Maldives, you beauty!!!

I was not a traveller before marriage but yes, my travel experiences started with my honeymoon planning! After our honeymoon in Switzerland and in about a year and half into the marriage I started pestering my husband for another international vacation which he agreed to after much of deliberation using his typical excuses like work, savings, EMIs etc! Since the last year had loads of hill stations, forest safaris, temples etc., I wanted a leisurely beach vacation to chill out this time.

Beach

There started the search for all the nearby international beach locations. After a lot of amateur research, we narrowed down to Maldives, Bali, Mauritius and Seychelles. The "one island one resort" policy at Maldives sounded interesting enough to spend the 4 nights and 5 days we were looking for. The moment you type Maldives and hit the search button in google, it throws so many scenic photos of the luxurious villas just above the crystal clear blue waters along the white sandy beaches, the very look of which is irresistible. Right there I made up my mind to spend at least a couple of days in one of those exotic villas. Quite frankly, all resorts have competitive prices, yet the much talked about resort was Paradise Island Resort and like good listeners we said this is the one it is going to be! Keeping the budget in mind, we chose to spend 2 nights at the Superior beach bungalow with the Beach view and 2 nights at the water villa with the Lagoon view. 

The Air India flight which happens to be the only direct flight from Bangalore to Maldives, took us to the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport at Male in less than 2 hours. The landing at the tiny island airport gave an awesome window side view of the tiny islands of Maldives. And phew!!! I was getting the panoramic view that I had seen in the images, in reality.

As soon as you land at the Airport, you can feel the tropical weather. After a hassle free visa on arrival, we headed towards the resort help desk. Yes! There are help desk for all the resorts in Maldives and they transfer you to the resort through speed boats and/or Sea planes. Be sure to check whether the Sea plane transfer is included in your holiday package. We had a closed milky white AC speed boat and in about 15-20 mins we arrived at the resort. The ramp entry at the Lankanfinolhu island was heavenly with colourful fishes on either side. This is where I realised that fishes are the most colourful species on earth!

Exotic ramp entrance at Paradise Island Resort.

Superior Beach Bungalow

After the first few snaps at the entrance, the cold welcome drink felt refreshing (I had two of them 😋)! Check-in was smooth while my husband was checking out the bikini babes around😜. We were escorted in a buggy to our Superior Beach Bungalow which was almost at one end of the island. The Buggy ride was fun, felt nice in the narrow path to the rooms along the length of the island. Accommodation was super good with open top shower, beach view back door, fully furnished luxurious room with a complimentary wine bottle placed in an ice bucket and a basket full of fruits! :)

The view from the room was wonderful with the sunbathing benches along the length of the island. It was evening by the time we settled in, after freshening up we ate some snacks at the room and surveyed the resort. Resort was well maintained with pest control sprayed twice in the evening.

The view from our room.

Trees planted in parallel manner at the shore. 

There are unique activities organised at the resort on a daily basis. Like the cocktail party with a dance floor, shark feeding, crab race, DJ night with dinner buffet at the shore etc. They also have fitness activities in the morning like Yoga as well as well-maintained best in class Gym, Basket ball court, Tennis court, Kids play area etc. There's a swimming pool, water sports booking area, a Scuba diving help desk and about 5 restaurants at different ends of the island. I felt the Spa area was the best with small ponds interspersed between coconut trees and flower plantations along the path and devoid of any noise from the other sections of the resort.

We were so hungry by dinner time and it was drizzling while we went again in a buggy to the buffet restaurant. The food had variety in it, but we felt Indian cuisines were not to our tastebuds. Desserts were mouth watering, chinese cuisine, biryani, salads and chicken were good. Fish was disappointing with no fish fry in the menu. As it was our first day, we tried almost all varieties in the multi-cuisine buffet. Overall the food was decent. 

After the dinner, we took a walk on the ramp and sat there for sometime watching the fishes, tiny crabs making holes on the sand and listening to the waves slashing the rock boundaries. We made this a routine throughout our stay at the resort. 

Ramp at the entrance lit up during night.

Next morning breakfast buffet was good with Dosa and curry along with continental varieties of bread, butter, jam, omelette, muesli, juices and boiled veggies. Right after breakfast, we were all geared up for the water activities with sun screen on. The very first was Knee Boarding, where a person on the board gets pulled by the Jet ski using a rope with the handle, balancing oneself afloat. My husband tried to take off not once not twice but about 10 times but in vain. I decided to give it a try just to do justice to the amount we had paid, but to no luck again. Finally I managed to do sleep boarding with the same set up and enjoyed it for 10 mins! Though we used the sun block, skin tanning is something we couldn't help being in the water under the sun.

Knee boarding!

Later in the day, it was time for the experience I had dreamt of all my life!! Yes, Scuba diving it was!!! An hour of diving instructions followed by a round trip for about 45 mins to witness the underwater world. I had very high expectations after watching ZNMD (for those who do not know, it's a Bollywood movie 😊) and my husband's scuba diving pictures at Lakshadweep. But what we had was a thick rope tied to the rocks throughout the path of the dive which we were asked to take help of and follow. There would be 1 instructor for a group of 3-4 people and we were 6 overall. If you opt to go scuba diving at this place then I suggest you lead the group, otherwise the unsettled sand underwater with the movement of others ahead of you may not give you a clear view. Unfortunately I was the last one in the queue😞 . At the end of the dive I panicked when the water entered my glasses restricting my view, but thankfully my instructor helped me out. Experience wise I really enjoyed watching the colourful fishes and felt the silence under the deep ocean waters. Since most of the corals were dead, the underwater view was not fully up to my expectations. My worst nightmare of the sharks eating me up did not come true thankfully! :)

Parasailing

Our next activity was the most memorable Parasailing! As we arrived at this activity area, we found two more couples waiting to sail with us. We sailed in a speed boat to a distance in the deep blue ocean waters and like how!! With the Maldivian music beats, twists and turns of the speed boat and the waves slashing, it was an exciting windy experience before we parasail. As the very first couple were tied to the seat belts and slowly released up high for about 150 meters, the very look of it was too scary for me being a first timer. Despite my fear of heights, I decided to go up with my husband, with a scary face. But with an understanding that I would give them some hand signal if I feel uneasy. But my husband did make me feel at ease, I turned 180 degrees around with a straight face and not looking down 😝. We both were laughing and shouting out of excitement from the mesmerizing views of the islands, villas, lagoons for about 15-20 mins!!! As an icing on the cake, my husband held my hand and kissed me in the air up so high..aww such wonderful feeling it was 😍!! As we were pulled down, we swung a little and dipped our legs in the water beneath before landing up on the speed boat. We both were thrilled by the experience and will remain very special all our life. But the tropical heat will leave you dizzy for a while, better to plan this activity in the evening or early morning. 

There were many more water activities like Canoeing, Tube rides, Wind surfing, Jet ski, Jet blade, Snorkeling etc, which i'm sure would be fun, but we chose to spend the rest of our vacation lazing in the WATER VILLA!!! 

Water Villa

We moved into the exotic Water Villa accommodation on the third day! The villa was worth its exorbitant pricing for its balcony beauty, interiors and just the way it is 😊! There's everything you need for a comfortable stay. If you ever happen to visit Maldives, I would suggest you spend at least a couple of days in the water villa. Because after all, it's an experience in itself. 

Balcony view

The water villa had a nice wooden open balcony with a bath tub/jacuzzi, sunbathing chairs, a double bed and a coffee table. We were mostly in the bath tub when the sun was dim, to beat the tropical heat. At times, it used to drizzle making it even more romantic with the soft background music we played. The balcony had stairs leading down to the shallow ocean waters, where one could go snorkeling. One needs to take care here, otherwise the sharp dead corals beneath could hurt your feet. We used to sit on the stairs and watch the colorful fishes popping up from the waters. And also the sunset, the ships, the sea planes!

Outdoor dining!

The water villa buffet restaurant is beautiful! The outdoor area of the restaurant gives us the Lagoon view and the huge villas at a distance. The dim lights with the evening breeze make it an awesome place for dining. We had booked the accommodation along with the half board meal, thus our breakfast and dinner was at this multi-cuisine buffet area, where again, the highlight was the mouth watering desserts 😋!!! There are about 5 restaurants in the entire island with each one having its own authenticity and offering stupendous views. Do not miss the desserts at this place!!!

Shopping time!!! Beach wears, especially the printed bikinis are colourful😜 and awesome despite being pricey.  But we did explore the gift shops to take away something as a memory of this beautiful vacation. We din't have many options, usual beach stuff like sea shells and conchs along with printed coffee mugs, key chains, photo frames and wall plates. We bought some key chains and a yellow & blue porcelain fish as a show piece. 

Photo shoot!!! Throughout our stay in the water villa, we clicked as many pictures as possible in every location possible! On the ramps, at the sea shore, the outdoor dining area, the balcony, throughout the length and breadth of the island 😜!!! I love posing and he likes clicking! We figured out there was a studio at the island where there are customised packages for photo shoots for honeymoon couples and families. Since we had our own camera, we were not very keen on getting a photo shoot done. 

The Spa evening!!! It was time to relax and pamper ourselves. As recommended at the spa booking help desk, we chose the popular Loabi Loabi couple massage for about 50 mins followed by 30 mins of herbal bath. The staff were courteous, change rooms were clean and the massage area with an open top felt good. The ambience was great and the massage was refreshing! Location wise it was calm, slightly segregated from the crowded places of the resort. My husband got his first ever spa done by a girl 😉 and I could see he was happy. The Swedish and Maldivian traditional massage seem equally good but they are without the herbal bath. Since you have a bath tub in the water villa and the herbal aroma oil is provided as complimentary while you check-in, you can use it in your own private villa if you don't wish to spend that extra penny for the herbal bath.  

The next morning, it was time to leave this heavenly place and say bye bye to Maldives. Per wake up call instructions, we had one last morning breakfast at the Lankanfinolhu island and settled the bills. By that time, the speed boat was ready with our luggages to transfer us back to the airport.

Resort ramp looking tiny as we leave to the Airport.

A perfect fairy tale vacation !!! 

Required information for the travel -

>> Maldives has "one island one resort only concept".

>> Tourist Visa is available on arrival at Male airport. 

>> In Maldives, USD and Maldivian Rufiyaa currencies are accepted.

>> I feel November is the favorable time to visit Maldives though they have travelers throughout the year. Despite very little change in Maldives Tropical weather, there are two distinct seasons - Dry season which is from November to April and Wet season is from April to October. 

It is always better to check on the current year climatic condition before planning your vacation. 

>> There's full board and half board meal plans. Full board includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. Half board includes breakfast and dinner.

>> Budget planning can vary based on the accommodation type, number of days, meal plan, etc. A couple can plan a budget vacation in a Lakh or two, but it depends on the peak seasonal prices on the accommodation as well as the flight charges. Like I said earlier, all resorts are competitive in their pricing. 
Some of the popular resorts are Paradise Beach Resort, Sun Island Resort, Fun Island Resort which doesn't have water villa, Adaaran club, Bandos Island resort, Holiday Island Resort & Spa etc.. Depending on the island distance from the airport there are sea plane transfers.

>> Travel insurance doesn't cost much but it was not recommended by our travel planner.

>> Approximate price list for few water activities and spa based on our visit -

Scuba diving - $ 200 per pax

Snorkeling - $ 43 per pax (1 hr)

Parasailing - $ 222 per couple
Windsurfing - $ 92 per pax (90 mins)
Wake boarding, Water boarding, Knee boarding - $ 77 per pax (25 mins) 
Jet Blade - $ 174 per pax (40 mins)

Laobi Laobi Massage - $ 250 per couple