Maldives for Kids-Everything You Need to Know!
Going to the Maldives with our kids was a dream vacation! It was nearly perfect and will be a very hard trip to beat. The Maldives are known for being a romantic, bucket-list vacation but the Maldives for Kids are also amazing! If you’re considering a trip to the Maldives with family, here is everything you’ll want to know to help you plan. There’s certainly a lot to consider and think about, particularly when doing a luxury destination like this one!
How to Get to the Maldives
The Maldives are pretty remote comparatively. It is easier to reach the Maldives from Europe than the United States. If you travel from the US you can expect 24 hours of travel or more. From Europe, it’s closer to 12 hours.
Our flight itinerary from Germany:
Munich to Doha (5.5) hours
Doha to Male (5 hours)
Male to Hotel (45 minutes via seaplane)
We flew a red eye schedule there and back. Red-eyes are no one’s favorite but I actually think it worked well for us this time.
The kids slept not the whole time on the flights, but definitely parts. We didn’t need much entertainment other than the built in plane system with games and movies.
We brought a car seat for our three year old just to make it easier for him to sleep on the plane. For the older two, we let them watch movies and play video games on the first leg if they wanted but cut them off on the second leg to make sure they got some rest.
We basically gained a day at our resort by arriving in the morning, and we gained time on our last day by taking an evening fight out.
Flights aren’t cheap and vary depending on your starting point. Set up price alerts and watch for sales. Use points if you have them or travel in the off season (summer) to save some money.
Some resorts have private lounges where you can wait for your seaplane. It seems that they will cover your lounge entry upon arrival but upon departure, you can expect to pay $50-$100 per adult for that same lounge access.
Transfers From Male
When you arrive into Valena International Airport in Male, you will proceed through customs then need to transfer to your chosen resort. There are two ways to do this-speedboat or seaplane.
Which one you do depends on the location of your resort. Speedboat transfers are only possible to resorts located relatively close to Male. If your resort is in another atoll, you will need to take a seaplane.
The price is significantly less to take a speedboat. For our family’s 45 minute seaplane rides to/from the resort was just under $2000.
The seaplanes can fit about 15 people plus a three member flight crew (who will likely be barefoot!). Your baggage allotment is smaller on a seaplane than it would be on a commercial flight. We were allowed a 20 kg bag each plus a 5 kg personal item. The price for going over is $5 per kg and yes, they did weigh all our bags.
Seaplanes only operate during daylight hours. This is something to be aware of when booking your commercial flights. If you arrive in Male at night, you may have to wait overnight there before catching a seaplane to the resort the next morning.
How Much Does a trip to the Maldives Cost
This is one of the hottest questions about traveling to the Maldives. There’s no way around it, this is an expensive trip. There are ways to shave some costs down but you should expect to spend a good chunk of money.
When I was looking for resorts, I don’t think I saw anything under $500-$600 per night. Trip price will vary greatly though, so I can’t give you an exact amount.
Here’s some ways to save money:
use points for flights and/or resorts (several Marriott and Hilton affiliated resorts)
travel in the lower season May-October
choose a beach villa instead of overwater
choose a resort close to Male with a speedboat transfer
Other things that influence the price:
how many people in your party, a room for 2 is a lot cheaper than a room for 5
the meal plan you select, all-inclusive vs. breakfast only/half-board
excursions you plan to do
How Long to Stay in the Maldives
Coming from Europe, the time change was only 4 hours. The minimum number of days I would want to stay after flying 12ish hours would be 4-5 nights. We stayed 8 nights and felt like we were happy with that but could’ve stayed longer-it’s paradise!
If you come from the US, the flight is longer and the time change is more significant. You may want to factor that in, especially with kids.
Maldives Family Resorts
Some people have asked me if the Maldives is kid friendly or a good family destination. To that I say YES!
After the trip my husband and I both said we were glad our kids were with us! I think this comes down in large part to the resort we chose, Sun Siyam Iru Fushi.
Choosing the right resort is key to having a great trip. Read reviews, look at YouTube videos, email the property to ask questions. It’s worth doing the deep dive when you’ll be spending a lot of money on your vacation.
These are the things at our family friendly Maldives resort that made it fun for our kids:
- lots of snorkeling opportunities around the island
- fun family pool with a zip line and jumping platform
- water slide into the ocean
- jumping platform into the ocean
- lizards, bats, and hermit crabs everywhere
- kids club
- they met and played with other kids too, every night after dinner was kid social hour of them all congregating on the beach
- kids menus and lots of fun drinks and desserts
- ice cream shop where they could get ice cream every day
- pool at our villa
- staff who were kind, attentive, and engaging with them
When you’re looking for a Maldives Family Resort, it’s really important to look at all the amenities offered and know what is included in your package and what is an add-on.
Dining
Dining options are also super important to investigate before you choose a Maldives Family Resort. Food and drinks are EXPENSIVE in the Maldives. I mean think about it, they have to fly in a ton! For this reason I encourage you to consider an all-inclusive package or at least a half-board package.
Our all-inclusive package covered:
Breakfast: at the buffet restaurant
Lunch: choice of two pool bars, oceanside bar, 2 other full restaurants, or the buffet restaurant
Dinner: choice of 6 restaurants (Asian food, Indian food, Seafood Grill, Italian, French, or the buffet)
Drinks were also included as well as the mini bar in our room. This is our first time doing all-inclusive and it really made things stress free. We didn’t worry about ordering $20 chicken nuggets that only got half eaten. Or about an $18 ice cream cone that got dropped in the sand.
We were able to order appetizers and desserts without scrutinizing the prices. It just made things easy and relaxing, which is what you want on a vacation like this!
Our meals would have been hundreds of dollars each time had we paid a la carte and I personally feel like we “got our money’s worth” out of the all inclusive. It also made it nice when we were at our room in the afternoon and could give the kids sodas and snacks when they got hungry before dinner without stressing about the price. Our mini bar also had full size bottles of wine so we could open a bottle at the room and not have to rush off for dinner.
All that said, read the fine print on what is included in all-inclusive before you book. You should know exactly what is and is not included to help you make your decision.
Things to Do in Maldives with Kids
Do your kids like the water? Then they will be plenty entertained! Between the beautiful blue ocean water and the resort pools, I think that would’ve been enough. However, there was much more that our kids enjoyed doing!
Swimming
Playing in the sand
Snorkeling
Looking for lizards, hermit crabs, bats, etc.
Kids club
Beachside playground
Water slide
Pool zip-line
Boat rides
All these things kept our kids busy and entertained! Some resorts might also have other excursions or classes that your kids might like to participate in. Make sure to find out all about what your resort has to offer!
Should You Stay in an Overwater Bungalow?
Most people think of overwater villas when they think of the Maldives. And I get it, it seems totally dreamy! We chose a beach Villa instead. Mostly because I was terrified our three year old would fall over an edge into the ocean. He can’t swim yet and I was just too nervous about it.
We LOVED our Beach Villa! I don’t feel like we missed out by not having an overwater villa. I would try the overwater sometime to have the experience because I’m sure it’s also amazing, but it just wasn’t right for us this time.
Here’s some pros/cons to each style of room to consider when you plan a trip to Maldives.
Over Water bungalow
Pros:
step right down from your room to snorkeling
amazing ocean and sunset views from your bed
watch fish, sharks, rays in the water right from your room
Cons:
more expensive
less space maybe, I think our villa really had a lot of room and a lot of outdoor space
little shade, no trees to block the sun
Beach Villa
Pros:
less expensive
big shady outdoor area with several outdoor beds and beach chairs
hermit crab and lizards- entertainment for kids right at our backyard
Cons:
sand, even with the outdoor shower, sand gets tracked in
had to walk a bit or swim out a bit from our room to get to the best snorkeling area on our island
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What to Pack for the Maldives with Kids
Number one item to pack…sunscreen! The sun is strong and trust me you don’t want to pay resort prices for sunscreen. I brought 3 full bottles for our family of 5 and that was enough for us. Also I highly suggest bringing a rash guard for each person. This will keep you more protected than sunscreen alone and helps the reefs because you’ll need to use less sunscreen to snorkel.
Also, if you are particular to your snorkel mask, bring it. I’m sure your resort will have basic snorkel gear available but if you like your particular mask or your kids like a particular mask, just bring it.
What I wouldn’t bother with: cute shoes. I rarely wore shoes. You’re walking in sand so much that the shoes just get dirty and the sand irritates your feet. Just a pair of flip flops for walking on hot sand or hot boardwalk is about all you’ll need.
Kids’ Packing List:
bathing suits at least 2
sunscreen, more than you think you’ll need
baby/toddler life jacket or puddle jumper (whatever they are already used to), the resort will probably have child size life jackets but for babies/toddlers I would recommend bringing your own
water shoes, there was quite a bit of coral and shells on the beach
shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, dresses
underwear/diapers
pajamas
comfy and warm airplane clothes
Adult Packing List:
bathing suits
comfortable warm weather outfits (lightweight, linen, cotton)
flip flops
camera
extra battery
underwater camera (goPro or iphone-but make sure you rinse in freshwater after every ocean swim)
chargers
book
Medicine Cabinet Items:
tylenol or ibuprofen for kids and adults
benadryl, oral and cream for the bug bites and/or possible **allergic reactions
chub rub or similar for thighs and places where your bathing suit will rub
sunscreen, more than you think you’ll need
aloe lotion for when you get burned anyway
**I got a rash all over my body a couple days into the trip. Luckily our resort had an in-house clinic. The doctor told me it was an allergic reaction to something in the ocean and prescribed me an oral antihistamine.
Overall
This was the best family vacation we have ever done, hands down! It was certainly a splurge for us but we walked away feeling that it was money well spent. Every family is different on what they are looking for and how much they want to spend. I hope outlining some of the details here has given you a good idea of what to consider and look for when booking a trip to the Maldives for Kids.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve been to the Maldives before or if you have any more questions!
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