General: Maldives

This is a trip report from the trip that my wife Nikki and I went on during Easter of 2004. We were at Sun Island in the Maldives in the period April 4th to April 12th. This was a pure beach vacation so I can summarize it few words: sun, beach, sea, snorkeling, relaxing with a good book and a cold drink :-). This report is best viewed on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com as some of the pictures can show how beautiful it really is on the Maldives. ...
...about the trip. Prelude When I was standing on the slopes of Kilimanjaro last year I kept thinking “Why didn’t I just spend my money on a beach vacation with my wife”. Instead of relaxing on a beach, I was struggling to get to the top of Kibo and it was hard work. I guess it was there and then I promised myself that the next vacation would be a nice relaxing holiday on a beach somewhere. In the beginning of 2004 a colleague showed me the www.maldivene.no ...

gard 09.05.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

I am not a great one for holidays myself but there was something about the advert for a cruise around the Maldives that caught my eye. After a few years of a very hectic and demanding job (and having just finished a period of studying as well) I knew deep down that I needed to get away from it all. Nothing really appealed until I saw a colour photo of the Maldive islands and read the blurb in an advert. It offered a week's cruise around various ...
...island every day, some of which were described as uninhabited. There was a warning that the cruise wasn't suitable for anyone with mobility problems due to the need to transfer on to small boats in order to come ashore at some of the islands and somehow the more I read the more enthusuastic I became. The deal was attractive and made even more so as it offered no 'single supplement' which is just what I needed as I was planning to travel alone - a ...

laramax 16.11.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

When and How? Having always wanted to go out to the Maldives but never having the "right" person to go with - Mr. Right came along in August 2003 and a last minute trip was put together in June 2004. It really was last minute, about a week before we had booked time off work. We were amazed at the prices and thought that it was possibly due to the fact we could only take a week instead of what seems the more usual two weeks. We managed to secure ...
...under £500 each. But there were a few things we learned along the way which will influence how and when we book next time around. June is part of one of the two monsoon seasons, the best time to go being between November and May really - not June. Having said that the waters were as calm as millponds on most days, the sun shone every day except one, and the storms that had been forecast never materialised EXCEPT on the very first night. The first ...

jellibaby 31.08.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

This review is based purely on our holiday to Komandoo in February 2006 There are many different islands offering many different holidays. For a impartial view on all holidays I suggest you buy RESORTS oF THE MALDIVES by Adrian Neville Tour Operator Hayes and Jarvis Price £1650 Each 14 days Feb 2006 Room Upgrade to Jacuzzi Villa £300 Each but we got it for free!!! Flight Operator First Choice Airlines Star Class (cattle class to you and me) ...
...Outbound FCA047 Inbound but these have since changed Flight time Outbound 10.5 to 11hours Inbound 12 to 12.5 hours Flight type Direct nonstop Airport UK London Gatwick LGW Airport Maldives Male MLE Currency Maldivian Rufiyaa but US Dollars and Major Credit Cards accepted. Our advise is take dollars for tips Roomboys, waiter bar staff and beach boys etc and use credit card to settle bill and at the airport as you get the international exchange ...

adictivepie 31.12.2006 (01.01.2007) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

We stayed at Vilamendhoo from 7th October to 22nd October 2007. It was our 2nd time to the Maldives (went to Kuredu last year for our honeymoon), and we found this island completely different to our first Maldives experience. The island is a reasonable size, and takes about 15-20 minutes to walk around it. All the accommodation looked pretty much the same, except for a few deluxe rooms (looked the same as the others), and a few rooms in the middle ...
...room 117 (we requested rooms 113 to 130 after reading other reviews) which was in a fantastic location, with a lovely beach outside the room and an excellent spot on the reef. The room was really close to the sunset bar (sitting out on the beach at night watching the shooting stars!), which was lovely, and wasn't far to the restaurant and reception. The food is great, although it did get a little "samey" after two weeks - great quality though, and ...

Lilolad 10.11.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

Once upon a time, a Maldivian fisherman was sailing in the sea at night. On board he had a large clay pot full of drinking water, so once he got thirsty, he opened the pot ready to drink. But he never dared. What he saw inside was the moon itself, shining, bright and full. Thrilled, he quickly slammed down the lid to capture it inside, and being a good citizen, carried the precious pot to the Palace to present the treasure to the Sultan. (Everything ...
...considered the Sultan’s property in the Maldives till 1968, when the sultanate changed to a republic). The Sultan, who the story describes to us as a learned man, laughed at the fisherman so, that he dropped the clay pot, breaking it on the ground. The water spilt upon the ground and evaporated, carrying away the fisherman’s moon and illusions. “What have you done, - whispered the poor fisherman. – You let the moon go.” ...

happy_hamster 01.06.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

I open my eyes and see a clear blue sky; not a cloud contaminates it. I am lying down and below my hands I can feel warm soft sand. This must be a dream, as never before have I felt such utopia. I scoop some sand up into my hand and feel the grains trickling through my fingers. As the grains drain through, like the sand in an hour glass, I expect the dream to fade, but the sand trickles out, heralding the expiration of the time and yet nothing changes. ...
...MY EXPERIENCE When offered a holiday anywhere in the world by my father as a wedding present, the cogs got clanking as I tried to think where to go. My holidays normally consist of rainy days traipsing across moors in Devon or Cornwall but if someone else was to be paying…. So, the Maldives were chosen. (At a cost of £1,250 per person - but then my father did buy us each a tea cup for our engagement, so think of it as making up for his prior 'generosity'!) ...

Ophelia 04.12.2002 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

Sun Island is one of several Maldivian island resorts run by the Villa Hotels chain. Our holiday was for 2 weeks at the 4.5 star rated Sun Island in the South Ari Atoll, 2 1/2 hours by boat from Male. This resort was only 3 years old when we went. The island was beautiful, exactly as you see in the brochures, coral white soft sands, turquoise seas, palm trees, amazing fish and sea life. We took the boat from Male (Airport) to Sun Island. Transfers ...
...more. This was a nice trip, calm seas when we were in the shelter of the atolls, but a bit rougher in the open sea! Arrival - We were greeted by members of staff with damp towels to refresh ourselves with. In the lobby we were given chilled coconuts to drink whilst we registered. As we did this the staff unloaded our cases from the boat into the reception. There were then small vans that took you and your luggage to your room. Money - No cash is ...

salcin0 10.08.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

I know it sounds dramatic, but it's true! A holiday in the Maldives completely relaxes you. I don't think I've ever felt more comfortable. I had enough frequent flyer miles on my account with Sri Lankan Airlines, so this summer, while I was in Colombo with an American surfer-type friend, we took a three day trip to the Maldives. I even had enough miles for my kid brother, so he was thrilled! There are about three flights daily between Colombo and ...
...a separate island from the city itself, which meant that the landing was a wonderful experience. The airport is small and welcoming, and we met our tour guide outside. After a short wait, he got us on a boat to our resort island. The Maldives aren't too well connected to the digital world, but we were able to make our booking via email, and since it was off season we got a half board triple room for 2 adults and 1 child for US$92 per night or so. ...

DDRS 20.10.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

See my latest review on Embudu village http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Embudu_Village_Maldives__Review_5731213 Also on Summer Island village - http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Summer_Island_Village_Maldives__Review_5686286 Also my review on Fihalhohi Island Resort -http://travel.ciao.co.uk/Fihalhohi_Island_Resort__Review_5546645 I will update this review, to keep folk informed with as much info as possible. That's what these island are 'Magical'. Just imagine ...
...sway in the warm flower scented breeze, the sound of tropical birds and the gentle swell of the waves on the beach.... there you are swinging in your hammock to and fro with not a care in the world. Well if this is your idea of paradise then the Maldives are for you. You can be as relaxed or as active as you want. All Islands have water sports centers; some have gyms, saunas and spars. They all arrange trips to other islands, night fishing, snorkeling ...

MALDIVEDIVER 03.07.2003 (27.12.2005) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

My partner and I decided to visit Bi-ya-doo after a lot of investigation on the internet. We didn't want a huge resort, just somewhere where we could potter around at our own pace and unwind after a stinker of a year! Bi-ya doo seemed to fit our bill as it has only 96 rooms on the island, has a sister island called VilliVaru that can be reached by local ferry (10mins) and is surrounded by a reef that is very close to the shore (I'm not a great swimmer!). ...
...did seem like forever but when you reach your destination and start seeing the small islands pop out of the sea it all seems worthwhile. The speedboat ride to Bi-Ya doo took about 60 minutes, we got to see flying fish on the way! Greeted on the island we were shown to our accommodation which comprised of double bed, flushing toilet, electric shower (In the middle of the indian ocean!!) fridge/mini bar, a/c and adequate wardrobe/cupboard space. We ...

prettymaids 05.04.2004 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

Having returned from Lily Beach Resort in the Maldives only 7 days ago, I had to write a review. My wife and I traveled to the Maldives for our honeymoon, a 10 and a half hour flight on Monarch airlines, from Gatwick (London). A long flight, in which we didn't get much sleep, and we felt ready to collapse, until suddenly out of the window, we saw an island of sand, with shallow waters around it, and corals. It was probably only 10 meters across. ...
...the first, more and more small island appeared, some with trees. Welcome to paradise! After landing on a specially constructed island runway, nest to the capital island of Male', we took a boat plane for a 20 minute trip to our island, called lily beach. 500m long, 100m wide, approx 50 apartments. Dense with trees, and choice of apartments either tucked back in the shade of the trees, or over hanging the waters edge. There is a main restaurant ...

ChrisAllsopp 01.09.2004 (29.12.2004) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

I stayed here in January 2007 and I have to say it was pure paradise. We were taken to the island by seaplane. Once we got there we were welcomed by the friendly staff who gave us a refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail. Our bags were taken and we were shown our room and our bags arrived not too long after. Our room was a standard room with an enclosed bathroom and no tv, but it wasnt needed. The rooms were spotless and were cleaned every day by the ...
...moved to our own little quiet spot on the beach. This is what I loved about the island, the fact that it was small, and you could walk around it in 30 mins but it was quiet, peaceful and tranquil and you could find your own little quiet spot on the beach with noone else around. The beach was beautiful white sand and the sea was out of this world! Crystal clear and on the 1st night we saw baby sharks in the shallow waters aswell as other sealife. ...

mizzbonita 20.03.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

I honeymooned on the Maldives 7 years ago - sadly the love affair with these beautiful islands has outlasted the marriage but never mind, life goes on. I had never been outside mainland UK before this trip of a lifetime, if you've ever been you will realise what it was like to have this destination as your first trip abroad!! We landed at Male and took a speed boat to Kanifinolhou. I saw flying fish as we sped along, and on arriving at our island ...
...wreck - it is just SO breath taking! Our little chalet/cottage was superb, huge bed and weird sort of outside but inside shower room. I was concerned about the little gheko's that occasionally run accross the floor but was assured by my other half that these were harmless and would eat the ants and mosquitoes and other nasty things! My main memory is sheltering from the rain (not as bad as it sounds!) every day, without fail, it clouded over at ...

pagan 06.03.2001 (14.05.2001) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives

Staying on Bandos, one of the longest established Island/Hotels in the Maldives was an interesting experience, which I don't regret. However, I found one week easily enough - I suppose it's just that I'm more the "hire a car and get off the beaten track" type of tourist. On a 400 yard wide island, the scope for motoring is limited to the electric baggage trolley. Sure, it has all the "calendar" photo opportunities, white sand, palms leaning over ...
...knees, as if even they are getting bored, and any change to the reef is welcome. The snorkelling and Scuba, for those who want it are fantastic, and Bandos even has a decompression chamber in case of accidents. Don't have one though, it costs $5,000 to use it! Three restaurants mean a decent variety of menus and atmospheres, and the food was good and varied, including local dishes, and others with a definite spicy Indian subcontinent slant. Fortunately, ...

BNibbles 09.12.2000 (17.12.2000) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: Maldives