In late November, London is dark by four and the sea at Southend is 11°C. In the Maldives, it is 29°C and turning clearer by the week.
Turkish Airlines is flying return from London Stansted to Malé from £333, with one stop in Istanbul. Hand luggage and a checked bag are included, and the dates run from November into early December 2026.
✈️ The deal
- From: London Stansted, United Kingdom
- To: Malé, Maldives
- Airline: Turkish Airlines
- Stops: 1 stop (Istanbul)
- Price: £333–£342 return
- When: November–December 2026
Example dates:
08/11/2026 - 18/11/2026
13/11/2026 - 24/11/2026
19/11/2026 - 30/11/2026
26/11/2026 - 07/12/2026
26/11/2026 - 09/12/2026
29/11/2026 - 08/12/2026
Hand luggage and a checked bag are included in the fare.
💰 How far does your money go?
The Maldives only gets expensive on a private island. On a local island like Maafushi, a guesthouse room with breakfast starts at around £45 a night. A mashuni roshi breakfast costs about £3, half the price of a pint in a London pub. Grilled reef fish with rice and salad is around £7, and the public ferry from Malé is under £2.
☀️ The weather
November is the switch from wet season to dry. Days sit at 30–31°C, nights at 26°C, and the sea holds at 29°C. Expect short tropical showers early in the month, usually followed by sunshine. By late November and into December the rain eases and the water is at its clearest.
🏨 Where to stay
Local-island guesthouses or a private resort, all within a boat ride of the airport.
Kaani Grand Seaview · 8.4/10 · From £52/night A beachfront base on Maafushi with sea views, steps from the bikini beach.
Arena Beach Hotel · 8.8/10 · From £82/night Right on the sand, with its own excursions desk for sandbank and snorkelling trips.
Baros Maldives · 9.4/10 · From £780/night A private island in North Malé Atoll and still one of the best-rated resorts in the country.
🎯 What to do
Most of the Maldives happens in, on or under the water.
Snorkelling with nurse sharks. A half-day boat trip from Maafushi, shallow water and no dive licence needed.
Sandbank picnic. A strip of white sand in the middle of the ocean, with nothing else in sight.
Sunset dolphin cruise. Spinner dolphins are a near-daily sighting just offshore at dusk.
Malé fish market. The capital at its busiest, with tuna coming straight off the dhonis.
🗺️ Where to go from here
Malé is the starting point for over a thousand islands.
Maafushi. The original budget local island, around 45 minutes by speedboat or 90 minutes by public ferry.
Thoddoo. Watermelon farms, papaya groves and a quiet beach, around 90 minutes by speedboat.
Dhigurah. A long, thin island in South Ari Atoll, known for year-round whale shark sightings. Fly to Maamigili, then a short boat ride. Search flights
Fuvahmulah. A single-island atoll famous for diving with tiger sharks, about 1h15 by domestic flight. Search flights
For more islands, see our guide to 5 local islands in the Maldives.
£333 return to the Maldives with a checked bag included. These fares tend to climb as the dry season fills up.
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