is located in a different island than the city and within the island there are a number of budget hotels - ranging from Hotel Jen that charges an arm and a leg (think USD 250 and above) to relatively cheaper options like inns and lodges that throw in complimentary transfers. I picked Makanaa Lodge for its reviews mainly.

I would advise against choosing an accomodation in a resort (since they do not do transfers in the middle of the night anyway) or in male city (that would require a ferry and then a cab).

Most of the transfers to the resorts or islands would then happen the next day so either waste a day with the transfers and reaching the resort or night or simply just spend the night on the island and start the travels the next day.

What to do next - the million dollar question

Was it straight to lounge at a resort? Or island hopping?

It is critical to note that if public ferries is your main mode of transport, they do not work on Fridays. Period. So before booking anything, make sure travel on the public ferry is not done on Friday. Of course, booking of private speedboats come at an extra perk on top of being ridiculously expensive - you travel as and when you please.

Public ferries cost about USD 2 per person as opposed to a speed boat that would rack up a bill of USD 185. For sure, the time taken to get to the destination would be alot longer; think 90 minutes versus 30 minutes. I think I can live with the extra time needed.

Budget

At the start it was supposed to be a getaway, a cheap getaway to reiterate. I am no sun nor sea sports person so Maldives seem like a doomed holiday spot for me.

We were not seeking a second honeymoon for one hence staying five straight days at a resort was out of the question.

So with all these considerations, we made the decision to first stay over on Hulhumale Island, hop over to Maafushi Island for the cheap excursions then to a resort to live life. There are a ton of islands to visit if time permits, in fact, there are island excursions too.

Excursions

Fishing, dolphin cruises, sand bank picnics and even island hopping that grants you access into the resorts without the ridiculously expensive transfer fees and boarding options but be warned that entrance fees do apply. 

Now I cannot wait for it to happen!