What Does “++” Mean on a Maldives Resort Price? | Beyond…

If you see a Maldives room, meal or activity priced as US$500++ , treat US$500 as the starting price, not necessarily the amount you will pay. Tourism-sector GST is currently 17% , while Maldives tourism establishments are required to levy a service charge of at least 10% . Resorts also collect Green Tax , currently US$12 per guest per day of stay. Airport transfers may be separate again. The safest way to compare two Maldives offers is therefore simple: ask for the complete price for your dates and party, including every compulsory charge and transfer , rather than comparing headline nightly rates. Read the rate before comparing resorts The two plus signs commonly seen on Maldives resort menus and rate sheets indicate that additional percentage charges are still to be added. Current resort materials, for example, show prices marked “++” followed by service charge and Tourism GST. The exact final calculation matters. Angaga Island Resort currently states that its prices are subject to a 10% service charge and that 17% TGST then applies to the final charge including service charge. Under that method, a US$100 net price becomes US$128.70 before Green Tax. Do not assume every website presents prices this way. Maldives tax rules generally require GST-inclusive pricing, but businesses charging service charge are permitted to display a price exclusive of GST if they provide enough information for the customer to calculate the amount payable. That helps explain why one booking channel can appear cheaper than another even when the underlying accommodation is identical. Compare the final payable amount, not the first number on the screen. Green Tax and transfers need their own check Green Tax is separate from the percentage charges. From 1 January 2025, Maldives Inland Revenue Authority sets Green Tax at US$12 per person per day of stay for tourist resorts and many other tourist establishments. Hotels and tourist guesthouses with 50 or fewer registered rooms on inhabited islands pay the lower rate of US$6 per person per day . Children under two are exempt. This distinction matters when comparing a resort with a small guesthouse on a local island. Transfers can make an even larger difference. A room rate may exclude the mandatory speedboat, seaplane or domestic-flight connection from Velana International Airport. Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, for example, currently states explicitly that villa rates exclude transfers. Other resorts package transfers differently. The same principle applies to meal plans, festive dinners, extra-person charges and activities. A lower room price can easily become the more expensive holiday if the competing offer includes meals or transfers that you would otherwise buy separately. The Beyond Sunset Maldives Field Notes and Maldives journey ideas can help you look at these decisions as parts of one journey rather than isolated prices. Ask for one number before paying Before confirming a Maldives stay, ask the resort, travel agent or booking platform for the all-in total for the entire stay . Confirm whether that figure includes: accommodation and your chosen meal plan; service charge and 17% TGST; Green Tax for every eligible traveller; return airport-to-resort transfers; compulsory festive or seasonal supplements, if applicable; and any child, extra-bed or additional-person charges relevant to your booking. Then compare resorts using that final amount alongside what you actually receive. This is particularly important when comparing different transfer types or meal plans. A resort that looks more expensive per night may offer better overall value once the full journey is priced correctly. Beyond Sunset approaches resort selection in the same way: the useful comparison is not simply which villa has the lower nightly rate, but which complete combination of island, accommodation, meals, transfers and experience best fits the trip. Planning Your Maldives Trip If you would like Beyond Sunset to help compare Maldives options, provide your travel dates, number and ages of travellers, international flight details if known, approximate total budget, preferred meal plan and any resorts already shortlisted . Beyond Sunset can use those details to compare the complete journey rather than headline room rates. Submit them through the private journey brief ; every brief is reviewed personally, with a recommended next step, scope and fee provided within two working days.