Diving in Maldives on a Budget

You don’t need to break the bank to go diving in Maldives. Here’s an estimated cost breakdown for a short dive trip from Singapore:

Return flight from Singapore to Malé – S$463 on Malaysia Airlines (full service, stopover in KL) / S$334 on Tigerair (budget, direct)
Accommodation – S$70 a night for a room in Hulhumalé (double occupancy, air-con, private bath, breakfast)
Diving – S$250 for 4 dives including equipment rental (2 dives a day for 2 days)
Food and public transport – S$20 a day

Total cost for 4D/3N dive trip: Less than S$1000 nett a person

S$20 a day for food and transport is possible because there are many teashops in Malé and Hulhumalé, where you can get hedhikaa, which is a selection of finger foods, also known as “short eats”, for about S$0.20 a piece. They are like samosas, in many different forms and shapes, but commonly stuffed with spicy fish filling. There’s a picture of “short eats” in the photo album. For those who get tired quickly of “short eats”, you can get “long eats” like curry chicken and rice at the teashops for about S$5.

Three things I liked about my recent trip: Manta Ray, Short Eats, Milk Coffee ‘Dinosaur’

Three things I disliked about my recent trip: Google Map for Hulhumalé, Dive Boat Seasickness, Deleted Dive Photos (mostly recovered)

Photos and videos are available for viewing under “Malé & Environs” in “Maldives”. Enjoy!