Sightseeing in the Maldives: The Maldives & Alcoholic Drinks

Drink from our Maldivian hotel Ellaidhoo by Cinnamon

The Maldives is known as a country with strict rules enforced when it comes to things that goes against Islamic teachings. For islands mainly inhabited by locals alcohol is totally prohibited, and you’re not allowed to bring any alcoholic beverages here.
Although there are many resort islands where alcoholic beverages are served you should note that if you bring alcohol with you when you travel to the Maldives there is a certain risk that your beverages will be taken away from you when you arrive at the airport.

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You are supposed to be able to get your hands on alcoholic drinks on the Hulhule Island Hotel (situated at the airport island Hulhule), but at the main island of Male such products are hard to come by. In Male the grocery stores we went to sold beer, but to our great disappointment it was all non-alcoholic (not that we usually drink that much, but it is always nice to enjoy a drink or two while on holiday). Even the local bars and restaurants we passed by served drinks where coffee or Red Bull was used as a substitute for alcohol. I’m pretty sure Red Bull must have really good sales in the Maldives...

If you’re a modest drinker just wanting to get a nice glass of red wine while chilling out at some of the luxurious island resorts the limitations on alcohol probably won’t be a big issue for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a tropical island where you can go clubbing and partying the Maldives would probably not be the best place to visit unless you're heading for a foreigners-only resort.

From our local guide we heard that Maldivian people often resort to the black market in order to get their hands on alcohol, and it might cost a local person as much as 60 dollars to get a sick pack of beer. With little to do on many of the local islands a lot of youngsters get bored, and as the black market offers heroine at a lot cheaper prices than alcohol there are unfortunately an increasing number of young people who get hooked on the drug.

In conclusion it seems that as with most things one can argue that making too strict laws only makes people more prone to try out the things that the government wanted to keep them away from in the first place.