How about waking up to a morning like this?
Spending the day looking at colorful fishes and under water life?
Evenings… watching the sun go down!
Staying in a beautiful small island like this ?
Having dinner in one of the most romantic settings & more…
Dinner by the beach, Maldives
Enticing right? In fact, we hadn’t really expected much out of Maldives and probably that’s the reason why it took us 15 years to finally materialize our plan.
I always thought that the blue color in most pictures is made up to sell destinations and so would be true for Maldives as well but colors of all the above pictures are real. We really were too lucky to get clear blue skies which reflected in the water making it truly spectacular.
And I must admit, we have had one of the best times together. The island nation did pleasantly surprise us.
We did our first scuba dive too and saw the incredible under water life & spectrum of colors. My sister and brother in law who are advanced divers had visited the same place couple of months back so we had an added pressure to at least start diving. The instructor specifically remembered them for being rare Indians with lot of diving experience on various sites.
About Maldives
Maldives is an independent Island country in the Indian Ocean. It consists of about 1200 small coral islands and sandbanks (out of which 200 are inhabited), built up from a submerged ancient volcanic mountain range. The island extends to 820 kms from north to south and 130 kms from east to west. Capital Male is approx. 645kms southwest of Srilanka
All the islands in Maldives are low lying not more than 6 ft above water level so you see water in all directions. Temperature ranges from 24 to 30 degree Centigrade but sun is really harsh and if don’t use sunscreen generously, you come back as crows after holidaying in Maldives.
Islam is the state religion though the initial inhabitants were Tamil and Sinhalese as per beliefs.
How many days are needed for Maldives
Depends on your interest and appetite for relaxing opulence however min 3-4 days are a must. You can visit Maldives even over a long weekend holiday. We traveled from 1st Nov to 4th Nov out of which 3 days were holidays so you needn’t really complain about work being the reason not to travel here.
Visa for Maldives
Indians do not need any prior visa to travel to Maldives. You get free visa on arrival.
Things to do in Maldives
Water Sports – Banana boat, Jet Ski, Flyboard, Funtube, Wakeboard & Waterski, Stand up paddle, Canoe, Windsurfing and Catamaran
Scuba Diving & Snorkeling – From Manta Rays to Turtle quest to Whale sharks, you get to see a lot
Cruises – Local island experiences, Sunset cruises & fishing cruises
Staying in beach villa & water villa – It really adds to the authentic Maldivian experience.
Tips to plan Maldives holidays
- Don’t look for money saving tips when it comes to your honeymoon/ anniversary in Maldives:-) Please book an Over water villa, else at least stay for 1 or 2 nights in an Over water villa and the balance on a beach villa.
- If you choose to stay in an island resort which you should, you get restricted to the resort for food drinks etc. So, it makes sense to book an all-Inclusive deal including transfers unless you are choosing to stay in the capital Male for a budget holiday.
- Many Resorts that have amazing “looking” deals are in fact quite far away from the International Airport and hence would require an expensive sea plane transfers. Don’t forget to check that cost. (typically USD 300 to USD 500 per person). If you want to save, make sure your island resort is near Male and easily reachable by speed boat. We did take seaplane transfer and it was an experience of its own. Have beautiful videos but unable to upload due to the size. Will do that in our youtube channel.
- It is a Muslim country, so other than in the Resort Islands, Alcohol & Pork is banned. Local islands have only a certain area where Bikini’s are allowed.
- Maldives is cheap if you stick to local ferries, guesthouses and local food but for a romantic unforgettable experience, you would need to spend. Take lots of USDs for water sports, snorkelling, diving etc which may not be part of the all inclusive deals.
Now the condition to spend a truly romantic holiday is
- Ideally for your first time travel to Maldives, leave your children at home with guardians. Someone has rightly said,’ parents must spend some time alone with each other because by the time children grow up and become independent, the intimacy between the parents gets lost and they end up living for their children only.
- Don’t travel in groups. Make it a personal holiday so that you enjoy freedom and have less of inhibitions
- If your intention is only to dive or enjoy beach holiday, there are many properties in Maldives but it really makes sense to stay in over water villa & beach villa here. I am not really a connoisseur of luxury but some experiences are romantic more than anything. Otherwise to experience beautiful beaches and under water life, Bali and Philippines are good too.
- Do try various water sports, scuba, snorkeling etc. The world is waiting for most Indian travelers to come out of swimming pools (their comfort zones) and get started with little sea adventure (try out new things and experiment).
- Choose to stay in a small secluded island… you may even ask us to plan the same for you:-)
Highly recommend visiting the Maldives before the beaches & islands get swallowed up by the sea given the climate change and coral bleaching. Do get in touch if you wish to have the best of Maldivian experience soon.
