May 30, 2018 02:28 AM
17026 Views
(Updated Jun 07, 2018 11:41 PM)
Maldives is NOT a place but a group of islands.
Male city(Velana International Airport) has nothing to see. Its just a landing point to complete the immigration formalities and emergency stay if the whether is bad.
Every Island of maldives has got couple of great resorts and some local accommodations. Depending on the budget you can book accordingly.
There are 2 types of Islands:
1. Local Islands(Moderately expensive but good) - Liquor is NOT Served here
- Private Islands(Starts from 10000/- per day and sky is the limit)
What do I suggest personally?
If you got good money / going for a honeymoon for the first time / Joint Family Trip go ahead for the luxurious resort stay and its worth it.
If you are a solo backpacker/nature lover/ Single/ Got enthu to explore and don’t want to invest much money go for local island resort and they will arrange One day excursion to the Private Islands where you will have all the privileges that a person who books the room at the resort gets except the bed to sleep in the night. I personally feel this is the best way as you can enter multiple islands and enjoy great privileges with 1/10th of the amount.
Where did you stay?
- I stayed in KAANI Grand Sea view in MAAFUSHI Island. Decent place, great hospitality and I got an Awesome Beach facing room.
They will elaborate you on different packages of day visits/water activities etc. I visited multiple places from here which was fun.
How much will they charge for one Island visit?
- 100$ to 150$ per head for a Day excursion which includes your transfers from local island, premium lunch, snacks, hot and cold beverages etc.
Personally I felt Fihalhohi, Meeru, Rethifaru were good.
How many days should I plan?
4N 5D should be ideal.
5N 6D should be a good leisure holiday.
How Much money should I carry and what currency?
- If your wife is cooperative and if she promises that she would not shop then 1000$ USD should be good after booking Resorts and Flight Tickets.
If shopping is included then 1500 to 2000$ USD should be good.
Photographers Questions?
Can I carry Drone? - Yes you can but put the batteries in the hand luggage and drone in the Check in Luggage with Fragile tag from the airlines during the check in.
Carry all your lenses especially any wide angle lenses preferably 10-24mm, if not 18-55mm should also works if you want to capture beautiful landscapes.
Check out my page on Facebook to get some inspiration - https://fb.com/picx.co
Does maldives have Casino?
Naa. No Casino as per my research, if you got to know something do let me know.
Important Steps:
Book the Tickets from Hyderabad to Maldives(Best Srilankan Airlines personally what I felt)
Immigration Documents - Its a FREEEEE Immigration and all you need is your Passport, Your Return Tickets and Hotel Booking Details and for safe side have 2 passport size photos, bank statements and Aadhar Card.
You will reach to MALE(Velana International Airport). Complete formalities of immigration.
If you already booked the resort, then make sure they arrange for the transport to the resort from Airport or Male City.
If not there are 2 Options( 1. Ferry which is cheapest but takes 2 hours to reach the resort 2. Speed Boat which will charge you 20 to 25$ to the resort)
Boats and Ferries are subjected to weather changes. Be Prepared to stay back in MALE City if the weather is not good. Novina Hotel is a good choice to be as its new and provides 3.5/5 rated accommodation for ONE Night Stay. You find all the restaurants and other required outlets less than 200 metres from this hotel.
Hows the Food Bro?
Pure Vegetarians/Jains, Please pack Pickles, Karachi Biscuits, etc. and trust me you gonna have hard time w.r.t to food. Eggiterians can probably survive. Non-Vegeterians can deep dive to explore the new dishes.
