How to Spend Your Vacation in the Maldives—Where Tropical Charms Abound
There is not much planning you have to do in terms of how to enjoy your time in the Maldives—the place is a tropical paradise and all you need is a bit of fine-tuning with your plans. Knowing the best times to go, where to stay and what the best activities are can certainly improve your experience. Check out this article on how to spend your vacation in the Maldives to learn more.
Photo by Asad Photo Maldives via pexels.com
The Best Times to Visit the Maldives
As a tropical destination, the Maldives experiences only the wet and dry seasons. During the monsoon, the weather can be quite wet with winds and rains picking up occasionally, although it rarely rains all day, and you can expect the sun to shine on just about every day of the year. Apart from the weather, which is quite uneventful, you can decide when to go to the Maldives if you are looking at improving your travel costs. Seasonal rates can fluctuate, and you can expect some good rates when travelling outside of the high season.
There’s peak season when the sun is at its best and off-season, which is when the rains hit. The time in between these two is called shoulder season and is tipped to be the best time to visit the islands. You will find that rates are much less at this time of the year since tourist arrivals are low—with not much difference in the gorgeous weather.
Shoulder season in the Maldives is from March to April with costs increasing closer to Easter. The high season is from November to April. And off-season is from May to November.
Best Places to Stay in the Maldives
The Maldives consists of over 1,000 coral islands and many of the resorts there occupy entire islands. Therefore, choosing to stay at a luxury tourist resort in the Maldives can be very rewarding. Also, as a premier holiday destination, the place is home to several international chain resorts offering discerning travellers luxury travel experiences at some of the best international chain resorts such as Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas. Choosing an all-inclusive stay at one of the resorts can be very beneficial as you will be able to enjoy a range of discounts and benefits that will help to stretch your holiday budget.
Choose Your Hotel Transfers After Careful Consideration
Your long-haul flight will land in Male, the capital island. From there, you must transfer to your Maldives resort. To do so, there are several options; speedboat transfers, seaplanes and local ferries.
The seaplane is certainly an exotic way to travel to your hotel in the Maldives and will give you a fabulous bird's-eye view of the area. However, the seaplane can be costly and does not support the same luggage allowance as your long-haul flight. Therefore, you end up paying hefty fees for excess luggage. Check your seaplane luggage allowance to avoid surprises. Speedboat transfers are just as thrilling but can be as expensive. The least expensive option is the local ferry, although it is not the best. The local ferry runs on a very erratic schedule and can often get delayed. The plus point is the low fares, which are a huge change to what you would pay for a seaplane or speedboat transfer. The local ferry runs through the local islands, and you would have to get off at the nearest one to your chosen Maldives resort and request a pick-up from there.
Respect the Culture
The Maldives is a 100% Islamic nation and follows strict laws; therefore, you must make sure to respect these laws and avoid getting into trouble, or worse, deported. Pork is banned and cannot be brought into the nation, the same applies to liquor although the latter is served at your private island resort. You must dress to cover shoulders and knees in public, and women should cover their heads as well when visiting the mosques.
Packing for the Maldives
Pack for the tropics with plenty of shorts and cotton t-shirts, but also take along a few long pants, skirts, and shirts or kaftans for covering up when visiting the sights and local islands.
Pack a good swimsuit for swimming as you will spend a lot of your time in the sea and pool, take along shades, a cap and plenty of sunscreen to make sure you don’t end up nursing a nasty burn throughout your holiday.
Pre-Plan Your Tours
Check out the available attractions and let your Maldives resort know which tours you wish to take. Snorkelling and scuba diving are top attractions as are sunset cruises, dolphin-watching tours, and island-hopping adventures.
Enjoy your time in the Maldives!
