Hi, I'm Mansi. I'm a filmmaker and traveller. I have travelled solo and with friends a lot. And a lot of my trips lead me to the sea. A few pictures of my under water adventures are here spread over multiple years. Water for me has been therapy. And I'm here to break some myths. People have huge misconceptions about Maldives and how expensive it is! It's not! If you'd like to know my process read on...
A few years ago in May I begged my army-wife sister to go on a vacation with me. She's very strict with her budgets and time. So I promised her the trip won't cost her more than she wanted. In 3 days I put together a whole 5 day trip to Maldives for just 45k pp! This was wayyyy under what we were expecting. Yes, there are seriously crazy gorgeous bungalows and more in Maldives that cost a small fortune. But we are both water lovers and for us it is always about nature rather than hotel. Having said that, we found a perfectly divine resort too! The white sand was our room's doormat and 30 feet on was the pristine, shark infested water. Neither of us were going with our baes and the insta boom had not happened yet. People were not travelling for pictures but for experiences. Though, there's nothing wrong with pictures! I mean, I make films. I love pictures.
These 2m coral reef sharks were in our resort! Your resort doesn't have to be fancy for nature to play there. Nature does not know or care if there are 3 gyms in your resort! Our resort was very simple but huge and beautiful. Fewer rooms meant fewer guests, honeymooners taking pictures with their photo teams and such. Again, nothing wrong with photos. But I don't want to wait 5 minutes for a shoot to get over and free the most idyllic spot in the place. I don't want to be rushed at a vacation! Fewer people and lower cost?? That's a great deal in my book.
The money we saved we spent on island hopping and water activities. It's just how we roll. Other people may have different priorities and everything is valid. For us, nature, relaxation and budget were important. It's that simple. Maldives has tons of options for luxury on a budget. So, don't be fooled by what appears to be. If you are hell bent on staying in one of those water bungalows like many influencers, here's my experience. A lot of my friends in films and social media are influencers. The reality of the behind the scenes is totally different. They go for a trip for 2 days where they have to pack in 100s of pictures for their social media as well as the people comp-ing them. And for most of them who are not getting comp-ed, they stay in a small 3 star or hostel (depending on their current reach) while doing a shoot in the resort. It's not a bad deal at all according to me. It's a pretty decent profession. But all I am saying is not to look at social media or influencers to drive your trips. If you want a luxury vacation, you can have it. If you want certain kind of pictures for instagram, you can have that too. Just be clear about what you want. Happy travelling!
