A few months ago we completed 10 years of being Married. How time flies when you are with the right person and this called for a celebration for sure. It’s usually me who takes the lead when it comes to Travel and celebrations but for a change the Husband had planned a surprise or not so surprise Trip to the Maldives. He couldn’t decide on the Property and hence he spill the beans.
Now I will have to admit unlike its massive popularity for some weird reasons I never had Maldives very high up on my list. I assumed end of the day they are a set of extremely overpriced islands that either Honeymooners or Celebrities flock to show off their toned bodies and for the esteemed Traveller inside my head this wasn’t really the place as such.
But I am glad I was proven wrong, went with an open mind, I anyways love the ocean and tropics over nasty cold and came back completely smitten. MALDIVES YOU PROVED ME WRONG. And if I had to put it straight forward it’s not just the white sand beaches, picture perfect lagoons or the fancy overwater bungalows that had me in awe.
But the incredible incredible underwater Sea life. In my limited experience at a few other islands like Bali, Mauritius and Thailand this really was the best that I had seen so far and mostly without even jumping into the water (That was another level all together). We saw so many corals and Fishes right off the shore , a school of playful dolphins twice , blacktipped baby sharks and even a Turtle from the Sea Plane.
And what most people don’t know is this that as much as I love long slow deep travel exploring History, Cities , Architecture, Museums and Design. My favourite travel experiences are mostly around Nature and Wildlife. They leave me spellbound and speechless and grateful that we get to call this beautiful planet our home.
Anyway I thought I would Pen this post taking inputs from the Man of the house who planned it to perfection because I believe Maldives is indeed a popular destination for Travellers and rightly so.
For ease lets divide the blog into relevant sections like Recommended Days, Visas , Stay , Budget and the most critical bit Traveller Tips. ” A slight note as averse to my regular Pictures on my Camera that I lug around everywhere these are taken on a 5 year old useless phone so sorry about that. Since it was a special occasion I gave the Camera and myself a break for a change. Ha ha ha I did miss it briefly when hundreds of Dolphins showed up spinning and summersaulting right in front of our eyes. Oh what pure joy and bliss that was.
Maldives Visa
A fairly simple straightforward Visa on arrival thats Free of cost for Indian Passport holders and mostly other nations too. The immigration is smooth and quick if you keep the documents handy. Which is mostly just the Return Flight Tickets, Hotel Reservations , your Passport and a online Health Declaration.
Once you clear your immigration you will walk up and see each Resort Representative waiting with a Board, it’s fairly simple they will get your Boarding Pass for the Seaplane/Speedboat & then escort you to the lounge area. The Food and beverages are free in the lounge and the waiting to board this flight could be anywhere from 30-40 mins to a couple of hrs. Ours was just 30 minutes.
Number of Days
Now this actually applies to my Indian friends more. My little research told me most people choose a 3 day Package from INDIA considering its just one island that you would spend time on. Inspite of its close proximity and easy access to India its really not a weekend destination.
In our opinion the ideal time would be 4 to 5 days or if you have the time and budget feel free to add another day or even a day more to explore Male.
TIP - Some hotels even offer the 5th night free when you book 4 compared to when you book just 3 so explore this option when you compare the resorts. Some might offer Free Transfers with 4 nights booking too. And Transfers from Male to the resort island can be pretty expensive specially if its a sea plane transfer
Other than the above points you will likely loose a day or half to just reach. What looks like a 3 hour flight from an Indian city on paper is just to get to Male. You then have to wait in a lounge to either hop on to your speedboat or the seaplane for the final destination and this could take a few hours easily. So keep that in mind.
And if you research well and book a large island like us you will have plenty of time left to enjoy your dives, snorkeling, languish lazy walks and soak the crazy sunsets while you slowly sip a Pina Colada in the infinity pool.
So yeah highly recommend a minimum of 4 nights preferably even 5.
Stay – Choosing the Right Resort and Property
This is actually the most and only crucial part because this is where you are going to be based at and it can either make or break your trip including your bank account. But let’s just first say this loud enough Maldives isn’t cheap its an archeopology of remote islands that almost imports everything including drinking water hence the prices.
If you are on a student budget or a backpacking trip opt for local islands where local guest houses can be booked at reasonable prices. I don’t have a lead to share but a quick online research will point to a few.
If you are like us fall somewhere in between who wants comfort & a bit of luxury yet value for their buck because hey middle class people after all this is what you need to do.
1. While comparing Resorts opt for an all-inclusive package. Yes no Half board No Full board but an all inclusive deal that gives you peace of mind. Even a single meal or Drink or even a bottle of water can be ridiculously priced and you don’t want to sit there doing USD to INR conversions on your special day.
2. While comparing the Deals check or ask if Transfers are additional and if they can be included. Sea Plane transfers can set you back by another 500-600 USD so factor that in. Speed boat transfers are cheaper but they are only available for resorts that are closer to Male. The map below explains the layout of these atolls and the distance from Male. Map Source – MaldivesFinest
3. Check and ask for additional activities, excursions and any inclusions. Snorkeling equipment is usually free but Bikes , Scuba Diving lessons, Mini Bar refills, Dolphin viewing Trips, Sunset Cruise, Spa etc etc. CHECK CHECK CHECK. Write to the hotel and ask them what Travel Partners are offering you and if they can offer a better deal. A lot of hotels actually do oblige sometimes to avoid going through a middle entity like a Travel app where commissions and cuts are pretty prominent. So always ask..No harm. We had a Sunset Dolphin watching cruise included and it was the best thing ever. We literally saw hundreds of them and post a point I stopped counting only.
Choosing The Right Resort – Where Did we Stay
We stayed at the Atmosphere Kanifushi and we totally totally recommend them. We had narrowed down two resorts after an extensive research, The Residence and Atmosphere Kanifushi. The Residence was our first preference but wasn’t offering us an all inclusive deal and that left room for thinking what we would land up paying there eventually so we went with Atmosphere and can recommend them one hundred percent.
The beach Bungalows are serene and beautiful with the view of the ocean and the Overwater Bungalows were stunning, lots of Food options from Indian to Continental , local Maldivian dishes in their multiple restaurants spread across the island. The mini bar was filled up thrice everyday, the room was cleaned twice in a day and the staff were incredibly warm and helpful.
They also had lots of activities for kids and families to choose from but didn’t bother to check as I was mostly found in the infinity pool with a nice iced latte by the deck. THIS IS LIFE ! Can I just go back.
But the most important part about choosing them over other resorts was also how large this particular island was over a kilometer long and its beautiful coral reef that is intact. A larger island gives you more privacy and feeling of being further away from people too.
Read the reviews by other Travellers in detail, this is a given but specifically if you love under water life as much as us check about the coral situation. We had the chance to drop off some fellow passengers in the sea plane and I could note many of the resorts the corals were bleached and sadly washed out.
We snorkelled with Sting rays here and plenty of fish right at the jetty shore even though the live corals scared the shit out of me as a beginner. And one fine morning we even spotted Dolphins while having Breakfast and another day Baby sharks during our casual morning walk just by the Beach. I was so smitten honestly.
How much did we Spend
For an all inclusive Deal at a 5 star property , a Beach Villa or overwater villa I would say budget a minimum of 1000 USD per day specially if its not during off season.
Flights – Hyderabad to Male – 250 USD per person ( 20k INR)
Stay – An all-inclusive deal including sea plane transfers for two for 4 Days/ 3 Nights – 3029 USD ( We got a cashback deal from Agoda our booking partner on this so it actually came down to 2500 USD)
Additional Activities – We took a Snorkel lesson for 60 USD each
Food – I think I ate a Burger at the Airport for 15 USD Ha ha Ha I was super hungry even though I could have just stolen a few Bananas and Apples from the Hotels extensive Breakfast Buffet spread 😬
Traveller Tips
- Arrive in the morning hours as the last Trans Maldivian Flight from Male leaves around 4 p.m provided the weather is clear. If you arrive later or just around this time you may have to stay the night in Male.
- Communicate your Flight timings to the Resort in advance for both arrival and Departure coordination.
- All-inclusive deals with 3 Meals, Drinks, Transfers and a few activities makes sense here as things can get expensive.
- Sometimes your luggage can arrive on a different flight in say a few hours like mine due to weight restrictions. This is normal & quite usual but if you need something immediately just keep that in your hand bag.
- Most resorts have plenty of Indian Staff & Chefs and Food including Vegetarian or Vegan is not an issue at all.
- The sun is extremely strong ensure you carry a wide rim hat & a broad spectrum Sunscreen thats REEF SAFE. You don’t want to damage any more corals in this ecologically sensitive zone.
- Maldives is witnessing alarming rates of land loss and sand erosion due to climate crisis and rising levels of waters. They have already lost a few islands and it is said by 2050 there would be none. So be mindful , don’t buy or carry shells, corals, as souvenirs (I was so tempted). These are crucial to these Atolls & Islets and help protect the sand banks here.
So that’s mostly all about it. And yes I say yes to Maldives at the end of this trip and would happily go back in a blink. It was indeed the most relaxing chill trip ever.
If you love travelling as much as we do and need more ideas and itineraries around the world read my other travel blogs here. Travel Blogs by Innpursuitofhappiness
Ciao for now !
