Maldives is a fascinating country consisting of large number of islands. Crystal clear blue waters, beautiful white sand beaches, secluded islands, great dive makes Maldives a must visit. This is a paradise for couples.
This beautiful set of islands has so much to offer besides soaking in the sun.
I traveled to Maldives with my husband for our honeymoon. This was our first international trip together and we had planned on a budget travel. We took a flight from Kochi to Male, the capital city of Maldives. It was a short flight and the view from the window..oh my god!..breathtaking. Tiny islands spread across the ocean. The dark blue sea turns into beautiful green waters near the islands.
We spent a night in Male and visited the local beach in the evening and enjoyed the local food. We had to catch a ferry next day to Maafushi where we planned to stay for the next 5 days.
Maldives for budget travelers:
Maafushi Island offers you beautiful small resorts and is an alternative to the luxury island resorts. We stayed at the Kaani resort for 3 days and the other 2 days in Kaani beach hotel. Our hotel was on the shore and the room was overlooking the beach. I could spend the whole trip just lying on the beach, snorkel and get back to the hotel for a beach side dinner every night. However, Maldives has many other things to offer.
Maldives is a Muslim country and hence liquor is prohibited. It is available only in selected resorts. Only private resorts and few selected beaches allow you wearing a bikini.
We spent our first day exploring the tiny island which had only 3 cars in total. There is a small beautiful mosque, many super markets and few places to eat. Later we went to the beach and did some snorkel. Maldives is a home for a variety of sea life. I spotted an eel and my husband saw a manta ray on the first day.
Food was not a concern as we had booked a half board with our hotel. The hotel served us yummy breakfast and delicious candle lit dinner. Maldives offer a variety of Asian cuisine ranging from Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian to Indian.
Private Island for yourself:
We took a day long trip to the picnic island from the hotel. Many resorts offer this kind of trips where you will be taken to a small island. You will be left on a private island to yourself for a day. The hotel will make all the necessary arrangements on the island and will pick you up in the evening. Surrounded with four sides of water, a beach side hut, barbecue lunch on the beach, beautiful coral with lots of fishes, I could not ask for more. We got completely tanned spending the whole day on the beach. Spending a day on a private island was like a dream come true.
The hotel gave us a complementary trip to a sand bank in the middle of the sea. It was a small island bit formed due to the sand carried by waves. A speed boat took us to the sand bank. The island with nothing but an umbrella and white sand. We rested there for some time and the hotel had arranged for some drinks. There were sword fishes flying on to the banks. We then did some deep snorkeling into the sea.
Anywhere in Maldives is never a disappointment for divers and snorkelers. We found many amazing fish, lots of nemo and corals. Later, the tides became high and we had to leave as the sand bank would get immersed into the sea. It was an amazing experience.
Walk on the shore:
We took a walk on the beach after our dinner and my husband was lucky to spot plankton. He stepped on the sand and the sand started glowing with blue lights. These plankton are bio luminescent and glow in the night.
Things to consider before going to Maldives:
Air tickets:
Book your tickets in advance to get good deals. We travelled from India and had booked our flights through spicejet well in advance. This saved us a lot of money which we could spend on the other things.
Visa:
Visa is on arrival and is free for 30 days.
Transport in Maldives:
You will land in male if you are flying and from Male, you will be taken to your hotel depending on the island that you would be staying.
Sea plane:
You can book this with the resort and is the most expensive way of reaching the resort. The experience will be amazing as the plane would travel in the low altitude over the sea.
Speed boat:
Again, you can book this through your resort or there are many speed boats just outside the airport. This will save you time if your island is far from the airport.
Ferry:
This is the cheapest means of travel and is a little time consuming. However if you plan well, you will be saving a lot of money. There are fixed routes that the ferry takes and will mostly cover all the known islands.
Hotel/ Resort:
Depending on the budget of your travel, you can choose from a variety of luxury resorts to basic hotels. There are plenty of islands that offer pleasant stay in Maldives and all the islands are equally beautiful. You just need to consider the amount of luxury that you are looking for.
What to wear:
When in Male, it is advised to stay covered to respect the culture. However, most of the resorts allow you to wear whatever you want. There are few bikini beaches on islands where you are allowed to wear a bikini.
Pack cotton clothes if not for the beach as it will be sunny most of the time.
Carry a pair of flip flops, sunglasses, sun screen and a hat.
Most of the resorts/ hotels provide you an umbrella, snorkel kit for the beach.
When to travel:
Anytime of the year is a good time for Maldives. However, there will be showers during August to October. It will be sunny during the day and mostly will rain only in the evenings. December to April have sunny days and is considered the best time to travel.
Enjoy your Holiday!
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