🇮🇳 India → 🇲🇻 Maldives

Maldives Itinerary — 5-Day Trip Plan

Castaway paradise — overwater villas, glass-clear lagoons, coral reefs, sandbanks and impossibly slow island time

✈ International🛂 Visa — Free on Arrival💱 $
$4,479
Est. total budget · 2 adults
5
Days
13
Attractions
13
Meals planned
💡 Recommended trip length for the Maldives: 5 nights — a slow rhythm of one signature excursion a day (snorkelling, a sandbank, a dolphin cruise) wrapped around resort and spa time.
🗓 Prices & visa rules verified: August 2026
1
Arrival Day
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2
Day 2 — a free sample of your itinerary
Your unlocked preview day
🥭
08:00
🥭Breakfast
A lavish resort breakfast over the lagoon.
$15.87 /person (est.)
🤿
09:10
🤿Scuba Diving· Your atoll
🕒 08:00–16:00 · Last entry 13:00 · PADI centres on most resorts. Leave 24 hours between your last dive and a flight.
$150.00⏱ 3 hoursadventure
Scuba Diving → Sandbank Picnic
🚶~10 min on foot
🏖
12:20
🏖Sandbank Picnic· Private sandbank
🕒 09:00–16:00 · Last entry 13:00 · Booked through the resort; sandbanks shift with the tides. The ultimate photo and proposal spot.
$150.00⏱ 3 hours
🥗
15:20
🥗Lunch
A light lunch at the beach or pool restaurant.
$26.44 /person (est.)
🍽
19:00
🍽Dinner
Dinner — a beach barbecue, the overwater restaurant, or a private sandbank table.
$42.31 /person (est.)
Sandbank Picnic → Night Fishing
🚤~15 min by speedboat
🎣
20:15
🎣Night Fishing & Stargazing· Your atoll
Part of your Day 2 — unlock to see the full description, how long to allow, opening hours and the ticket price.
🔒 Locked
Night Fishing → Bioluminescent Beach
🚶~5 min on foot
22:20
Bioluminescent Beach· Maldives
🕒 20:00–24:00 · Last entry 23:00 · On dark, calm nights the shoreline can glow blue with bioluminescent plankton — a magical natural light show.
Free (nature)⏱ 1 hournature
3
Day 3
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4
Day 4
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5
Departure Day
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🔒 You're viewing 1 of 5 days. Unlock to open the other 4 fully-planned days.
✈️Flights$740
Per person · return from India$370
Total · 2 adults$740
🏨Accommodation$338.48
3-Star hotel · per night (per room)$84.62
4 nights × 1 room$338.48
🎭Attractions & Activities$2,320
Manta & Whale Shark Safari$440.00
Sunset Dolphin Cruise$160.00
Sandbank Picnic$300.00
Scuba Diving$300.00
Overwater Spa Ritual$360.00
Underwater / Beach Dinner$500.00
Water Sports & Lagoon$120.00
Night Fishing & Stargazing$140.00
Total (all pax)$2,320
🍽️Food & Dining$729.85
🌅 Breakfast × 4d × 2 pax$126.93
☀ Lunch × 5d × 2 pax$264.44
🌙 Dinner × 4d × 2 pax$338.48
Total food & dining$729.85
🚇Airport Transfer$350.00
Resort speedboat · per person, one way$87.50
Airport ⇄ hotel · 2 legs × 2 pax$350.00
🚇Local Transport$0.00
Per person · per day (public transit)$0.00
5 days × 2 pax$0.00
🛂Visa — Free on ArrivalFree on arrival
Entry typeFree visa on arrival for all nationalities
FeeFree (30-day tourist visa)
RequirementConfirmed resort booking + onward ticket
PassportValid for at least 6 months
Health formComplete the online IMUGA traveller declaration before arrival
TipYour resort arranges the speedboat or seaplane transfer from Malé — confirm timings.
Estimated Grand Total
Maldives · 5 days · 2 adults
$4,479
Your dates, group & final plan set inside the full itinerary.

In your Itinerary

13 attractions
All 13 attractions with descriptions, opening hours & ticket prices. Your personalised day-by-day plan unlocks with the full itinerary.
✓ Day 2

01 / 13

🏖 Sandbank Picnic

Private sandbank

leisure
3 hours
🕒 09:00–16:00

A short boat ride to a tiny ribbon of white sand in the middle of the turquoise lagoon — just you, the sea and a picnic or champagne breakfast. Swim, snorkel the edges and feel gloriously castaway.

✓ Day 2

02 / 13

🤿 Scuba Diving

Your atoll

adventure
3 hours
🕒 08:00–16:00

Some of the planet's best diving — coral thilas, channels alive with sharks and rays, and warm, clear water. Resort dive centres run guided trips for certified divers and 'discover scuba' sessions for beginners.

✓ Day 2

03 / 13

✨ Bioluminescent Beach

Maldives

nature
1 hour
🕒 20:00–24:00

On dark, moonless nights the lapping shoreline can shimmer electric blue with bioluminescent plankton — the famous "Sea of Stars". A magical, weather-dependent natural spectacle best away from resort lights.

✓ Day 2

04 / 13

🎣 Night Fishing & Stargazing

Your atoll

leisure
2 hours
🕒 19:30–23:00

Drift out on a traditional dhoni to handline-fish under a sky thick with stars, far from any light pollution — the crew often grills your catch back at the resort. A relaxed, only-at-sea evening.

05 / 13

🐠 House Reef Snorkelling

Your resort island

nature
2.5 hours
🕒 08:00–18:00

Step straight off the beach or your overwater villa into a living coral reef — parrotfish, reef sharks, turtles and rays in bath-warm, glass-clear water. The simplest and often the best experience in the Maldives.

06 / 13

🐋 Manta & Whale Shark Safari

Outer atoll

adventure
3 hours
🕒 08:00–16:00

A half-day boat safari to snorkel with gentle giants — graceful manta rays at their cleaning stations and, in season, the world's biggest fish, the whale shark. A bucket-list ocean encounter.

07 / 13

🐬 Sunset Dolphin Cruise

Your atoll

nature
2 hours
🕒 16:30–19:00

A late-afternoon dhoni cruise out to where pods of spinner dolphins play in the wake, set against a flaming Indian-Ocean sunset. A magical, gentle end to a slow island day.

08 / 13

🛥 Local Island Hopping (Maafushi)

Local island

culture
4 hours
🕒 09:00–17:00

A visit to an inhabited local island like Maafushi for a taste of everyday Maldivian life — a 'bikini beach', village lanes, craft shops and a budget-friendly local lunch. A grounding contrast to the resort bubble.

09 / 13

🏙 Malé City Tour

Malé, Maldives

culture
2 hours
🕒 09:00–17:00

A half-day in the tiny, vivid capital — the bustling fish and produce markets, the carved coral-stone Old Friday Mosque, the golden-domed Grand Mosque and the Sultan Park. A cultural contrast to resort life.

10 / 13

🐢 Turtle & Coral Snorkel Safari

Maldives

adventure
3 hours
🕒 08:00–16:00

A guided boat trip to nearby reefs and channels to snorkel alongside green sea turtles, reef sharks and clouds of tropical fish — one of the Maldives' most magical half-days in the water.

11 / 13

💆 Overwater Spa Ritual

Your resort island

leisure
2 hours
🕒 09:00–20:00

A signature treatment in an overwater spa pavilion, often with a glass floor onto the reef below — the sound of the lagoon, a sea breeze and hours that melt away. The essence of Maldivian slow luxury.

12 / 13

🍷 Underwater / Beach Dinner

Your resort island

leisure
2 hours
🕒 19:00–23:00

A once-in-a-lifetime dinner — at an underwater restaurant ringed by reef and fish, or a private candle-lit table on the beach with your feet in the sand. The romantic crown of a Maldives evening.

13 / 13

🏄 Water Sports & Lagoon

Your resort island

adventure
2 hours
🕒 09:00–17:00

Kayaks, paddleboards, catamarans, jet-skis and parasailing over a lagoon so clear it looks Photoshopped. A fun, active morning in the warm shallow water before retreating to the shade.

✓ All 4 stops on your Day 2 route. Unlock to see all 13 attractions mapped across your full itinerary.
All 10 tips — visa, airport transfer & ways to spend less.
🛬
Airport → your hotel
From Velana International Airport (MLE) there's no taxi — you reach your resort by water or air, and the resort arranges it and meets you at arrivals. A speedboat serves resorts within ~60 km of Malé (~$100–250 round trip, 15–90 min); a seaplane reaches farther resorts (~$300–800 round trip, daylight only); some far-south resorts use a domestic flight + speedboat. A public ferry ($1–2) links the airport to Malé city but not resort islands. If you land after ~3pm, a seaplane resort may overnight you near the airport and fly you over next morning. Verified Jul 2026.
🆘
Emergencies
119 Police · 102 Ambulance · 118 Fire. At a resort, contact reception first — they have an on-call clinic.
📱
SIM & data
Carriers: Dhiraagu, Ooredoo — SIMs at the airport; or an eSIM (Airalo). Most resorts also have Wi-Fi.
🌴
Best time to visit
The dry season (Nov–Apr) has the best weather and calm seas — peak for sun and diving. May–October is the wetter season: cheaper, with short squalls but still plenty of sun. Water is warm year-round.
🛩
Getting to your island
You reach your resort by speedboat (nearby islands) or scenic seaplane (farther atolls) arranged by the resort from Malé airport. Seaplanes fly only in daylight, so a late international arrival may mean a night in Malé — plan flights accordingly. Between local islands the government <strong>MTCC public ferry</strong> is dirt cheap but slow and infrequent, while resorts use speedboats or seaplanes (included in your transfer); there is no urban transit.
💵
Costs & all-inclusive
Resorts are pricey and largely cashless (billed to your villa); a 10% service charge and green tax are added. An all-inclusive or half-board plan is often worth it, as à la carte dining and drinks add up fast.
🛂
Visa for Indians
A free 30-day visa on arrival is granted to all nationalities, including Indian passport holders, with a confirmed resort booking and an onward ticket. Complete the online IMUGA declaration before you fly.
🐠
Snorkel the house reef
Many resorts have a superb house reef right off the beach or villa — turtles, rays and reef fish. Pack reef-safe sunscreen, and take a guided trip to spot manta rays or whale sharks in season.
🧘
Embrace the slow pace
The Maldives is about doing less — one excursion a day at most, with the rest for the villa, the spa, the lagoon and the sunset. Don't over-plan; island time is the whole point.
🍹
Honeymoon & families
Adults-only resorts suit couples; family resorts have kids' clubs and lagoon villas. Sandbank picnics, dolphin cruises and a candle-lit beach dinner are the classic romantic add-ons.
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