With nearly 80 different private-island water bungalow resorts in the Maldives, it would be very easy t spend a week or more sorting and combing through all the prices, features, and guest reviews to find the one that suits you best at a decent price. Because we have spent many months sifting through this information, we're publishing our “Editor's Choice” resort recommendations to save you time finding the best resort and deal.
We also have a complete list of all of the cheap Maldives water villa resorts, but below are the six best that combine low prices, excellent features, and overwhelmingly positive guest reviews. When reading through the list of resorts below, you'll quickly notice that most of them operate on an all-inclusive basis to one degree or another, and considering that nothing is cheap in the Maldives, they represent an even better deal than you might otherwise think.
We have a group that is looking for a resort with scuba diving for the end of July. It would be several couples and some teenagers. Are there any resorts where the diving is included?
Thank you
Sam
Sam,
I’m not aware of any Maldives resorts where scuba diving is included or even heavily discounted. The good news is that almost every island offers diving and most offer instruction. So your best bet is to find a resort that you like at a reasonable price, and the diving package will probably also be reasonably affordable. Best of luck with this. -Roger
Kelly,
I’m glad this site has been helpful. Our list of scuba diving resorts will cover snorkeling as well. For the most part, snorkeling below water villas in the Maldives isn’t very exciting because there aren’t large reefs inside the lagoons where the resorts are located. In general the resorts all offer boat rides to nearby reefs, and many of those boats to go the same places. Most resorts seem to offer at least one if not two snorkeling boats per day, and they are usually included in your room price. There are probably some exceptions though. And of course the larger resorts are more likely to have more boats and departures than small resorts. So my advice would be to choose a resort based on everything else and then check to see if they offer snorkeling trips. If so then check the TripAdvisor reviews by searching for "snorkeling" and you’ll get the reviews that mention it. -Roger
Are the quoted transfer prices round trip or one way? thanks
Ray,
The transfer prices quoted are for a round-trip. -Roger
Hello
We are looking for an OWB that has a pool for May. Would you have a recommendation for which would be best? We have heard you want to be in the Northwest in May to avoid bad weather
Lori,
After having read literally thousands of Maldives resort reviews, I see very few that ever mention any weather disappointments. Still, the weather in the north might be less volatile during the summer season, and you can get a great deal at some of the resorts up there.
Specifically, have a look at the Beach House at Iruveli Maldives, which is a 5-star resort that is as far north as you can go in the archipelago. In May they are offering their huge water villas (110 square meters) for only around US$550 including all taxes, and each has a plunge pool out on the terrace.
If that one doesn’t work for you, let me know and I can probably find one or two others, but this is the best one that comes to mind. -Roger