Maldives Transport

Getting there & away

Flights, tours and rail tickets can be booked online at www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_services.

Contents

Travel documents

Passport

There are no restrictions on foreign nationals entering the country. Israelis and people who have Israeli stamps in their passports are perfectly welcome, which is rare in the Muslim world. Visas are not needed for visits of 30 days or less. Theoret­ically travellers must have US$30 per day for the duration of their stay.

Tickets

If you’re on a package you’ll usually have no choice about the airline you fly, as it will be part of the package. Fully independent travellers (FITs) should shop around for both scheduled and charter deals. More and more chartered airlines are selling flight-only seats and these can be good deals. The other advantage of charter flights is that you can fly direct from Western Europe to Male’, without the usual change in the Middle East or Sri Lanka common for scheduled airlines.

Sea

Sri lanka

Despite the obviousness of this route, it is currently impossible to travel between Sri Lanka and the Maldives by boat. There are no scheduled ferries operating, nor do cargo ships generally take paying passengers. You might be lucky if you ask around in Col­ombo, but we don’t recommend this.

Entering the destination

Entering the country

Entering the Maldives is simple and hassle-free. However, you must know the name of your resort or Male’ hotel, and if you are travelling independently and don’t have one arranged, then be prepared to make one up – the immigration officials will view anyone just arriving in the country with great suspicion.

Air

Airports & airlines

At the time of writing there was only one international airport in the Maldives – Male’ International Airport (MLE; 3322075; www.airports.com.mv), on the island of Hulhule’, 2km across the water from the capital. It’s a decent airport that was being upgraded to include new departure and arrival areas at the time of research. The current domestic terminal on the southern island of Gan is also being upgraded to a new international airport, and should be taking international charter flights some time in the near future.

There is no national carrier; the carriers serving Male’ can roughly be divided into scheduled and charter airlines. Some airlines only fly in certain seasons and the list of charter airlines changes frequently.

Scheduled airlines

Austrian (OS; 3334004; www.aua.com)

Emirates (EK; 3315465; www.emirates.com)

Air India (IC; 3310111; www.airindia.com)

Malaysian Airlines (MH; 3332555; www.malaysiaairlines.com)

Qatar Airways (QR; 3334777; www.qatarairways.com)

Singapore Airlines (SQ; 3310031; www.singaporeairlines.com)

Sri Lankan Airlines (UL; 3310031; www.srilankan.aero)

Transaero (UN; www.transaero.ru; Male’ airport)

Chartered airlines

Note that most charter airlines don’t have offices in Male’ and should be contacted via the home country.

Britannia Airways (BY; www.thomsonfly.com)

Blue Panorama Airlines (BV; www.blue-panorama.com)

Condor (DE; www5.condor.com)

Corsair (SS; 3310111; www.corsair.fr)

Edelweiss (EDW; www.edelweissair.ch)

Eurofly (GJ; www.eurofly.it)

First Choice (FCA; www.firstchoice.co.uk)

LTU (LT; 3334004; www.ltu.com)

Martinair (MP; 3323069; www.martinair.com)

Monarch (MON; www.flymonarch.com)

Neos Spa (NO; www.neosair.it)

Australia

Australians usually reach the Maldives via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur on Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas or a combination. The few Australian visitors to the Maldives makes this an expensive flight. There are no chartered flights currently operating between Australia and Male’.

Flight Centre (131-600; www.flightcentre.com.au)

STA Travel (1300-733035; www.statravel.com.au)

France

Charter flights operate between Charles de Gaulle and Male’ on Star Airlines and from Paris Orly on Corsair International during high season. The rest of the year Emirates, Qatar and Sri Lankan offer the best connections and prices.

OTU Voyages (0 820 817 817; www.otu.fr)

Nouvelles Frontières (0 825 000 825; www.nouvelles-frontieres.fr)

Voyageurs du Monde (01 42 86 16 40; www.vdm.com)

Germany

Germany has a huge number of charter airlines bringing huge numbers of visitors to resorts year-round. Direct flights from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich as well as from other cities are available on a number of chartered airlines.

Italy

There is an excellent charter choice available from Italy to Male’ – most are nonstop flights, although some pick up in two or more Italian cities en route. For scheduled flights, Emirates followed by Sri Lankan and Qatar have the best connections from Rome and Milan. CTS Viaggi (840-501150; www.cts.it) is a recommended travel agency.

Other europe

There’s a weekly flight on Austrian Airlines from Vienna, a twice-weekly flight from Moscow on Transaero, flights from Amsterdam on Martinair and from Switzerland on Edelweiss.

Japan

Japanese travellers usually fly via Sri Lanka or Singapore, though some travel on Thai Airways via Bangkok and Colombo, for a lower price. Chartered flights are not in operation.

Usa & canada

The sheer distance involved in travelling between North America and the Maldives makes the US and Canadian tourism market minuscule. People travelling from North America will usually fly via London and then continue by Qatar Airways, Emirates or Sri Lankan. From the West coast travel via Singapore makes most sense.