🇲🇻

Maldives

المالديف

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📖 Full guideLast updated: 12/08/2026🏖️ Beaches 👨‍👩‍👧 Family & fun

The honeymoon benchmark: private-island resorts, turquoise water, overwater villas — a fully Muslim nation.

ℹ️ General information

Capital: Malé

Language: Maldivian

English among locals: Widespread

Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)

Time zone: UTC+05:00

Weekend: Friday–Saturday

🛂 Visa for Saudi passport

Visa on arrival — 30 days

Free 30-day visa on arrival for all nationalities, with hotel booking and return ticket.

Official source ↗

⚠️ Guidance only — always verify with the official source before traveling.

🕓 Last officially verified: 12/08/2026

🗓️Best time to visit

The Maldives sits almost on the equator, so temperatures barely move all year (28–31°C) and the real variable is monsoon wind, not season. The dry Iruvai monsoon (December–April) brings calm seas and underwater visibility past 20 m — and peak pricing. The wet Hulhangu monsoon (May–November) delivers rain in short bursts rather than full grey days, at noticeably lower prices. One practical note for Gulf travellers: private resorts run unchanged through Ramadan, while inhabited local islands observe the fast and daytime food service is limited.

🕌 For the Muslim traveler

Halal food: Food is halal nationwide; some resort restaurants serve non-halal for tourists, so ask if needed.

Prayer places: Mosques on every inhabited island; resorts provide qibla direction and prayer mats on request.

Friday is an official holiday: Yes

🌙Ramadan & Eid

A fully Muslim country: local-island cafés close by day, while resorts operate completely normally for tourists. Eid is celebrated on local islands with traditional music; resort life is unaffected.

🎭Culture tips

Local islands are conservative (modest dress outside resorts); private resorts are more relaxed.

💳Cards & payments

Resorts take cards and USD for everything. Local islands need cash (rufiyaa or USD). No ATMs outside Malé — sort your cash before boat transfers.

📲Apps & internet

No ride apps — transfers are pre-arranged resort boats. Internet via Ooredoo/Dhiraagu SIMs from the airport; all global services work.

🚗Driving there

No tourist driving in practice — speedboats and seaplanes move you between islands, and your resort arranges everything.

💵Tipping culture

A 10% service charge applies; extra tips for villa/boat crews are a kind gesture (USD 5–10/day).

📶SIM & eSIM

Dhiraagu/Ooredoo airport tourist packs (~USD 30) — or lean on resort Wi-Fi, usually decent.

🚇Getting around

Seaplanes and speedboats between the airport and resorts — arranged in advance with the resort.

💰 Approximate cost

Expensive: roughly SAR 800–2500 per couple per day depending on the resort.

ℹ️ Prices are approximate and subject to change

🛡️ Safety

Very safe at resorts; crime against tourists is nearly nonexistent.

⚠️ Key laws before you travel

Alcohol is banned outside private resorts. Importing non-Islamic religious promotional material is forbidden. Local islands require modest dress unlike resort beaches.

ℹ️ Laws change — verify with official sources; this is not legal advice.

💊 Restricted medications

Strict on anything narcotic: carry prescriptions for all personal medicines and prior authorization for scheduled drugs.

⚠️ Guidance only — always verify with the official source before traveling.

🆘 Emergency & your embassy

Police 119 · Ambulance 102

Your embassy (🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia): طوارئ السعوديين بالخارج / Saudi emergencies abroad: 00966920033334 — الرقم الموحد للخدمات / services: 00966920011114 — أقرب سفارة وأرقامها المحلية / nearest mission & local numbers: saudiembassy.sa + تطبيق MOFA

⚠️ Guidance only — always verify with the official source before traveling.

👥The Gulf traveler experience there

An honest digest from Gulf travelers' experiences — community-maintained and continuously updated.

Gulf travelers are a core honeymoon market and resorts know their preferences well (privacy, halal dining, family villas). Service is professional with no notable complaints.