Maldives March 2016

Sally Willars on 21 June 2016
In February 2016, and with a lot of excitement, we embarked on our first winter holiday. From a cold and cloudy Birmingham, we flew to Cinnamon Dhonveli in the Maldives via Dubai.

The flight time from Birmingham to Dubai is seven hours, and we waited a further three hours in Dubai for our connecting flight to Male. However, by the time we had disembarked, gone through security and walked to our departure gate, the time had flown by.

After a four hour night flight from Dubai to Male, we arrived at around 7.30am local time. As we walked across the tarmac wearing the same clothes we had left the UK in, the heat and humidity hit us - even at such an early time of day!

After some time, we cleared immigration and eagerly awaited our suitcases which arrived within a reasonable time. After clearing customs, we walked into the main arrivals hall which could be best described as a Maldivian Piccadilly Circus!

We found our travel representative who directed us to a transfer waiting area. As our resort was approximately 10 miles from Male, our transfer would be via speedboat from the waterside boat taxi rank. If you are being transferred by sea plane, you travel in a small bus from the airport terminal to the sea plane terminal (10 minute journey).

Our transfer boat arrived and we embarked, leaving our suitcases on the quayside for the crew to load onto the boat. The boat ride was a bit on the choppy side, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Both my husband and I are both unhappy mariners but neither of us felt seasick. I would recommend staying close to the back of the boat for a more comfortable ride. A poor couple who boarded the boat last, sat right up front with the Captain and they appeared to have a rougher passage than us and we were only a few feet behind!

Upon arrival at Cinnamon Dhonveli, you are greeted by a cool flannel and fresh juice at reception where you are given your room key and information on restaurants and island amenities. Cinnamon Dhonveli is part of the North Male Atoll islands. Not huge by any stretch, you can walk around the island in 15 minutes, but there are enough facilities to keep even the most active happy. There’s a full range of daily excursions – night fishing, swimming with turtles, dolphin safaris, as well as trips to the capital and island-hopping tours.

What’s more, there’s a swimming pool, gym, tennis court, badminton court, beach volleyball, a diving centre (which also offers jet skiing, pedalo, water ski and paragliding) and a surf club! If you want to gently unwind, there is a spa offering relaxing massages and treatments. Otherwise, just sit back and relax on your room patio or on one of the many beachside loungers.

There are a number of different standards of accommodation on Dhonveli, but one factor always remained the same – places were clean, tidy, airy and comfortable, and you are looked after very well. Our accommodation for the next 10 nights was an over water villa on the North West side of the island. Upon arrival, our room was not quite ready, so we were given another room and decided to have a scout around the island and have lunch. We were allocated a table in the Rehendi Restaurant but we could have visited any of the other two buffet style restaurants on the island.

Each restaurant served food from around the world with daily lunchtime “specials” serving snack food. During our stay we sampled Indian, Maldivian, Mongolian, Chinese, Thai, Italian, British and German food. If you love your curry, you can eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

If you were still hungry or missed a meal, mid-morning and afternoon tea was available. We took advantage of afternoon tea on a couple of occasions, and there was always one hot item and a variety of sandwiches.

Our room was spotless, the bed was comfortable and the bathroom was light, spacious and with a Jacuzzi bath! All of the villas are identical and have an outside decking area with steps down into the sea. It is advisable to bring beach shoes as the sea bed is quite rocky with broken coral (a result of the tsunami in 2004).

This island is a snorkelling paradise. Within a few metres of our villa, we swam towards a vast array of fish. Dolphins had been spotted early one morning, plus a few small sharks and even a couple of manta rays. We spent most mornings on our villa decking and most afternoons on the beach, swimming and snorkelling. The sea was shallow for a few metres until you reached a deep patch (approx. 20m) after which the water was a couple of metres in depth. The further you went out, the better the view of the fish, so it was well worth the effort.

The nightlife was good with something happening every night; live music to suit all tastes, from rock and roll to jazz, and a weekly beach party serving cocktails (small charge). If you’re not a night owl, you can retire to your room without being disturbed. After dinner, you would find fresh towels and your bed would be turned down, ready for you to retire.

After dinner, the lit up restaurant decking area often allowed us to see a shark or manta ray and assorted tropical fish, swimming by on their “evening strolls”! The view of the star-filled sky will stay with us for the rest of our lives – we could see stars not visible at home.

We went on a three hour snorkelling trip with turtles, travelling to a coral reef just off Makundoo Island (approx. 40 mins by speed boat each way). As our group were not strong swimmers, our crew ensured we were safe; life-rings were always available.

On the return journey, we had a short stop on a desert island where we spotted a large manta ray. It was an unexpected treat that made our day. If you stay on Makundoo, you can also go by boat and have a meal.

Before we knew it, our 10 days in paradise was over and it was time to move on. With a water taxi ride back to Male, we started our return home via Dubai for two nights.