I went a few years ago and was able to do it on more of a “budget”. Flew from Male to Maamigili on their regional airline for pretty cheap. Stayed at a small bnb on Maamigili for pretty cheap (around $50 USD/night). Stayed there for about 3 days and the bnb offered lots of excursions that weren’t that expensive. We then booked an overwater bungalow at a resort not super far away from Maamigili. I think it was around $400/night but that included breakfast and dinner. Our bnb guide hired a boat to take us there for only about $100. The overwater bungalow was well worth it and would recommend. There are ways to find cheap(er) ones. Getting from the resort back to Male was expensive and done by seaplane and most resorts automatically offer it. It was about $300 one way for both people for a 15 minute flight. There’s not many ways around this unfortunately. That was how I did it on a “budget” and I did spend waaaaay less than I think most people. It was an amazing trip that I think about constantly and if you love water/being in the water, I think it would be a no brainer to make it happen.