Cheap flights to the Maldives are not too hard to find, if you know where to look and are not particular about which airline you fly with. It should be noted, however, that a lot depends on what time of year you fly and how far in advance you book the ticket. You should always book as far in advance as possible if you want to get a cheap flight to Maldives. Naturally, you would also want to book economy/coach instead of business or first class.
But before you continue to read this post, I just want to recommend you my other “cheap flights” post about travelling in the Phils called “How to find cheap flights to The Philippines from any place around the world”.
Another factor is which day of the week you book. A number of airlines have set up their website in such a way that a person can tell at a glance which particular day is cheapest. Some cheap fare websites, such as www.makemytrip.com, have a similar set up. Unless you have an unchangeable appointment for a particular day, book the ticket for the day when the price will be cheapest. Usually the cheapest days to fly are Monday to Thursday, although there are exceptions to this.
Cheap Flights to Maldives from India
A good internet site to check out for cheap tickets from India to Maldives is www.makemytrip.com. While many other sites charge extra for tax and booking fees, the prices listed on this site are all inclusive. Via this site, you can get a round trip ticket from Delhi or Bombay to Male, Maldives in the range of $433–$438. Prices vary from $70 to $90 less if you fly out from either Chennai or Bangalore. You should note, however, that the same tickets cost more if you fly either Saturday or Sunday. All these flights are offered by Sri Lankan Airlines.
Another good flight website to check is Expedia.com. Like the above-mentioned website, they also include all taxes and fees into the ticket price listed. This makes it much easier to compare prices. Tickets to Male from India cost pretty much the same as they do on Make My Trip. If you happen to need a direct ticket, then this site offers an affordable round trip one from Bangalore to Male for $389 via Air India; Delhi, Chennai and Bombay do not have direct flights.
You should also check www.cleartrip.com as this site offers good deals on flights from India. While presently the tickets cost around the same as the other two sites, it is very important to realize that prices can change very fast. It is helpful to know of at least two or three good sites to book cheap tickets on. That way, if one site no longer offers a good deal, then you can try another reliable site. The reverse is also true— sometimes especially good deals appear unexpectedly on one or two sites but not others; they last for a short time and then they are gone. Checking more than one site and comparing prices ensures that you get the best deal.
Cheap Flights to Maldives from London:
Naturally, a round trip flight from London to the Maldives is going to be more expensive than a flight from India to the Maldives. However, it does not have to overly expensive. Ticket site www.makemytrip.com has about the best deals there are and you can purchase a round trip ticket from London to Maldives for around $863, flying on Emirates Airlines. It should be noted that this flight leaves and arrives at Gatwick Airport. London has several international airports and which airport the flight departs from can be a factor in the price. This same flight, however, is available on www.opodo.co.uk and www.expedia.co.uk for nearly $100 less. It should be noted that the latter site is Expedia’s British site and should not be confused with www.expedia.com, the American site, as the American site does not offer the same good deal as the British site does.
In fact, if you are traveling from London, then checking British based ticket websites is your best bet. You can tell where they are based by the domain name – if it ends in .uk then it is a British site.
Important Points to Note
As was mentioned above, it should be noted that prices could change quite fast, either going down or up.
It is also important to note that not only will you need a credit card to purchase the ticket online, but you should be prepared to show your card at the airport when you check in. This is standard procedure and is done to prevent misuse of stolen cards.
When buying a cheap flight to Maldives, you should also check on the airlines policies regarding date changes and cancellations. You will nearly always be charged an additional fee if you change the date and/or cancel the ticket, however, some airlines do not allow for either date changes or cancellation, especially on promotional tickets. You should be aware of the airline’s policy regarding this before finalizing the purchase. It is usually better to buy a ticket where the date can be changed or the ticket cancelled, as this will prevent you from losing money if unforeseen circumstances arise.
If by chance you are planning to travel in South East Asia too, read my amazing post on how to find one way cheap flights to The Philippines from within Asia.
I hope you´ve found this post very informative and please leave your comments!