In December we backpacked the Maldives. Not usually a backpacker haunt and not really in our backpacking budget. But the mystique of those holiday-brochure-style turquoise waters and the appealing laid back island nature became all too much, we found a cheap flight to Male and decided to spend our Christmas in the Maldives.

The Maldives are comprised of 26 coral atolls and 1,200 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

We were not disappointed. Even at Male’s free public beach the water was as turquoise as a holiday brochure!

As backpackers, we found the accommodation was higher in price than our usual accommodation budget but we found food and transportation was super cheap for a capital city, especially one that’s surrounded by small luxury island resorts!

Our flight from Hong Kong landed at Male International Airport which is situated on an island with a purpose built runway into the…