Biyadhoo Island Resort review – Maldives

Our Biyadhoo Island resort review will introduce you a budget Maldives hotel that we recommend for those who love snorkeling and seek relaxation with privacy.  This all-inclusive Maldivian holiday destination with tropical lush vegetation, heavenly white sandy beaches, and crystal clear water is the perfect place for a tropical holiday.  Read all the information you need to know about Biyadhoo resort with vacation planning tips!

Biyadhoo Island Resort review – Things to know before traveling to Maldives

We all want our holiday to be perfect, especially if we spend a bigger amount on it. With our honest Biyadhoo Island Resort review, we help you to answer the question: What island is the best on the Maldives? Read this mini-guide that explains the most important things you need to know before traveling to the Maldives.

Maldives vacation cost

Many people think that this island nation in the Indian Ocean is a luxury holiday destination and snorkeling in the Maldives is too expensive. But with little research, we say that you can easily find deals that fit your budget! The differences are huge in service and in price level between the islands, there are 6-star luxury resort islands ones but fair hotels at affordable prices too.

We recommend to set your maximum budget first, find a few hotels you like (find tips for this in the next paragraph) and start comparing prices on booking sites. It is always worth to give chance to travel agencies’ package prices. They might have good offers on complete (flight+hotel) options.

Tip: visit tour agency’s websites or online booking sites when setting your budget. Sorting the hotels by price will help you to get an idea about the price ranges.

Best time to visit Maldives

Maldives is an all-year destination with hot, humid climate with two seasons. The monsoon season starts in May and ends in October. The rainiest months are June and July. The dry season runs from November to April.

The best weather you can except between December and April, therefore the Maldives is one of the best winter holiday destinations. During these months, the weather is perfect for beach activities with calm sea and abundant sunshine and low chance for rain.

But don’t think that visiting the Maldives in summer is a bad idea! Although the number of rainy days is higher in the monsoon season, this is the period when manta rays and whale sharks migrate through the area, great time for a diving holiday!

Tip: the UV index is very high all-year round and you can get badly sunburnt in just 15-20 mins. Don’t ruin your holiday and always wear UV protection rash guard for snorkeling and while on the beach, or use an eco-friendly sunscreen!

Where to stay on the Maldives? Inhabited or resort island?

The first question to decide, which island to stay on the Maldives?

Remember, the Maldives consists of 1192 islands! There are around 200 inhabited islands where local shops, restaurants are available and 87 private resort islands in different price ranges. On Maldivian resorts islands, you can enjoy pure relaxation while a dedicated staff is taking care of you.

But you might enjoy staying on inhabited islands too and discovering the life of the locals. It all depends on your demands and desires! Here are the main advantages/disadvantages of inhabited and resort islands:

Resort islands

Pros

• perfect for honeymooners and privacy seekers
• well-kept gardens and beaches
• private service

Cons

• more expensive than inhabited islands
• reachable with private island transfers only
• isolated with less activities

Tip: If you need tips on where to stay, read what are the best Maldives islands for snorkeling!

Inhabited island

Pros

• local shops, restaurants are available
• reasonable prices on food/drinks and on day trips
• reachable with cheap ferry service
• budget accommodation options

Cons

• bathing is not everywhere allowed in bikinis, only in swimsuits
• no alcohol
• beaches are not always clean
• less privacy

Tip: See our Maldives budget islands post to know what the best inhabited islands are.

How to get to your dream island – Transfers on Maldives

You have 3 options to get to your holiday island on the Maldives from Male: speedboat, seaplane or ferry. It always depends on your island what type of transfer you can choose.

Ferries are operating between Male and inhabited islands with fix schedule is fix. Tickets cost just a few dollars, but they are slow.

Speedboat transfers are the most common. They are organized mainly by the resort you stay, therefore you need to arrange it after your hotel booking.

It is time effective to choose seaplane transfer if the speedboat option is too long or if you are afraid of being of seasick. The view of the atolls is spectacular from above, although hydroplane trips are quite pricey.

Tip: if you want to reach your destination with short speedboat transfer, choose islands close to Male. Islands of South Male Atoll and North Male Atoll are available within 30-45 minutes by boat.

All Inclusive or Full Board on Maldives

Maldives All Inclusive package prices are often expensive but we still say it is worth to book your hotel stay with AI if you stay on a resort island. When being on all-inclusive, there is no need to think about prices during your holiday which is quite comfortable.

Before booking your package, always clarify what is included (for example some hotels don’t put cocktails in AI)! If you decide to book breakfast only or Full Board, prepare yourself that prices on food and beverages are extremely high on resort islands. On inhabited islands he prices are more reasonable but still „tourist prices”. For a single bottle of water, you need to pay 6-10 USD depending on your island. Local tax + service charge will be added to the invoice at the end only!

Tip: hotels/resorts use to have special promotions with a free upgrade to All Inclusive. Contact the hotel directly or ask your tour agent!

Maldives on a budget – Biyadhoo Island Resort review

After this general Maldives holiday guide, let me talk about our Biyadhoo Island experience.

I’d like to start our Biyadhoo Island Resort review with telling you why we chose this island. Honestly, we found good reviews about it! The price level seemed to be reasonable with good All inclusive system and heard great snorkeling around the island is good.

We knew that Biyadhoo Resort is not a luxury island, but one of most beautiful in this price category. We didn’t regret our choice and think that Biyadhoo Resort is perfect for first-time Maldivers! Check the actual price on Booking.com.

People like Biyadhoo because it is a laid-back island with lush tropical vegetation When you ‘google’ Biyadhoo Island Resort review, you often read this is one of the most beautiful islands on the Maldives. People say it could be easily a more expensive island if they would refurbish it and add some (reef destroying) water villas.

So Biyadhoo fans are happy that they leave the island and facilities as it is. Generally, Biyadhoo is a well kept, clean island with a relaxed atmosphere. It is easy to walk around, although there are spots with „no enter” signs which are a bit trashy. We loved walking under huge banyan trees and observing flying fox on the palm trees.

Transfer from Male to Biyadhoo

It’s easy to reach Biyadhoo since it’s located on South Male Atoll. Speedboat transfer takes 35-45 minutes from Male Airport. A representative met us at the Biyadhoo counter after we collected our baggage and guided us to our boat. 

When approaching the island the receptionist and porter were already on the pier welcoming us on Biyadhoo. They took care of our luggage, while we filled the check-in form up. We got a complimentary coconut juice which was really refreshing after traveling long hours.

The Check-in process was easy and fast, they provided us with information regarding restaurant/bar/facilities and shortly let us go to our room.

Biyadhoo Resort facilities

Although officially Biyadhoo Resort is a 2-star hotel, it offers everything you need for a relaxed tropical holiday. There is a spa, watersports center, diving center, and even a small souvenir shop.

Sporty ones can run around on the walking path or play football on the ground. Meals are served in the main restaurant. The Coconut Bar offers drinks and snack in the afternoons.

Rooms and buildings

If you read a Biyadhoo Island Resort review, you can often hear that people are complaining that the rooms are outdated. It is true, they are in need of refurbishment and quite simple. But you can see this is as an advantage!

On Biyadhoo all rooms are the same style. No need to ask others what type of room they got! There are 96 rooms in two buildings, one on the sunrise, one on the sunset side.

The sunset side is slightly better because it is closer to the main beach, restaurant and bar. Usually, these rooms are a bit more expensive than the sunrise side.

If you want fancy accommodation, water villa or jacuzzi suite, this island is not for you. But if a good value for price is more important than luxury, Biyadhoo Resort might be a good choice!

All rooms have AC, minibar and hot shower. There is no TV, spend your time on the beach! Furniture is old fashioned, but rooms are clean, you get fresh towels every day.

Other buildings, like reception, restaurant, spa, bar are also not new, but clean and maintained. We loved the open style Coconut bar with very good AI cocktails!

Note: take and use mosquito spray! You’ll need it! They use gas mornings/evenings to reduce to the number of mosquitos but still, there are a lot.

The beach at Biyadhoo Island

Main and most beautiful beach is the long sandy one on sunset side. Most people spend their time here. It is quite comfortable since the beach is just next to Coconut Bar. We always found free sunbeds, despite that Biyadhoo was almost full during our stay.

Snorkeling is easy on this side, there are no strong currents or rocks in the water. Reef sharks and turtles are guaranteed to see here!

There are other, smaller sandy and rocky beaches around the island for privacy seekers. Some of them are not recommended for snorkeling because of strong currents (these are marked on the island map you receive upon arrival).

Biyadhoo All Inclusive: what is included?

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the main restaurant. Breakfast selection was almost every day the same: pastry, bread, fried egg, English breakfast, fruit etc… Lunch and dinner was thematic, meat, fish, pasta in different style every day. We found the food tasty, but do not expect gourmet dishes!

Drinks for lunch/dinner could be ordered from your waiter from the bar menu. In the bar, they serve sandwiches in the afternoon which are tasty and quite filling! Water, soft drinks and cocktails are available in the Coconut Bar that opens at 10 am. See here the full Biyadhoo All inclusive list:

Note: despite being All Inclusive, the staff will always ask your room number due to inventory control. Also you need to sign your daily receipts! But don’t worry, they won’t charge you unless you consume something which is not included in the AI package.

WIFI on Biyadhoo

I want to mention the free WIFI highlighted in this Biyadhoo Island Resort review, because we found mixed information about it before our trip. They have recently changed the internet system and WIFI service is free now. It is available at the reception and in the Coconut Bar.

After arrival, you will get a code which is valid for 7 days, renewable if expires. (Internet was not free before on Biyadhoo) We were happy that there was no WIFI in the rooms and on the beach, so we could disconnect a bit and be online in the only mornings/evenings.

Snorkeling on Biyadhoo Island

The highlight of our Maldives holiday was definitely the snorkeling around this pretty tropical island! I am sure you want to know what to expect under the sea, so our Biyadhoo Island Resort review will give you some tips what/where to see. Sneak peek: Black Tip Reef sharks, turtles, rays are daily visitors on the reef!

Upon arrival, you will receive an island map that shows you the ideal entry and exit points. It also marks the areas that are not recommended for snorkeling due to strong currents. We managed to snorkel around the whole island several times and must admit, the currents are really strong on the marked spots. We recommended snorkeling in the designated areas only.

The best spot for snorkeling is the lagoon on the main beach, and the outer reef in front of it, between Passage 3-6. Easy entry/exit, lack of strong currents, interesting marine life! You can see baby reef sharks cruising in shallow water searching food. Over the reef you might meet adult reef sharks too! Lucky ones can spot other sharks like White Tip or Nurse Shark too.

Turtles are common around Biyadhoo. Usually, they feed on seagrass in the lagoon but you might meet them on the reef too. The best is to search them in the shallow areas of the main beach. 

While swimming along the reef probably you will see eagle rays and moray eels! Octopuses, different type of sea cucumbers, sea stars can be observed as well as colorful Maldives fish including clownfish, batfish, huge schools of sergeant major, bannerfish, yellow snappers.

Biyadhoo coral reef

What about the corals? The Maldives atolls belong to the best coral reefs of the world but you might have heard that the El Nino phenomenon affected the reefs badly in the past few years. This is true and really sad.

Swimming over dying reef, colorless corals broke our heart. Warm ocean temperature caused by El Nino killed the majority of corals, and scientists still do not know whether corals will be able to recover or not. Despite dead/dying corals, life on the reef is still vibrant!

Overall, snorkeling on Biyadhoo is a great experience! We truly hope that corals will recover, and if we return one time we can report that reef is in better condition.

Biyadhoo Pros and Cons

If you ask our opinion who we recommend Biyadhoo Resort, we would say this is a perfect island for first time ’Maldivers’, for travelers that are on a lower budget and for those who don’t have luxury expectations regarding accommodation and food, but want to enjoy fair value for money. Not recommended for people who seek high-level service, gourmet food, and fancy accommodation.

Pros

• resort island at a reasonable price
• close to Male airport
• fair All Inclusive system
• good snorkeling
• free Wi-fi
• friendly staff

Cons

• basic food
• rooms need refurbishment
• no animation

We hope this review will help to find your dream destination in the Maldives!