THE BESTGUESTHOUSEISLANDS

Best by Lauren may earn a commission when you shop through certain links. Every product here was bought with my own money or tested for at least six weeks. No brand has paid to be included, and nothing is ranked higher because it pays more.

The overwater villa is the photograph everyone has seen and it is not the only way to be on these islands.

Local islands with guesthouses sit in the same water, use the same boats and reach the same sandbanks, at a fraction of the price. What you give up and what you gain is below.

What you give up

Room service, a swim-up bar, and a beach with nobody local on it. If those are the trip, book the resort — this is not a moral argument.

In the Maldives specifically, alcohol. Local islands are inhabited and dry; resorts and some floating bars are not.

The rules worth knowing

On inhabited islands you cover up on village beaches and swim at the designated bikini beach. It takes ten minutes to understand and everyone is kind about it.

Cash. Guesthouses, boats and the shop mostly do not take cards, and there is frequently no machine.

Getting there

The public ferry runs a few days a week and costs almost nothing; the speedboat runs daily and costs many times more. The ferry timetable should decide your dates, not the other way round.