Is the Maldives on your bucket list? Yep, it was definitely mine too! I knew that's where I want to go for my honeymoon. At the time, I didn't know anyone who had ever been, so I really had to do my research. But don't worry, I'll share with you what I've learned so that you can plan your very own once-in-a-lifetime trip. There is a lot of information, so buckle up!
In this post, you'll find:
Where is it Located
The Maldives is an independent island country comprised of a chain of coral atolls (approximately 1,190 of them!) formed from an ancient submerged volcanic mountain range. It is located in the Indian Ocean, just south of India, and is the smallest country in Asia at only 115 square miles of combined land mass and stretches 541 miles north to south.
How to Get There
The Maldives is pretty remote, so expect long flights with possible layovers or connections. Definitely don't forget to build in that travel time into your itinerary, because that can add an extra day or two. You'll fly into the capital, which is Malé and also take a transfer to your resort via speedboat, seaplane, or helicopter. Fun fact: the Maldives is home to the largest seaplane departure area in the world. And since you'll probably make connections flights, it's not a bad idea to combine this destination with another stop to break it up or to just maximize your travel experience. For us, the Maldives was part of a 4-country trip, making the most of our trip to Asia.
Best Time to Visit
The Maldives is located near the equator, creating a tropical climate that is hot and humid with definitive wet and dry seasons. Therefore, the best time to visit is November through April, with March being the hottest month. The wet season is May through October, so you can expect more affordable accommodations during this time, but you also risk spending your vacation in monsoon weather. We visited in early September, due to constraints we couldn't avoid (I was pregnant!), but lucked out because it was mostly sunshine throughout our visit with one or two days of cloudy weather and about 30 seconds of rain! The night we left, the island was hit was a huge storm!
How to Choose a Resort
With 1,190 islands (not all inhabitable of course), you can imagine there are lots of resorts to choose from and dozens of new resorts opening up every year. So how do you go about choosing the right one? No worries, I'll break it down for you here!
Budget
This is a huge driving factor since The Maldives is known to be a luxury destination. Your budget for this trip determines where you'll be stay and for how long, so setting a realistic budget will help you narrow down your choices. Make sure you not only include the price per night per person for lodging, but also dining, activities, spa treatments, and airport transfers. Lodging alone can start as low as $200/night and the sky is the limit for the upper range. There are ways to keep costs down such as traveling on the off season (May through October), having flexible dates to snag those last minute flight deals, choosing alternatives to overwater accommodations, staying on local islands instead of a resort, or even shortening your trip by a couple of nights. If you're here for the once-in-a-lifetime experience and budget isn't your biggest concern, well then my friend, you need not worry because there are plenty of resorts happy to take your money in turn for a trip you won't easily forget.
Location
As I've mentioned before, the many islands stretch for 541 miles so you can be as remote as you like or closer to the airport as well. When we were planning this trip, we looked into using our points to book at the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort because it was just so convenient from the main airport. However, upon more thorough research, we found that because it is so close to the airport, many guests complained about the constant planes flying overhead, ruining the relaxation they were hoping to get. Since I was pregnant, I also didn't want to travel too far by speedboat or seaplane, so I wanted to find a resort with a happy medium: close enough to the airport but far enough where I still felt like I was in the middle of the ocean. Finally, if you suffer from motion sickness, I can tell you, those speedboats move VERY fast and feel like they are just skipping above the water. My husband felt queasy on our 40 minute speedboat ride, so I can't imagine traveling further than that.
Accommodations
Now, let's think about what type of accommodation you'd like to stay in. Do you want an over-water bungalow, a villa, private beach access, or a room with your very own pool? The type of accommodation you choose changes the vibe and can boil down to a matter of preference too. Just know that even if you don't choose an over-water bungalow, which seems to be the experience everyone wants to have while in the Maldives, you'll still have access to your resorts amazing features, so it doesn't necessarily define your trip. On another note, there are all-inclusive resorts, making it easy to access everything you need during your stay.
Amenities and Activities
Once you're there, you'll want to enjoy all the wonderful things. If lounging by the pool or swimming in the beach is enough for you, then I'd say you're set. But if you'd like to do some activities, make sure you look and see what each resort offers. The activities are endless and some of the obvious ones are snorkeling, paddle boarding, scuba diving, but other cool activities are dolphin watching, surfing, island hopping, or helicopter rides. Besides activities, don't forget things like spa packages or unique restaurants (like the underwater ones) that can add to your experience. Lastly, research if the resort includes transfers to and from the airport for free or if that's an additional fee, but also if they provide transfers during only scheduled times or take you whenever your flight requires. Our resort included airport speedboat transfers both ways and took us when we needed to go so that we weren't just sitting at the airport wasting precious vacation time. That was so convenient for us!
Island Hopping
And finally, if you're considering island hopping, be aware that there is no organized 'public' transportation method to travel from island to island. You'll have to coordinate that with the resort and likely pay additional for these transfer services. However, it may be worth it so that you can experience things your particular resort does not offer or if you wanted to visit local islands away from the resort. Due to the pandemic, make sure you do your research before you book anything to see if island hopping is possible since officials were thoroughly tracking visitors in case of spread of covid.
Check Social Media, Youtube, and Pinterest
Sometimes viewing photos on a resort's website can be misleading. The best way to really see what you're getting is to search it on the internet! A quick Google search to see if anyone else has gone to the resort you're interested in to see their pictures and videos can be helpful to learn about another visitor's experience. We also searched Youtube to see if anyone posted videos of their trip and that's how we learned about the noisy airplanes flying over certain islands. It all boils down to thorough research, which will be worth the time investment to be able to set your expectations.
Where I Stayed
So how was our experience you might wonder? It was amazing of course! Here's how my trip turned out. We went during off season in September, because I was pregnant and couldn't go any other time. When we landed in Malé, we were greeted by a hotel agent that sort of 'pre-checked' us in. In doing so, he presented us with an offer we couldn't say no to. We originally booked an over-water bungalow on the Anantara Velu Resort, which happens to have a sister resort, the Anantara Dhigu, which was located just across the water. Since it was off season and the resorts were both at low capacity, he offered to accommodate us on Anantara Dhigu (a step up from Velu) and upgraded our over-water bungalow to an over-water villa, free of charge! Of course we said yes! We had access to the amenities on both resorts and that made our trip even more amazing! So in summary, going in the off-season worked out exponentially for us and we totally lucked out with the amazing weather. The location was just right and we only saw a handful of visitors our entire stay.
So are you ready to plan your own magical trip to the Maldives?! Happy planning!
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