A mum has revealed how she managed to bag flights to dream holiday destination the Maldives for just £275.
While most of us have gazed at snaps of the islands and their bright turquoise water, those picture-perfect islands are hardly famed for being budget friendly. While some hotels and resorts can be a relatively decent price – no more than a week in Florida for example – the added cost of flights all the way to the Indian Ocean can be prohibitive.
But, Jenna Carr, @thetravelmum, recently explained to her TikTok followers that she’d bagged flights to the tropical atolls for less than £300 each. You will need to be flexible on dates and travel times, but she says it’s do-able.
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Jenna decided to fly out to the Maldives for as cheap as possible and booked her "epic" 18-day holiday where she found some "disgustingly cheap" flight prices. Jenna said: "You're going to spend two nights in Sofia, Bulgaria, six nights in the Maldives, four nights in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, four nights in Jordan, and a night in Bergamo, before flying back home."
She also had to book a night at a hotel by the airport in Abu Dhabi to make her holiday happen, but in the end she's organised an incredible five-destination trip on her journey to and from the Maldives. So, it’s definitely a dream holiday on a lower flight budget.
On a post in her The Travel Mum website, Jenna explained that her tickets from London Luton to Sofia, in Bulgaria, cost just £17 per person with Wizz Air. She will set off on November 2 in the morning and the flight takes around three hours.
Jenna has chosen to book two nights in a hotel there before flying to the UAE for just £43. The flight sets off at 1.55pm and takes seven hours and 10 minutes. Then she will stay there for one night before paying £133 for a flight straight to the Maldives with Wizz Air – a long journey that takes five hours and 20 minutes as it has to fly over land not sea.
She will arrive in Male, the Maldives, at 6.05pm. Now, I know what you’re thinking – surely the hotels will drive your holiday cost right up? Well, Jenna says no as you can get hotels on inhabited local islands for very little.
We’ve explained before that you can get from Male to local islands like Fulidhoo, Maafushi and Thoddoo with ferries from £1.25. On Fulidhoo there’s plenty of fun to be had and you can stay at the Malas Island View from £52 a night between two adults sharing. That’s just £26 each for a night in paradise.
Maafushi has lots of restaurants and bars to spend your days in eating fresh Maldivian seafood and fruits – but, it's important to note that alcohol is banned in the Maldives outside of resorts. We’ve found hotels on the island from £33 a night for two adults at the Arora Inn.
Thoddoo is another local inhabited island where you can stay. This island is where plenty of exotic fruits like bananas and watermelons are grown so the food is top notch.
As usual, the beaches are stunning and there’s also a bikini beach filled with fish and turtles.The cheapest stay we found was at New Breeze Thoddoo Inn from £46 – that’s £23pp.
To get home, the mum has booked to fly from Male to Abu Dhabi and then to Aqaba in Jordan for just £17. Then she will hop over to Milan Bergamo with Ryanair for £25. Finally, she’s nabbed a two hour flight home to London Stansted for £13.
It’s an incredible deal, but does take planning and plenty of dedication to days on a plane. You should also double check the FCDO advice for your layovers as parts of Jordan are currently deemed unsafe due to its border with Israel and Syria.
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