Yes, I have a thing for ocean. I crave for sea shells, golden sand bank. I believe waves can gently wipe away our pain with them. I believe the mysterious under water world can paint our life with all possible colours.
My love story with ocean has come a long way. It started from my most favourite 'The Little Mermaid' and somersaulted ahead over 'Finding Nemo' and movies like 'The Blue Lagoon' and 'Life of Pie'. My heart has always raced fast with imagination of ocean.
This February when we landed on Maldives for our second marriage anniversary celebration, the thin line between the dream and reality disappeared. We were welcomed by crystal clear turquoise water, swaying palm trees and white sand beaches.
Here are some useful tips and recommendation for a rejuvenating experience in an serene Maldivian Island without making a hole in your saving.
How to reach Maldives: Male airport is well connected from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kochi and Chennai. We travelled from Bangalore to Male via Colombo by SriLankan Airlines. Air India has a direct flight from Bangalore to Male. Other airlines are Spicejet and Indigo that operate from major Indian cities to Male.
Mark Your Calendar: December to March is the peak season for Maldives like any other tropical, beach side destination . Summer is a big NO to travel to Maldives. Monsoon (June-August) is off season for Maldives trip.
Visa: Indians get Visa on arrival at Maldives.
How to cut down the Budget: I have read many blogs like 'How to travel to Maldives under 40k', 'Ditch the resort and stay with Locals at AirBnb', 'Budget Backpacking to Maldives' and all. But let me burst the bubble. The main attraction of Maldives are inhabited islands, unspoilt beaches, luxury resorts with those fancy water villas. It's absolutely okay to book a budget friendly guest house, couch surf or AirBnb and to spend few days in local islands like Male city, Mafushi island or Hulhumale to experience the mosque, local life, markets, cafes and restaurants. But the true essence of Maldives lies on the tranquil islands dotted with fancy overwater villa, surrounded by pristine beach and glittering ocean waves. At any time of day you can walk on the beach, jump into water or go for snorkelling or scuba diving.
a) So I would very much recommend to book your stay at private luxury resort at least for 2-3 nights. Resorts of Maldives are hell expensive but we're smart. So the best way to cut down your budget for a Maldives trip without sacrificing the luxury part is advance booking. Book both resort and flight tickets 6-7 months in advance. Believe me, it can decrease the total price of your trip remarkably.
b) The second thing that can tip up the price is to and fro airport transfer. Either you have to opt for a sea plane speed boat transfer to reach your hotel. These transfers are pretty much costly and can come in the range 150-200 US$ one way per person. To avoid that always research for a resort that offer these transfers with the stay. There are many luxury resorts that give a combined quotation of stay and airport transfer. This can easily save 70-80 US $ per person.
c) The next thing is meal and drinks. Generally the luxury resorts are situated in isolated islands and they transport the food items and drinks from Male city or other important towns to their resort. So meal, drinks or even drinking water are extremely costly at Maldives. That's why always go for a full board meal plan. In such plans all three meals of a day are included. Additionally they provide some nice complementary drinks and snacks during your stay.
I booked my stay in Adaaran Select Resort in Huduranfushi island and chose an all inclusive plan. All meals, snacks, unlimited drinks (both soft drink & hard drink), 2 Litre of drinking water per day, to and fro airport transfer and non motorised water sports like snorkelling, kayaking, Catamaran, water ski, dolphin watching cruise trip and scuba diving everything was included in this package. I booked my trip in September, 2019 and I wrapped up this all inclusive plan for 4 nights and 5 days with flight tickets only in 75k per person. One has to admit, I got a damn cheap deal.
d) Going to Maldives and not staying in a fancy ocean villa is almost like a crime. But ocean villas are hugely expensive and may cost from 500-800 US$ per night. So it's better not to book the entire stay in ocean villa. I decided to split my stay as two nights in beach villa and two nights in ocean villa .
e) Another smart hack for a budget friendly yet luxurious Maldives trip is planning your trip on June-Mid July. I won't recommend late July to August as it's full monsoon over there. June- Mid July is considered as off season in Maldives. But while doing my research I found many travellers across the world prefer heading to Maldives in this season. Hotel and flight ticket prices come down considerably and it doesn't rain at a stretch. Local people confirmed me that it rains for sometimes and again gets clear. The scope of water activity might get affected slightly but one can easily go for a swim in ocean on low tide phase.
f) Don't spend a penny on buying local sim or international matrix sim. Male airport and 99% of resorts have super fast, free Wifi connectivity. Don't worry. Your Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp status upload won't be hampered or slowed down. You can easily stay connected with your family through internet calls. But if you're planning to explore Maldives like a backpacker or want to cover three or more islands on your extended stay (more than 15 days or so) you can buy a local SIM card from airport that may cost 15-20 US$ with internet data pack and unlimited local calls.
Invest in a good travel Insurance: No, you don't need a travel insurance to enter Maldives. But I always strongly recommend to secure a travel insurance on your international trip. In Maldives, quite naturally tourists participate in various water sports like Catamaran, Scuba diving, Snorkelling, Parasailing and all that. No matter how much safety measure is taken we can't predict how and when we meet hazards. So always safeguard yourself with a robust, low cost-high feature travel insurance scheme. We invested 750/- INR in Religare Health International Travel Insurance and got an insurance amount of 100K US$ for each of us.
Currency: Maldivian Rufiyaa is (MVR) local currency however US dollar is accepted all over the country. You need MVR only if you are going to travel as a local, accessing public transport or shopping grocery. If you're going on an all inclusive plan you don't need to spend any money. But if you want to enjoy some additional activities like island hopping, going for scuba diving out of your complimentary package or buying souvenir then you need to pay extra. We carried 100 US$ cash as backup and bought some fridge magnets.
We were quite exhausted with overnight journey and decided to spend the first day in a relaxed pace. After a comforting afternoon nap we walked the entire island and sat on beach to watch a dreamy sunset.
In evening we explored all the different restaurants and bars at our resort and after dinner we went for a live band show.
It's an other worldly experience. The sun was all out and shining with full vanity. The water was crystal clear making the underneath sand bed clearly visible . The corals gracefully rooted to the earth, changed shades with every passing gentle wave. The colourful anonymous tiny fishes of all colours tried best to show their unity in a pack. However, every now and then few fish left their pack and swam with us. Occasionally we found few big fish swam in with careful eyes and investigated the whole area like responsible guardian. I spotted a type of fish with leopard like texture, brown dots on yellow skin. I couldn't believe my eyes how magically they camouflaged with the corals. One can detect their presence only when they swim in or out of coral pockets. Otherwise they seemed exactly like a part of coral. As we slowly went a little deeper we spotted two marine turtles swimming around calmly with blue waves. We snorkelled almost for 5 hours and still we were not content with the experience we had with this mysterious underwater kingdom.
Today we went for the scuba diving which was included in our plan. Though it was a beginner session and not a real one but the experience was just spellbinding. There we were, calmly floating just above the sea bed. The golden star fishes peacefully rested on the sand bed. The school of colourful fishes intensified the beauty of coral reefs. the sea weeds and and algae were nodding their heads with tender currents. After a while we spotted a group of Manta rays. They gracefully flapped their huge triangular fins and and slowly disappeared into the depth of darkest blue below.
After lunch we went for a lazy beach walk. The snails and snugs crawled on the sand and wiped away as the waves kissed the shore. The cabs were always in hurry, running here and there, leaving zig zag hair lines and hiding in their holes.
We found a beautiful swing in front of our ocean villa. When I swung over the water the sun slowly went down and met the horizon over blue Indian Ocean. Slowly the bright sky faded and darkness enveloped the entire island.
From Colombo we reached Maldives at 9'0 clock in morning and got transferred to our hotel by a speed boat.
After recharging ourselves with ample amount sound sleep and a healthy breakfast in morning we went for a snorkelling season. The snorkelling apparatus were available free of cost for next 48 hours. Once we went under the water the entire world of 'The little Mermaid' and 'Finding Nemo' came in front of me.
Today we rowed our two seated kayak on calm and graceful Indian Ocean. This activity was also complementary for all-inclusive package. Initially we struggled a little with changing direction with the double bladed paddle. But slowly we got accustomed and enjoyed two hours of kayaking. We rowed back to beach only when the lifeguards whistled and signalled us to come back.
In afternoon around 4'o clock we went for sunset and dolphin watching cruise trip. This trip was also a part of our package. Our cruise departed the sore and gently cut through the calm, dancing waves. The golden rays from the yawning sun blended smoothly with the turquoise shade of Indian Ocean. Finally we reached a spot amidst vast expanse of water where a school of dolphins pranced and played on the warm Indian Ocean. After spending a couple of hours with our intelligent marine friends we headed back to resort. The sun was just few minutes away from setting behind the horizon. The sky dusked and changed hues. One more day of my life met e beautiful ending amidst blue and green.
I constantly felt I'm the one who doesn't belong to this mysterious world. I'm the one who is odd, who can't match their pure, virgin beauty. Still this under-water world is welcoming me. The fishes, the baby sharks, the turtles, the manta rays, the coral reefs, they all are are kind enough to accept me in their world without showing any harsh rejection. But We!! We show no mercy to destroy them with water and plastic pollution behind the facade of civilisation.
Finally the day came I dislike the most. The last day of trip. I was determined to enjoy the magic of each and every moment. As I sat by the open window, overlooking the the vast expansion of turquoise water the curtain fluttered in ocean breeze.
The sound of every crashing wave in night reminded me the next sunrise will come along with a heart breaking departure.
Finally I have to leave this mysterious world behind. A world which always made my childhood fairytale more colourful, more fanciful.
Photo Credit: Saheli Bera
My entire trip was planned by our travel expert Anubhav. You can contact him to plan a similar trip. Contact No: +919999776119
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