Fiji vs Maldive

I have been to Fiji in 1993 and to the Maldives in 2005. I think that it is difficult to match the beauty of the islands of the South Pacific. The most beautiful beaches that I have found were in Samoa and the next best beaches that I have seen were in the Seychelles. Holidaymakers can chose where they go in Fiji but holidaymakers to the Maldives are restricted to tourist islands and a small selection of islands that the local people live on. The resort islands in the Maldives are expensive to stay on and boat or plane transfers to them are pricey. I spent 5 days at Asdu Island, 2 nights in Male the capital city and 7 days at Gan Island. A budget single room is between US$80 and US$150 a night on one of the resort islands. A boat transfer cost US$100 and a flight cost over US$200. I sat next to a local man on the flight to Gan, seeing reef and islands out of the window, he pointed out the island where he lived. Tourists are not allowed to that island. Gan was in the past an airbase for the British and they built bridges to the neighboring islands. It had a chain of about 5 islands so I hired a bike to explore. Yes, the Maldives may disappear in the future due to the rising sea levels. Happy traveling.