Insider guides on visiting the paradise - Maldives

I will start by sharing my own experience on MALDIVES. WHY? just because this is a popular destination these few years and I thought it may be useful for people who are now planning to go or those who are considering to go but yet have any idea how to plan.

I do have some insider tips as I have some working experience in this country and so I have a chance to visit a few different islands. I will be sharing my personal views and experiences on those islands that I have visited. Many of my friends ask me how to choose their ideal island and yes this is definitely the most important question you need to ask yourself and need to consider very carefully as Maldives is unlike many other holiday destinations where you are out of the hotel mostly. Once you choose your island/resort, you are going to stuck there for a couple of days (entire stay) and therefore, there are many factors which you will need to take into considerations and I am going to lists out all of the factors below:

Overviewing Male City from the plane

Budget

1. Transportation (From Singapore/Malaysia ------> Maldives)

The main concern of many travelers to visit Maldives are budget wise as everyone knows that it is an expensive country to travel but I would say that maybe yes it was in the past but now not anymore. If you have budget concern and you are traveling from Malaysia or Singapore, your budget airline choice to travel definitely are either Tigerair (http://www.tigerair.com/sg/en/) or Airasia (http://www.airasia.com/my/en/home.page) but of course if you are traveling from Singapore or Johor Bahru and you are taking Airasia flight, you will have to transfer at Kuala Lumpur so its all depends on which route is more convenient for you. Both of the budget airlines have offer on this route time to time so do check it out and plan ahead to save more. A direct flight from Singapore to Maldives takes about four and a half hour and normally the return tickets costs about SGD 430 (without promotion). 

2. Transportation (From Male Ibrahim International Airport -------> Resort)

This can be very tricky as for first comers, it can be kind of confuse but don't be panic! I am here to help you out :) When you decide for your final destination (resort), you need to know the mode of transportation to reach the resort, it can be either speedboat, seaplane or domestic flight. It depends on the location of that resort and for those resorts which are located very far from Male airport, you might even need to travel by combining speedboat and domestic flight or seaplane with speedboat. It can be a hassle especially if you are a person who get motion sickness easily so CHOOSE WISELY !

If you have a budget concern, speedboat is the cheapest among all, it costs about USD 100 to USD 300 for a return trip but it still depends on the distance from the airport to the resort. Seaplane are very expensive, it can costs about USD 300  to USD 600 for one way and domestic flight return trip can costs between USD 100 to USD 300, again it depends on the distance to your final destination so now you know how your choice of resort will affect your budget so CHOOSE WISELY!

Do not have to worry about the transportation if you book the resort by yourself through Agoda/Booking.com as once the booking is confirmed, the resort will arrange your transportation accordingly to your international flight as most of the resorts will have airport representative at the airport to look after you so what you need to do is just to make sure that you inform them your international flight details and you are off to go!

However please take note that seaplane do not fly at night so if for example you reach male airport in the evening you will need you stay in Male City (5 minutes ferry from Male Airport) or Hulhumale (about 15 min ferry from Male Aiport) for a night and get to the resort in the next day early morning. In this case there will be extra costs on the hotel in Male City/Hulhumale.


3. Resort (Choose wisely as you are going to stay there for the entire stay!)

Personally I suggest you to book through Agoda website (www.agoda.com) it is easy and you can read the guests reviews on the page and compare individually. Maldives is all about luxury long ago but now there are many resorts come up with different packages and different budget for all sorts of guests. However, if you have a home travel agency which you normally book your trip with, you can actually compare the price with the price online so that you can have a rough idea which way is cheaper. I know that many people have difficulties in choosing the resort so few questions below to help you choose your preferred resort easier.

•      Ask yourself what is your main purpose of traveling to Maldives ? (remember that you can't get perfect of everything so just be firm on the main purpose instead)

(After years of working experiences in Maldives I found that there are basically few different reasons of why people traveling to Maldives):

- To relax/rejuvenate (Look for the best spa/ luxury, exclusive resort)

- To discover the great nature/underwater world (Look for the best snorkeling resort/resort with best dives spots)

- Just to have an experience and to take nice pictures (Look for luxury resorts/resort with water villas options)

- To enjoy many services and facilities/water sports activities in one place (Look for a bigger island resort and those resort which offer all-inclusive meal options)

- To enjoy the tranquility side of Maldives (Look for a smaller resort/resort with beach villas options/ Luxury, exclusive resort)

When you decide the main purpose of your stay then what you will need to do is to google it and you will find your answer straight away. For Example: "The best spa resorts in Maldives" and you will find related article about it. By using this method, your search will be more narrow and more specific.

• Meals Options?

Most of the resorts in Maldives offer different options for meals to cater for different needs so you need to clarify with the resort about this before you book the accommodations with them. Normally, there will be options like All-Inclusive (inclusive 3 meals a day with selected beverages but some resort might includes everything) , Full Board (includes breakfast, lunch & dinner), Half Board (includes breakfast & dinner), Bed & Breakfast (Only breakfast are included) or Room only.

Most of the people choose Half board as Full board might be too much for a day as their meal timing can be quite close like mostly breakfast time end at 10:30 or 11:00 and lunch will start at 12:00 or 12:30 so it depends on how you plan your activities throughout the day! but don't worry if you change your mind on the meal options once booking is done, you can always ask the staff when you reach the resort as most of the time they will offer you to upgrade your meals by adding some extra costs (this way are much cheaper) :) Also, most of the meals which are included in the meal plans are buffets served in their main restaurants (drinks might not be included) so those meals which are not included in your package you can order a- la carte from the bar or room service. My suggestion on the meals options are  BE FLEXIBLE, is better to be flexible on the meal plan as much as possible because you might decide to join some activities last minutes at the resort. 

• Beach Villas or Water Villas?

I realize most of the Europeans prefer to stay in beach villas and Asian prefer to stay in water villas so what is the difference? Water villas are normally more luxury and much more expensive than beach villas, it has a direct access into the ocean and therefore it named water villas, it is no doubt an amazing and unique experience but based on my experience, it also have some disadvantages like it can be quite noisy at night if the wind/current are strong so for light sleeper it wont be a good choice I would say. Also, the snorkeling area down the water villas will not be the best area for snorkeling as the corals somehow need to be destroyed in order to build those beautiful water villas and therefore most of the corals down there are consider dead. Beach Villas, obviously are build on the beach area just beside the shore. They are cheaper than water villas and you can access to the main resort facilities much easier than water villas. 

Extra payable activities at the resort

Normally the resort accommodation rates includes only breakfast, rental of snorkeling equipments, rental of kayaking and some of the public facilities. Other activities like diving, tours & excursions, spa services are NOT INCLUDED, therefore it is good to find out what is included in your package before hand so that you have an idea how much more you will need to top up for those extra paid activities which you are interested to join. Most of the resorts offer similar excursions, popular ones includes Dolphin Cruise, Whale Shark Excursion (only certain part of the atoll offer this excursion), Manta Point (only available for certain season), Night Snorkeling, Sunset Cruise, Local Island Visit, Night Fishing, Big Game Fishing and etc. Most of the excursions will have minimum/maximum pax requirements.


Some gentle reminders for a more comfortable trip in Maldives :)

• Within the resort, USD currency are used. (there is no need for you to change to the local currency, Maldives Rufiyaa, unless you plan to visit Male city for a day or more)
• Maldives is a 100% Muslim country and therefore respect the culture while visiting
• There is tipping culture within the resort but not compulsory so it is all depends on you (no minimum/maximum). Of course show them token of appreciation will make their day.
• Prepare all you need before the trip (sunglasses, swimsuit etc) as the expenses in the resort are averagely high, everything is price in USD.
• Don't expect too much on foods as most of their foods are imported, the country itself are lacks of resources. 
• If you do not want to bring too much cash with you, don't worry, most of the resorts Accept credit cards (Visa, Master & American Express). 
• Maldives are 3 hours behind of Singapore/Malaysia time, however some of the resorts decide their timing themselves, in this case it will be 2 hours behind instead. Do check with the staff to avoid missing your meals!
• Do not expect to have fast Wifi internet at the island. 
• High season from October onwards to March; Low season from April to September. Low season supposed to be rainy season, however due to climate change, this is not 100% accurate anymore. 
• Low season prices are much lower than high season (can be half or more!) plus there might be some promotions during low season as well. For example: Stay 4 nights & Pay 3 nights etc.
• If you have problem with motion-sickness, prepare some of the pills with you. The weather in maldives changes very fast (forecasts are normally not accurate) so it can have sudden rain in seconds and while raining, the current can be strong and the boat can be shaky. 
• Some resorts are not allowed to bring kids below certain age (mostly for water villas/luxury resort due to safety/privacy concern).
• Smaller island resorts are good as is less crowded and quiet even when is full house plus personalized service are obvious. However, lesser facilities (recreation equipments, bar, restaurants)
• Bigger island resorts have more facilities (recreation equipments, bar, restaurants) but it can be very crowded especially when it is in high season/full occupancy plus normally personalized service are not so obvious. 
• Although Maldives is a beautiful paradise but in order to take great pictures or to appreciate the beauty of Maldives requires luck on having a good sunny weather 
• Some of the resorts allows only maximum 2 adults in a room. However some allows 3-4 adults(they will charged a small amount for a sofa bed for the extra person) so if you are traveling as a family or a group make sure you choose those resorts that allows 3-4 pax in a room to save costs. 

I will be sharing my personal views and own experiences on those Island/Resorts that I have visited within these few years on my next post so that you can use it as a reference/guide :) 

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Have a great day guys :)