14 Cool Things to Do in Male

Male is small and crowded with narrow streets and we spend few days in the tiny capital of Maldives. Always as a connection to travel to the islands in Maldives. We will write all the things to do in Male since visiting local markets our favorite to coffee shops in our Male travel guide.

Read here travel guide of local islands in Maldives: Maafushi, Gulhi Island, Dhiffushi, Thulusdhoo, Hulhumale and Omadhoo Island.

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Male Travel Guide

Best time to visit Male

Maldives might be hot and sunny all year round, but it still consists of two seasons; the dry season and the wet season.   December to April is the high season, which encounters the drier northeast monsoon and when most resorts rates rises.

The best time to visit the Male is May to November. Although you’ll experience some rain during the southwestern monsoon that occurs at this time, you’ll have the least company and the prices of the resorts are a little cheaper.

Click here to know more about the weather in Male!

How to get to Male

How to get to Male from the airport by bus

There are buses going to Male from Velana International airport every 30 minutes and it costs 20 Rufiyaas which is $1.3 USD. It will take 15 minutes to reach there and there are a few stops in Male.

Read here best hotels in Male!

How to get to Male from the airport by boat

The easiest way and the cheapest is going to Male by boat. It costs 10 Rufiyaas and boats are leaving every 15 minutes to Male. You will get to the jetty port where there is a coffee shop. Once you are there you can check the map and walk around.

You can get a taxi for 100 Rufiyaas to your destination in Male. It’s only $6-7 USD and you will not have to be worried about anything. Especially if you are traveling a few of you with luggage.

Read here a full blog post how to get to Male from the airport!

Visa And Currency in Maldives

Maldives is Visa-friendly. You will get 30 days free visa when landing in Maldives. You just get a stamp and you’re good to go! The official currency in the country is the Maldivian Rufiyaa and the exchange rate is around $1=15.4 Rufiyaas. Click here to know the exact exchange rate before you visit. If you withdraw in the ATM you will get charged $6 USD commission 100 Rufiyaas for foreign card.

Wifi And Internet Connection in Male

Internet connection was working great in Male! We managed ourselves for work with the wifi of our Airbnb and the wifi in the coffee shops. We recommend you to buy a local Sim card in Maldives.

What’s the Cheapest Sim Card in Maldives?

You can buy the cheapest sim card in Maldives with Ooredoo and Dhiraagu Maldives prepaid sim card for $35 USD and 17 GB and for $50 USD with 100 GB data both of them valid for 30 days. Read here and best Maldives eSim best Maldives eSim

The cheapest Maldives eSim with Airalo Maldives eSim for $30 USD with 17 GB data valid for 30 days. And for $50 USD with 30 GB data with Airalo eSim Maldives valid for 30 days even cheaper if you use our discount CODE GAMINTRAVELER 10%.

Daily Budget Travel in Male

For transportation, as Male is so small maybe you will take only the ferry or bus going to Hulhumale for a day trip. It’s less than $1 USD for the ferry one way and a little bit more for the bus to Hulhumale. You can go walking everywhere in Male.

For food, there are local bars offering local dishes starting from $4-6 USD. There are coffee shops for affordable prices. If you wish Western options you will have to pay $8-10 USD.

For accommodation Male is expensive and you can expect to pay around $50-70 USD for a room for two people with breakfast included. You can go cheaper in accommodation if you rent a place for Airbnb as we did in Male. Another cheap option is staying at Hulhumale close to the beach where you can find a lot of hotels for around $50 USD the room for two people with breakfast included.

If you want to book places to stay in Male click here to get the best deals with Booking and Agoda to see what works better with your budget and comfort!

Read here best hotels in Male, and reviews of luxury resorts Kuramathi Island and Park Hyatt Hadahaa!

How Long Should I Stay in Male

We recommend you explore Male at least one afternoon to walk around the city and check how busy is the city. You can go around to the mosque and visit local markets. If you have more time in Male maybe visit Hulhumale or even stay there on the beach since is more peaceful than Male.

If you are planning to stay longer than one day in Male keep reading our favorite things to do in Male.

Things to do in Male

1. Local Market

The local market is located at the end of the jetty port. There are not many products in the local market in Male and it’s small. But it’s always great to take a look. You will find bananas, mangoes and papayas as fruits. It’s colorful and people are friendly around inviting you to try their products. Our favorite was the coconut!

2. Fish Market

This is our favorite local market in Male. It’s next to the local market at the end of the jetty port. They are selling fish and it’s affordable you can buy one kilo for $4-5 USD. We saw yellow tuna fish and they were huge more than 20 kilos.

3. Visit Coffee Shop

Male is too busy to walk around and it’s great to make a stop for coffee or tea. Our favorite place was Sea House next to the port with strong wifi. The views are good and you can have a coffee with blue waters view.

They serve a buffet breakfast with local products. It’s open 24 hours and that’s great especially if you have to catch up with work or you just want to send updates to your family and friends.

4. Local Restaurants

While walking around Male we found our special local restaurant. The food was delicious and prices were around $4-6 USD. Almost all the places have the same price. We liked chicken friend rice and noodles with tuna fish.

There are plenty of Maldivian snacks and we made sure we tried almost all of them. Some of them are spicy and some are sweet. Most of the snacks are made with tuna (obviously no pork). And there are only one of them with as vegetarian option.

5. Shopping in Male

If you are going to stay longer in Maldives will be nice shopping in Male since you will find most of the products that you need for your trip. There are also souvenir shops in case you want to buy for your friends and family.

We recommend you to buy essentials and toiletries especially if you go to local islands in Maldives. Ensure you get enough cash and a SIM card to stay connected in the islands.

6. Walking around Narrow Streets

You can see in the pictures that you can’t almost walk in the streets with the cars and motorbikes. Take it easy, don’t hurry and enjoy the hassle in Male. We got surprised how they manage cars, motorbikes and pedestrians in these narrow streets.

More Things to do in Male

7. Visit the Republic Square

It’s close to the jetty port and local markets in Male. It’s good to have a rest and relax with the birds. And of course taking a look to the Maldivian flag.

8. Visit the National Museum of Maldives

The National Museum of Maldives is located 5 minutes walking distance from the local and fish market in Male. You will have the opportunity to learn about Maldivian history. There are three floors where you can find especially information about the Royal family. It opened in 2010 the new building. The visit will take at least 40 minutes or you can extend more if you are taking pictures.

It’s open 10 am–4 pm from Sunday–Saturday (closed Friday). Prices per person are $6 USD.

9. Visit The Old Friday Mosque

The oldest mosque in the Maldives also called Hukuru Miskiiy was built in 1658 and it’s part of the tentative lists of UNESCO since 2013.

10. Visit The Grand Friday Mosque

The Grand Friday Mosque is the largest and has more than 5,000 people! One of the largest mosques in South Asia. It was opened in November 1984.

11. A Walk in Sultan Park

It’s a big park in Male and it costs $5 USD for foreigners for the entrance. You will see a local atmosphere with trees and flowers ideal if you visit with kids. If you want to relax and walking around can be a quiet place since there aren’t many in Male.

12. Go to Victory Monument

It was built on 3rd of November 1988 to commemorate the defeat of Sri Lankan, Tamil Tigers who attempted to infiltrate and invade The Maldivian Capital, Male.

13. Day trip to Hulhumale

You can go for a day trip to Hulhumale from Male. You can go by bus 20 Rufiyaas or by ferry 10 Rufiyaas. It will take 15 minutes to get there. You can enjoy the beach and visit restaurants around.

Read a full Hulhumale travel guide!

14. Day Trip to a Luxury Resort

There are tours going to luxury resorts and prices go from $100-150 USD per person depending how many people are joining with lunch included, snorkeling and sand banks.

In our opinion, 2 people paying $150 USD will be $300 USD and if you click here you will find offers to stay one night for $300-400 USD in a luxury resort and enjoy the paradise of Maldives. Who isn’t been dreaming of this?

Read here our review of Park Hyatt Hadahaa and Kuramathi Island Resort!

Hope this blog post of things to do in Male is useful if you spend 1-2 days in the capital of Maldives. If you liked and you think it can be useful for your friends and family please share our Male travel guide in your social media.

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Happy Travels!