Travel

Honeymoon in Maldives…What a dream!

28 September 2018

Traveling?…ah, what a lovely dream!

The sky merges with the ocean, binding in an almost invisible line … an infinitely crystalline blue where the white sand completes with the marvelous green vegetation, the lagoons like precious turquoise stones, flowers, fishes, insects, … colors … yes, everything is color, and what a color!

Paradise? Have you ever imagined how Paradise looks like? When I was a child, I imagined it just like this and at the first contact with the Maldivian beach, a strong sense of revelation invaded my feelings, the sensations lived about 20 years ago, born with the power of childhood imagination that creates worlds.

Maldives is an island of Indian Ocean, consisting of over 1000 islands of different sizes, surrounded by turquoise waters. A state located southwest of India and Sri Lanka, is Asia’s smallest Asian country as its surface and population and has the slightest altitude in the world. If the water level continues to rise, the Maldives may be the first state to disappear.

Which is the best time for visiting Maldives? I would say WHENEVER, I would say that when you are in love or you want to experience exotic beauties, sunsets and sunrises that let you breathless. However, from a meteorological point of view, it is very important to know that May-October is the period of rain, the humidity is high and the peak season is between December and April.

We traveled in mid-November and from the 5 days spent there, in 4 it rained. Stormy clouds coming out suddenly, washing everything around makes you sing and dance. We ran through the rain, walked through the alleys of the resort, undisturbed by the droplets that quickly clothed us in wet but warm waves. I would never have believed that I would be there and that I would love the rain, me, girl of the sun.

However, don’t be afraid, the rains are very pleasant, a blessing after hours of roaring along the shore at high temperatures.

Seytour Travel Agency prepared this wonderful stay, “our perfect honeymoon,” and served us nicely packed with sunshine, warm rain and delicious gastronomy.

We landed in Male, the capital of the Maldives, after a journey of about 12 hours, leaving Bucharest and Doha. Flight time: Bucharest – Doha, 5 hours and Doha Male, 4 hours. Doha Airport is large, with shops and restaurants, specially designated with praying rooms, but also separate resting places for women and men.

Male airport is the main airport in the country, very small and contrasts totally with the glam resorts. At the exit of the airport, the luxury resort stands welcome tourists and embark them for transfer to the islands. The transfer is done either by boat or by seaplane … the distance Male – Paradise Island could be easily made by boat in about an hour. To overcome the disappointment that we missed our chance to travel for the first time with a seaplane, a sweet dolphin family welcomed us and drove us up to the shore of the island.

Useful information about Paradise Island:

Local Name: Lankanfinolhu

Location: At Male North Atoll, the atoll with the largest number of resorts

Length: 1 km

Beach width: 230 m

Restaurants:

FARUMATHI – A la carte seafood restaurant

Gukuaya Teppanayaki – Sushi Restaurant

Lagoon restaurant – Full kitchen

Ristorante al tramanto – Italian Restaurant

Athiri bar – Bar

If you have an all-inclusive package, which is advisable, the buffet will be served in the Athiri Bar. Why do I say it’s advisable? Prices are quite spicy, for example, the price of a 0.25-liter Coca-Cola bottle at Farumathi is $ 8 and a 3 $ an ice cream ball.

The included meals is quite rich, but it is the same menu every day, few assortments are changed or added in addition to the previous days.

Accommodation options:

Superior beach bungalow, Water villa, Heaven Suites, Ocean Suites.

We were accommodated in the Superior beach bungalow, where the view admired from the bungalow’s terrace in the first hours of the morning, can’t be compared with anything

What can you do in Maldives?

Diving and snorkeling for brave ones. I say this because of the numerous fishes, sharks and stingrays that swims with other colored species.I admit it that we did not have so much courage.
Cruises for dolphin observation cruises. The price is $ 80 per person; It was a nice experience, but not wow. Unfortunately, the dolphins were too fast and when the boat approached them … they were running away. A cheerful gang has followed us for a few minutes on our offshore road, playing zigzags on both sides of the ship.
A dream wedding on the Maldivian beach with everything that means a real wedding: photographers, traditional musicians, cake, local flowers and strange guests in swimsuits 🙂
Spa, fitness and other indoor sports
Glass-bottomed boat adventure, fishing at night or visiting the capital of Male, are some other activities you can do. We did not try them, 5 days spent in the Maldives being insufficient, but if your stay in the Maldives is longer and you do not want to just stay at the beach, you have some spending time possibilities.

Tips&Tricks

I recommend you have take with you dollars, the exchange rate on the island is not favorable (the euro is egal with the dollar).
Ask a caregiver to break a coconut and clean it in front of you. It’s absolutely delicious and the way it unfolds is a real show!
Every night, the fish-specific restaurant on the pontoon feeds sharks, that “Shark feeding” that the world is expecting every night with soul-to-mouth. It is interesting to see dozens of sharks of various sizes struggling for fish scraps.
Hotel staff will help you with your arrival and departure luggage, $ 1 is the tips we used to offer for this service, for daily room and table service, and hotel staff were more than grateful.
If you have all-inclusive, most cocktails are free at the bar, so you should not miss the evening shows in order to animate resort’s guests (karaoke evenings, live bands, etc.)!
Take the all-inclusive package to taste all sensational fruits, colored candies and specific foods!
Use high protection cream! Even if it is cloudy and you do not feel the power of the sun initially, it is very, very powerful and it can burn you … we have it 🙂
Ask at reception for the next wedding on the beach. It’s an interesting experience to be part of it.
Admire the giant bats, the flying foxes that live on the island
Careful! You cannot get alcoholic drinks in the country.
Cigarettes in Doha are cheaper than in Romania, so if you stop in Doha, it is not worth taking home cigarettes, the package price is about 2.5 euros.