Most diving cruise or liveaboards boats in the Maldives do not provide internet onboard. In this article, I tell you how to buy your sim card in the Maldives and how to get internet in the Maldives.
It is easy to buy a sim card so that you can stay connected to the world during your cruise.
Why Trust This Article?
The Maldives is a country I keep coming back to, and I know it from more angles than most writers: resort stays across its atolls, 6 liveaboard trips as a Rescue Diver with 1,500+ logged dives, and the practical side — flights, transfers, seaplanes, connectivity — tested on my own trips rather than researched from a desk. Seeing the country from the water as well as the overwater villa changes what advice is worth giving: I know which questions actually matter before you book and which “essential tips” are copied from resort brochures. Everything in this article comes from my own travels, with my own photos, and I update it when things change. More on how I travel and review on my author page.
Where to buy a sim card in the Maldives?
You should buy a Maldives data sim card. Many phone providers do not offer roaming to the Maldives and if they do it can be super expensive so check before you use it
It is easy to get a Maldives Sim card as soon as you exit Male Airport. There are 2 providers with shops within the terminal As you get out of the airport after picking up your luggage, walk to the right outside the airport exit door.
The two providers are Ooredoo and Dhiraagu. Both providers are equivalent
Overview of the tourist plan from Ooredoo
Overview of the Dhiraguu tourist plan from Dhiraagu
I bought the Ooredoo sim card. You can buy a sim card valid for one month with 17 GB of data for 30 USD.
They will take a copy of your passport and register the card for you. The whole process takes about 5 minutes
Tip: Before buying a Sim card abroad, ensure that your phone is unlocked and can be used with another providers sim card
Do Maldives liveaboards have Starlink now?
Some do, and it has changed the calculation on this route. Scubaspa now runs its Maldives yachts on Starlink and includes 5 GB per cabin free, with up to four devices connected and paid upgrades if you use it up. At the other end, several boats still sell you a connection rather than including one: the Duke of York offers a Wi-Fi connection for a fee on the mobile network, and Blue Force lists internet as an optional paid extra. And plenty of boats have nothing at all — EcoPro, for example, still tells guests to buy a Dhiraagu or Ooredoo SIM at the airport instead.
So the advice below has not gone out of date. Unless you have specifically booked a boat with satellite internet included, your own data is still the cheapest and most reliable way to stay connected, whether that is a local SIM bought on arrival or an eSIM set up before you fly.
Quality of the internet signal while diving cruise in the Maldives
I work online and for me, being able to connect to the internet during a cruise is important
During my cruise on the Blueforce one liveaboard, I was very impressed with the quality of the 4G signal in the Maldives. You can read more about my diving cruise on Blueforce one liveaboard here.
My Ooredoo sim card worked very well during the whole trip to the central islands. We were able to connect to the internet every day. Most places had strong enough signals to do WhatsApp calls. A few places had enough internet to do video calls.
There were only a few hours during the trip while navigating between atolls when the internet was not available.
Tip: the higher you are on the boat, the better the internet signal becomes. So if you stay in a below-deck cabin and it doesn’t work, try the top deck or the sun deck.
For more information about traveling to the Maldives, read my articles on the Blueforce Liveaboard, the Scubaspa liveaboard, the Duke of York liveaboard, and the Maafushivaru resort.
For more information about how to fly to the Maldives, read my article about Emirates Business class flight to Male
