Anyone been to the Maldives?

[fynnon]

Went there in '96 and long to go back, we initially booked an island called Lilly beach, but 3 weeks before departure we got a letter from 1stchoice to say that the hotel had suffered a major fire and we were being relocated to Rangali island, it was absolutely stunning, its now the Conran, never had the under water restaurant back then. No mozzies or wasps as far as I can remember, unbelievable snorkeling from the beach and hermit crab racing at night.

[LLamb]

We have been three times, all to different islands. Our first trip was to Meeru and we absolutely loved it
It’s one of the bigger island island and one I would go back to. It’s good as it’s fairly close to Male so the boat transfer is only about an hour and no need for a seaplane transfer
There is a uk based forum which is very good Meeru.co.uk
Both the spas are amazing, definitely get at least one treatment booked. We had a land bugalow on the east side and it was literally five steps into the beautiful clear water
Don’t bother with any shoes other than travel ones you won’t need them
Don’t think we had any mosquito’s (been in April, May and December)
We did loads of diving on all three trips, would recommend doing a try dive if not already done it. The dive centre there is superb
We tipped in US$ you won’t need any local currency, mainly just the waiters but we had the same one for the two weeks (same table too) so just tipped him at the end
Oh and the landing at male airport is just fantastic, make sure you get a window seat

Any other questions, happy to help

[TrueBlue]

Awwww thank you for all the replies. They are very helpful

I'm sooo excited! Wish it was February next year we were going now haaaa.

But it gives us plenty of time to plan (and save )

Glad to hear there's been no sightings of any wasps! Honestly the fear I have would be enough to make me not go if there was any there

[TrueBlue]

Originally Posted by LLamb

We have been three times, all to different islands. Our first trip was to Meeru and we absolutely loved it
It’s one of the bigger island island and one I would go back to. It’s good as it’s fairly close to Male so the boat transfer is only about an hour and no need for a seaplane transfer
There is a uk based forum which is very good Meeru.co.uk
Both the spas are amazing, definitely get at least one treatment booked. We had a land bugalow on the east side and it was literally five steps into the beautiful clear water
Don’t bother with any shoes other than travel ones you won’t need them
Don’t think we had any mosquito’s (been in April, May and December)
We did loads of diving on all three trips, would recommend doing a try dive if not already done it. The dive centre there is superb
We tipped in US$ you won’t need any local currency, mainly just the waiters but we had the same one for the two weeks (same table too) so just tipped him at the end
Oh and the landing at male airport is just fantastic, make sure you get a window seat

Any other questions, happy to help

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Hi

It's Meeru island we've been looking at. The prices are very reasonable. I'll have a look at their forum and hopefully pic up some tips.

I watch their live webcam everyday lol

Glad you had a fantastic time on this island, there's only a couple of bad reviews on facebook and they are very petty indeed

[PoohBears#1fan]

Bit late to the party, but yes, we've been to Kuredu in 2009 and Hudhuranfushi last year, it's by far my favourite place in the world (I'd like to challenge that but Bora Bora is out of my budget!).

From an Atol point of view we preferred Kuredu, the sea was much calmer, Hudhuranfushi is famous as a surf island so the ocean side has very strong waves. Most of the islands will have one side that's lagoon, which is very calm and the other which is ocean, whilst you can usually safely snorkel the ocean side, you will need to watch the beach signs to ensure you don't venture too far out.

You'll love it, whether you want to just chill, do watersports or snorkel / dive, it really is paradise.

Last year we upgraded to an ocean villa once we were there which worked out phenomenally less than booking the holiday in one from here, I don't know if that's typical of all the islands or if we just got lucky and they had one spare so gave us a good deal.

Enjoy, invest in a good mask and snorkel, fins also if you can, you can rent all this out there but usually rental prices will cost you more than buying yourself a good set here anyway. If the island do a snorkelling lesson, do go on it, they'll teach you so much about the current, where you can see the most ocean life as well as the equipment and techniques, it's invaluable information about the specific island.

[PoohBears#1fan]

Oh if you need to keep in touch with back home, but a SIM from Male airport, even if you get free Wifi on the island, this will give you pretty much unlimited 3G all around the island (whereas the island's wifi can be quite limited).

[jim jehosofat]

Another late comer here. Been to the Maldives four times now. First time was a resort called Vilu Reef and more recently three trips to Meedhupparu.

My better half says the Meedhupparu is at the cheap end of prices for the Maldives. Semi detatched beach villas with an outside shower (don't worry, there is an inside shower and loo). We always book with Travelbag and travel with Emirates to Male via Dubai. An added bonus is that this resort has its own air conditioned waiting area at the seaplane airport with soft drinks and sandwiches.

Wherever you go make sure you book an all inclusive resort unless you've just on the lottery as food and drink prices are very expensive.

[tocpe321]

We stayed in Kurumba years ago as part of our honeymoon. Had a lovely time. The water is just like warm bath water. We did snorkelling and I did scuba. Fantastic coral reefs. From memory there were small black tipped reef sharks. Did the PADI course in UK pre holiday.

Can’t remember much about tipping or mosquitoes.

The first part of our honeymoon was in Sri Lanka, which was lovely, although unfortunately a lot of poverty.

[stanleycamel]

I have been to the Maldives twice including January this year and never had any problems with "beasties" - got bitten more on my trip to the Seychelles this month.

I agree with the advice about buying a good snorkel, mask and flippers and don't forget to try them out before you go(it is amazing how many people I talked to hadn't done that and complained their equipment wasn't any good).

Arriving in Male can be a bit chaotic but it is well organised by the resorts - once you have picked up your bags and go into the arrivals hall you will be faced by loads of company reps holding boards with names on. It can seem a little overwhelming but just take your time and look for your name - you will probably find someone comes over and asks who you are looking for and they will point them out to you.

Hope you have a wonderful time.

[Chandler]

Just returned from Kuredu, we found it totally amazing, beach bungalow,
everything we loved, food, evening entertainment, the whole island and everyone that was on it made it so friendly, pricey, but hey hoo we've done it now.