A budget traveller who has visited the Maldives four times has revealed how she spent less than £350 on one trip. Natasha Whitley, 30, first travelled to the country in April 2024 with her friend Kara, 26, for five days, exploring two islands – Thulusdhoo and Dhiffushi. By staying in cheap accommodation costing £60 per night and taking a local ferry for just £1 from the airport, Natasha said she “loved it”.
From Pharmacist to Travel Entrepreneur
Since then, Natasha started her own business for solo travellers, Say Yes Adventures, and has returned to the Maldives three more times as part of group trips. Her most recent visit in February 2026 saw her travel solo to a new island – Fulidhoo – for three nights. She flew from Gatwick Airport with flights costing £800, but the three-and-a-half-hour ferry trip from Malé to Fulidhoo cost just £2.50. She stayed at a hotel costing £260 for three nights, explored the local island, and tried local food like Maldivian fish curry.
Natasha, a content creator from Bournemouth, Dorset, said: “I’ve always loved travel and I was lucky my parents were interested in travel. They met while travelling in the 80s, so it’s always been a part of my life and story.” She added: “I’m a pharmacist and I worked for four years and took a career break, which was meant to be eight months – it was a big round-the-world trip to Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Central America all on a budget.”
Budget Tips and Local Island Living
Natasha explained that there is little online about visiting the Maldives on a budget, as it is widely known as an expensive honeymoon destination. She said: “In terms of budget I think we said we’d spend around £100 per day on accommodation and activities. We spent less than that and spent £420 over the five or six days. You see all the resorts across from you on the local islands, which is crazy because people are paying thousands and you’re spending a fraction of the price in the same waters. Staying on local islands has saved me a lot of money.”
On her February 2026 trip, Natasha paid £29 for a speedboat back from Malé before continuing to an all-inclusive resort called Niva Kuramathi Maldives, which she said was “not affordable at all but interesting to see the contrast”. She noted: “In the Maldives my favourite food is the Maldivian fish curry, which is usually five dollars. From that island you can do snorkelling trips and watch wild stringrays and nurse sharks from the jetty at night.”
Cost Comparison and Total Savings
Natasha’s trip to Fulidhoo cost £344.50 in total, including £261 for three nights’ accommodation with breakfast, £2.50 for the local ferry, £30 for the speedboat, and £7 to £10 per meal. In contrast, an example resort trip costs £2,747, including £2,482 for three nights in an overwater bungalow with private pool and full-board, £127 for a return speedboat from Malé, £47 for food, and £91 for snorkelling with manta rays.
In total, Natasha has spent more than 100 nights in the Maldives over the last two years, which would have cost her more than £45,000. She advises nervous solo travellers: “If you’re nervous about solo travelling just start small, don’t think big because a big six-month trip can be quite overwhelming. The best way to start is to join a group trip because you travel solo, but as soon as you arrive you’re in a group of people, so you get a bit of both.” Natasha shares her adventures on @travelsbytash and her group travel company at sayyesadventures.com.
