It's Tuesday - two days since my return from my holiday break with my Miss on the Maldives.
A few words first on how it came that we went on holidays on the Maldives.
We spent the last two holidays with the parents-in-law; noteworthy to add that we did that on a voluntary basis :-)! It was cool - but when we both faced some tougher times at work this fall, we decided that ok, let's spent the remaining holidays by the two of us - with "chillax" being the tag line! After some research, we opted for an arrangement on the Maldives. In the following article, I want to provide some answers to a few questions I was dealing with when booking holidays on the Maldives.
Some questions regarding holidays on the Maldives.
When researching the holidays on the Maldives, I had a few questions I was seeking to answer beforehand.
Is +/- one week on the Maldives enough?
How does the logistics on the Maldives look like when it comes to the seaplane transfer?
Should you go for the all-inclusive package?
Is Maldives only for Honeymooners?
The answers
Is +/- one week on the Maldives enough?
In my humble opinion, yes! Our travel arrangement lasted 7 nights - a red-eye flight on a Saturday night to go there and a day flight back on the Sunday the week after! For us, this time frame worked very well! We kept us busy by doing sports in the morning (of course, after some sleeping), followed by some snorkeling / chilling, before heading out for drinks & dinner in the evening. I read some 4 books on the Maldives. I may could have spent 3 nights more there, but I think 2 full weeks would have been too much for us - bearing in mind that my Miss and myself are quite "active people"! So 7-10 days on the Maldives are in my opinion the perfect time frame to really relax without getting bored!
How does the logistics on the Maldives look like when it comes to the seaplane transfer?
One point, I spent a lot of time on was finding the right island! We ended up on Veligandu Island - great choice! I knew that after arriving at Male, the intra-country logistics will be a make-or-break for our holidays - being aware that my Miss does not like that much taking small planes.
Veligandu Islands was 20 minutes by seaplane - and looking back, I have to say that taking the seaplane is part of the experience on the Maldives.
Are they seaplanes safe? Yes - Trans Maldivian Airways is actually the biggest seaplane operator in the world! Their pilots have plenty of experience as they start and land a dozen times per day. The cruising altitude of the planes is not that high - providing you with a unique view on the little islands. How does the logistics work in detail? Upon arrival at the international airport in Male (capital of Maldives), you will be greeted by your travel agent, guiding you to the counter of Trans Maldivian Airways. It's just around the corner upon arrival. You will check-in there again, leave your luggage and then take the bus to the terminal. The bus ride is about 4-6 minutes. You will then be directed to the terminal of your hotel, kind of a departure lounge. There, we had to wait for about 1.5 hours (you can already fill in all the admin for your hotel while waiting) for other international guests to arrive and depart to Veligandu or an island close by. From the outside, the seaplanes look quite small, but they carry up to 15 passengers (it's ok, no claustrophobia feeling) and their luggage. To my surprise, the flight was also quite smooth, no shaking / feelings of turbulences despite the small size of the aircraft! Overall, the transfer by seaplane worked very smooth in our case and was really part of the experience.
Should you go for the all-inclusive package?
I would advise to go for the all-inclusive package, yes! Remember, you are on a small island, so you don't really have options or alternatives when it comes to go for drinks or dinner. In addition, it's quite a challenge the supply chain on the Maldives, you literally have to bring everything to the islands, either by boat or plan - adding up to the cost of the products. With all-inclusive, you don't have to worry about it, which helps for relaxing holidays. I was also surprised by the offer - in our all-inclusive package, two kinds of beers were included, all the soft drinks & water and a decent selection of white / rose / red wine!
Is Maldives only for Honeymooners?
My biggest fear - that we will feel totally awkward as we go there for "normal" holidays! It turned out that my fear was wrong. I was actually surprised by the mix of the clients on Veligandu islands. By far the majority of the people were just there for normal holidays. We met just one couple being on honeymoon. The rest of the crowd consisted of a healthy balance of young and elderly couples - being there to chillax, snorkeling/diving.
The bottom line
Very much to my own surprise, the holidays on the Maldives exceeded our expectations. The time frame of 7 nights proved to be right for us, all the logistics worked out well / smooth, i.e. really embracing the seaplane transfer as part of the experience, all-inclusive was the right choice, the Veligandu island & resort a dream! And then, the Maldives are really a paradise - the reef, the crystal-clear water, the fishes, the flora & fauna on the small islands - wonderful! We will go back!
Below a few impressions!
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