Planning for the holiday of a lifetime to the Maldives

Maldives is a series of tiny Islands sprawled across 90,000 Km2 of the Indian Ocean South West of the coast of Sri Lanka. There are over 1200 islands but only 200 are inhabited by locals and 80 of them be-long to luxury resorts. No one island is longer than 8km and the average size is 1-2km

When is the best time to visit:

The best time to visit the Maldives is during the dry season, which is November to April. Very little rain and the weather is warm however that is when the Maldives is busiest and will the most expensive time to visit. May to October is considered the rainy season. Peak season is December to March so No-vember and April are perfect for skipping the busiest times. I went in March / April time. It rained for a couple of minutes on a few days but very quickly cleared up and beautiful weather resumed.

Getting there from the UK: The main airport is on the Island of Male and can be reached in peak season direct from Heathrow Air-port with British Airways or indirectly all year round via the Middle East with Turkish, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad or Oman Airlines. This makes it ideal for a twin centre holiday in one of those destinations or in Sri Lanka. We flew via Dubai with Emirates. Its pprox.. 12/13 hours flying time whichever way you go.

Transfer:

There are various options to transfer to your resort from Male. You should take this into consideration when choosing your resort. Some resorts are closer and can be accessed by speedboat which helps keep costs down. Although seaplane is an amazing experience and offers incredible views of all the islands. Important to note though that seaplanes only operate during daylight hours so you need to ensure your international flight lands at a time to accommodate this or you could end up having to overnight in Male. Some of the resorts have beautiful private lounges at Male airport which adds that extra luxury to your transfer.

Choosing the right resort:

There is something to suit everyone in the Maldives but you need to choose wisely. Are you looking for adult only or adult focused. Does it need to be child friendly and include kids clubs and activities. Some area of Maldives are better for diving than others, is this important to you. Are you looking for unique experience such as an underwater restaurant or a glass bottomed room which are only available in cer-tain resorts.

Room Type:

Most islands have over water bungalows and beach villas. Some have private pools, some even have slides from your bungalow straight into the Indian Ocean. Also once you’ve chosen your resort con-sider where your room is positioned on the Island, most resorts have maps online. You do not want to end up sitting in the shade in your beach bungalow. Finally consider that you can swap rooms half way through your stay. If your desperate for an overwater bungalow but your budget doesn’t stretch that far, consider a couple of nights in one as a treat at the end of your holiday.

General tips:

- Pack wisely. Everything is imported to the Islands so if you forget something crucial its really hard to replace it. We moved rooms halfway through our stay and my food bag containing my son’s formula got accidently dumped. The hotel replaced it free of charge but the brands were different and I had a very unhappy baby for the last day until we got to Dubai and got the pre-ferred brand. - Save some of your budget for the Spa! I love a spa treatment on holidays but the spa’s in the Maldives are the most incredible I’ve ever been in. I could have gone every day! - Buy an underwater camera or a case for your existing camera/phone. The sea life is incredible and you won’t want to miss out capturing those memories. My husband is a diver and says that you see more snorkelling in the Maldives than diving anywhere else in the world - Bring your own snorkel, mask & fins – saves having to potentially rent them locally and possibly pay extra charges