A travel guide to the Maldives
*All work including photos, video and writing on this page is my own, except the link to the Lonely planet video, freely available on Youtube.
The Maldives is a dream, luxury travel experience popular with honeymooners, or special occasion visitors. We celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary there. Although there are many adult only resorts, there are also plenty that cater for families.
The capital is Male. Male is where the main international airport is (Well close to Male.) From there you can take a boat or seaplane to your resort island and there is a water taxi to the residential islands too. Your hotel will arrange a transfer for you. Although the seaplanes are expensive they are great fun, a true Maldivian experience, which I highly recommend! If you don't want to take a seaplane you will need to chose a resort near Male.
The Maldives is a very strict Islamic country, but alcohol and pork products are available at the resort hotels. Topless sunbathing is not allowed anywhere. Due to the islands being a former British colony, (independence was granted in 1965) The UK sockets are used in the country, so you won't need adapters.
It is the smallest Asian Country, with over 1,000 small islands, just 1.5 meters above sea level. The lowest country in the world! The main language is Dhivehi but English is widely spoken. The name Maldives means 'Garland of Islands'. It truly is paradise with pristine beaches, aqua blue sea and amazing tropical fish visible from your own water villas. The privacy and luxury that most of the resort hotels offer just typifies the definition of the word paradise!
The remote Baa Atoll has been awarded UNESCO world heritage status.
The capital is Male. Male is where the main international airport is (Well close to Male.) From there you can take a boat or seaplane to your resort island and there is a water taxi to the residential islands too. Your hotel will arrange a transfer for you. Although the seaplanes are expensive they are great fun, a true Maldivian experience, which I highly recommend! If you don't want to take a seaplane you will need to chose a resort near Male.
The Maldives is a very strict Islamic country, but alcohol and pork products are available at the resort hotels. Topless sunbathing is not allowed anywhere. Due to the islands being a former British colony, (independence was granted in 1965) The UK sockets are used in the country, so you won't need adapters.
It is the smallest Asian Country, with over 1,000 small islands, just 1.5 meters above sea level. The lowest country in the world! The main language is Dhivehi but English is widely spoken. The name Maldives means 'Garland of Islands'. It truly is paradise with pristine beaches, aqua blue sea and amazing tropical fish visible from your own water villas. The privacy and luxury that most of the resort hotels offer just typifies the definition of the word paradise!
The remote Baa Atoll has been awarded UNESCO world heritage status.
Where to stay
This will depend on your budget and requirements for your stay.
The resorts nearest to Male are generally cheaper as you will not require an expensive seaplane transfer, but the seaplane is the quintessential Maldives experience and the only real way to see the full beauty of the country and the reefs is from the air. See the photo below I took from a seaplane. Decide what you want to do there. Some hotels have better reefs for snorkeling and diving, generally the furthest from Male. Some hotels are adult only, some hotels do not have wifi for a really cut off relaxing experience, but that didn't suit us so we chose one with wifi. Some do not offer all inclusive, which is really essential in the Maldives. Most hotels are the only resort on an island, which means there isn't anywhere else to eat and so you will have to pay the high cost of food and drinks at the resort. We took advice on this and went for the all inclusive package and were glad we did. For diving Ari Atoll is one of the best and Hammerhead Point is a good place to see sharks. It will depend on your budget which resort you choose as there are vast price differences between the cheapest and the very expensive ones. We choose a mid range one called the Sun Aqua Vilu Reef. This is a 5 star (some would say 4 star), but the service there for our special occasion was the best customer service we have ever had!! It is a quiet resort, even when fully booked it never felt busy. There isn't really much entertainment, but we wanted a relaxing week and this was just perfect. We got a good deal including great value business class flights on Sri Lankan Airlines through a company called Travelbag. I would recommend it for anyone wanting a quiet relaxing break, but it does still have wifi. Below is the resort from the air. |
Weather
The weather is around 30c all year around with a night time temperature around 27c. The peak season is November to March as this is the driest time. Storms are more likely from April until October, but rarely more than a heavy shower for half an hour.
As it is a beach resort casual beachwear and flip flops or bare feet is fine for the daytime and whilst most ladies like to wear a summer dress for dinner, most resorts do not have any real dress codes except no swimwear in the restaurants. If you do visit Male or any of the residential islands then Islamic dress code should be respected, below the knee skirts or trousers and 3/4 length tops. A head covering is not necessary. Alcohol is only available in the resort hotels. Even the airport lounge in Male does not serve alcohol. Bibles are not permitted in the Maldives. You can overcome this by downloading a digital one onto a tablet or phone if you wish to read one whilst on holiday. Accommodation type Everyone will have their preference for their type of accommodation, a beach villa or an over water reef villa such as the ones above that we stayed in. Personally I think if you are going all the way to the Maldives then opt for the real Maldivian experience and go for an over water reef villa. We were so glad we did. Being able to snorkel from your room is just an amazing bucket list thing to do! Even just standing on the deck and looking down at the fish below through the crystal clear water is like living on an aquarium, an experience we will never forget. Some resorts do not have a jetty from the reef water villas to the rest of the resort, you need to wait for boats. We didn't like that idea and enjoyed walking up and down our jetty to the rest of the resort.
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Below is the reef villa we had.
Food
The food in the Maldives seems mainly to have an Indian influence, but if you look closer there are Arabic influences in there too. The Samosas and Chapati bread that might seem Indian are actually made in a unique style in the Maldives and are delicious. Sago pudding, tuna, fresh fish and seafood,coconut and rice all feature heavily in Maldivian cooking. The food we sampled was excellent and typical of freshly cooked local produce. many items were spicy, but we do like that! Spices do seem to play a big part in the cooking here. Of course the hotels will also offer international food, but we did actually enjoy the local curries and food and were glad they did offer this choice. The main local dishes are:
Kavaabu tuna, rice, coconut, and lentils formed deep fried in balls.
Garudhiya tuna, onions, peppers, limes and rice.
The main drinks are coconut drinks and good quality tea.
Kavaabu tuna, rice, coconut, and lentils formed deep fried in balls.
Garudhiya tuna, onions, peppers, limes and rice.
The main drinks are coconut drinks and good quality tea.
You have to snorkel here to really enjoy these islands. Although the waters are crystal clear, just immerse yourself in the full splendor of this unique marine life by simply using a mask to take a look underwater at the spectacular variety of tropical fish, rays, reef sharks, eels and turtles. Even if you cant swim, just put on a mask and place your head underwater and anywhere in these islands, even standing close to the shore you will be amazed by what you see! For experienced divers, or even if you want to learn to dive here, most hotels provide diving courses and excursions if you really want to explore other reefs and go deeper. I was pleased to hear there were no dangerous snakes or spiders on the island we stayed and only baby reef sharks, which are harmless. If you are like me and hate all those dangerous things, this is a great place for you too!
For a romantic getaway, there really isn't anywhere quite like the Maldives, with amazing customer service, a natural quality from the lovely local people, beautiful weather, stunning beaches, peace and quiet, completely remote, private resorts I don't think you can beat this place. I have been to The Seychelles and Mauritius too, which are also amazing, but there is something really unique about the Maldives that I would recommend to everyone.
Let the Maldivian experience captivate you too.
For more information take a look at the Maldives tourist board information.
For a romantic getaway, there really isn't anywhere quite like the Maldives, with amazing customer service, a natural quality from the lovely local people, beautiful weather, stunning beaches, peace and quiet, completely remote, private resorts I don't think you can beat this place. I have been to The Seychelles and Mauritius too, which are also amazing, but there is something really unique about the Maldives that I would recommend to everyone.
Let the Maldivian experience captivate you too.
For more information take a look at the Maldives tourist board information.