The Maldives!
Visited in December 2021(25th to 31sr December)
The cost of the trip is 55k to 65 k
Currency used-Dollars and can exchange in Maldivian Rufiyaa if on the Public island and also at the airport. (water villas only accept dollars)
Island type-Public Island
Island name-K.Guraidhoo
Hotel- Athens View (3star hotel)
Vegetarians- Ready-to-eat food taken from India can be very helpful. As there are kettles provided by the hotel people. A few things that can be easily carried-Pasta, are maggie, MTR mixes and so,e dry healthy snacking options.
Skincare- 75 +spf sunscreen is essential
Diving Company-Manta Divers -(Padi certified)
Activities enjoyed:
1. Scuba diving, windsurfing, parasailing, jet skiing, surfboarding, and snorkeling.
2. Enjoyed the calmness of the sea and the candlelit dinners every day by the beach.
3. A hyped place for couples but can be traveled as a solo traveler or with friends.
Cost of the activities enjoyed:
1. Scuba diving-95 dollars(subject to change and also as per your choice to increase the number of dives)
2. Surf, jet ski, sandbanks, and dolphin safari, a snorkel(100 to 120 dollars)
Day 1-It all started with boarding a flight from Mumbai International Airport to Male, Maldives. We took a flight from Mumbai at 11:30 and reached the Male Airport by 2 after getting done with all the necessary formalities. Male(Malaeee it is spelled) is a small airport with kind and polite ground staff working relentlessly to give their best to their customers.
Few prerequisites:
1. All the traveling in the Maldives happens through waterways.
The island we chose was 40 minutes far away from the airport and the hotel people were kind to send their own speed boats for us to reach the hotel. Although it was a day with the scorching sun at 2 pm, we still enjoyed the fantastic and calm view it provided us.
We reached the hotel around 3ish. We relaxed there and after an hour or 2, we moved out to explore the complete island. The island consisted of 800 locals and others were all tourists. It was great to see that an island had facilities like a mosque to pray, a hospital to treat the patients, around 9 to 10 supermarkets, hairdressers, and lovely cafes with sea views to enjoy the mesmerizing beauty offered by this small piece of the island.
On the first day itself, we enjoyed jet skiing, snorkeling, surfing, and being a few pouty queens and kings to get the best clicks by the blue sea.
We ended our day with dinner at the hotel. The hotel had some good options for non-vegetarians but the options for vegetarians were very few. So it is recommended to move to the cafes by the beach and there are a few options like Margherita or vegetable pizza or vegan options available with them.
Day 2:
We began our day with a morning walk by the sea and breathing in the fresh air. We left for the Dolphin Safari followed by snorkeling somewhat far away from the bay along with the instructors sent by the hotel people to help us see the beauty underwater. Before snorkeling, we went to visit the sandbanks, a place well suited for photography. The land in between the sea, where we can find a patch of sand is defined as a sand bank.
The whole day was passed enjoying these activities, followed by the night we enjoyed exploring the island, talking to the locals, observing their daily routine, and ending with a lovely dinner at the beach by the sea view.
Day 3:
This day was all about scuba diving and enjoying the mesmerizing and awe-struck beauty hidden underneath the sea. We had our diving deal fixed with one of the Padi registered -Manta Divers with an experienced instructor named Shahute. It was an amazing dive indeed. No words can compare the amount of calmness and the beauty hidden underneath can describe the experience.
The day ended with collecting the pictures and videos from the diving company followed by our routine sea view dinner.
Day 4
This was our day planned for a tour to the water villas, as we had not booked one but in the Maldives, one can take a day tour by paying around 90 to 100 dollars for the food and cold drinks and exploring through the water villas and heading back to your islands by evening. But somehow, the villa which we wanted to visit was over packed and we couldn't visit so we decided to enjoy snorkeling and again opted to do all the water sports available near the island, where we were staying. The name of the water villa we were going to for a day tour was Olhuveli by the Sun Siyam group.
Day 5 and 6
These were all relaxing days where we enjoyed taking sunbath and enjoying the sea view dinners and snorkeled and made a few friends from Bulgaria and met a few Russians.
Day 7
This was the day to bid goodbye to our temporary house and head back to the concrete city life. We left around 10 in the morning with the Athens view crew as their part of dropping us at the airport. Somehow, being the 31st of December, our flights got canceled so we had to take the connecting flights and somehow landed in Mumbai at 11pm at night.
It is a place to cherish before it hides underneath the ocean as said in the current times.