The Maldives began to cost less than Turkey – but with a toilet on the floor

According to the Russian woman, a week on the islands cost 151,000 rubles for two with a companion, of which 30,000 rubles for double occupancy with breakfast, 111,000 rubles for two round-trip tickets for a direct flight from Moscow, and 10,000 rubles for tourist tax . It is really cheaper than the popular Egyptian and Turkish destinations among Russians.

“There are important nuances here,” a traveler in a metropolitan travel agency specializing in the Maldives and neighboring Sri Lanka commented on the story. – Apparently, we are talking about a small hotel no higher than 3 stars or even a guesthouse, and in the low season.

Most Russians associate the Maldives with the fact that it is “expensive and rich”, but few people are aware that the Maldives has a rainy season, storms and hurricanes, and the cheap segment of accommodation is located in a strict Muslim zone.

From May to November, there are storms and rains in the Maldives, but at the same time, of course, it is warm and hotel prices are reduced to a minimum. And if in neighboring Sri Lanka, for example, tourists during this period move from the south coast to the east, where the sun shines, there is no such possibility in the Maldives, the low season is on all the islands at once.

Indeed, the tourist, who excited the Network with “the Maldivian for the poor”, specifies that she lived in a “guest”, the guests of which, unlike the guests of luxury hotels, are “closer to the people”: they go to the same shops, markets, cafes and public beaches, where the local population. The Russian woman was surprised that conditional “bikinis” are prohibited on these beaches – open swimwear for women and swimming trunks for men. Both those and others can swim only in long T-shirts and shorts.

“In fact, women rarely swim here, and men too,” clarifies a Maldivian tourist industry worker who speaks Russian. – On public beaches, locals often come just to sit, breathe and let the children run on the sand. At the same time, women not only do not undress, but, on the contrary, completely cover their faces, leaving only their eyes. And not for religious reasons, but in order not to accidentally tan, in our country a tan is considered a sign of poverty. Only the poor have to work hard in the open sun.

– What about tourists? They are uncomfortable in T-shirts to swim!

– Before the pandemic, our tourism industry generally existed only in the luxury segment. And luxury hotels are on separate islands where locals do not live, but only work.

According to the Maldivian, since his country is located on 1192 islands, including very small ones, each island has its own “profile”. The large island with the capital Male is an island city (that is, a city with institutions), there are village islands, farm islands, an airport island and a prison island. And each luxury hotel is also provided with a separate island.

“Only men have contact with tourists, and their wives and children live in a special town for staff,” says the Maldivian. – There on the island, but they do not see tourists. Women are taken out before dawn to clean up the territory and beaches, after which they do not leave the town with their children. Therefore, in such hotels-islands, tourists drink alcohol and swim in whatever they want. But outside the resort islands, everything is according to Sharia. And wherever locals live, guests should respect their faith.

– And what about your men working on the resort islands? Will the Almighty punish them for watching naked and drunk tourists?

– Only people who have graduated from a special faculty of our university and have undergone special psychological training are selected there. Therefore, in the Maldives, you will never hear a story that a Maldivian lifeguard or waiter had an affair with a tourist. Our prison shines for this.

It turns out that before the beginning of the 2000s, the foot of a “mere mortal” tourist did not set foot in the Maldives at all: on the islands, far from prying eyes, only kings, shahs and the richest people on the planet rested. Then all the hotels were of the deluxe category, and the first “four” appeared only 10 years ago.

But the pandemic did not allow the authorities of the country to keep their tourism industry in the luxury segment, they had to build budget guesthouses, and, of course, you can’t single out a separate island for them, like an expensive hotel. According to an employee of the Maldivian tourism industry, the “guests” do not have an official star rating, but everywhere there will definitely be a fresh renovation, since most of them were recently built. These are small and nondescript houses in residential areas with 30-50 small rooms, everywhere there will be a TV, Wi-Fi and a fan, and in some even air conditioning. But the toilet can be one per floor, but the total cost is in the range of $ 20-40 per day with breakfast.

– Toilet one per floor – the main disadvantage?

– Depends on the preferences of the tourist. The “Guest” will definitely be on the island where the locals live, which means that you won’t be able to buy and drink alcohol, they simply don’t sell it. And if they see you in a public place with a bottle brought from home, they will hand you over to the police, even if you are a foreigner. Bikinis are not allowed – that is, swimwear for women, swimming trunks for men.

Also, guests of expensive hotels have a transfer to the airport included in the tour price, while budget tourists do not. And from some places to get to the airport in Male is difficult, long and expensive.

A Russian woman, delighted with the cheap Maldives, also mentions this: she had to get to the terminal for 3.5 hours by ferry.

– This is still normal, and from some islands you can fly only by light aircraft, and all of our inter-island aviation belongs to one local rich man and is not very cheap.

– If you want to swim in a bikini and dine with wine, can you swim to an island with a luxury resort?

– Look at which one. Many elite resorts do not allow outsiders at all. But in the big “four”, probably, you can. It is cheaper to order, for example, a dive tour or fishing trip at a street travel agency on the island where your guest is, it will be cheaper than on the Internet. And only then verbally ask the guide to take you not to the open sea, but to a good hotel.