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Maldives with a 3 year old

21 replies

nuttyslackster · 20/02/2019 20:54

It has been my long term dream to visit the Maldives and my husband and I have decided to take the plunge. We will have our 3.5 year old with us. Can anyone suggest a suitable island where we won't feel like outcasts for having a small child with us? Are there any tips or considerations for travelling to the Maldives with a pre-schooler? Thanks :)

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ILiveForNachos · 20/02/2019 21:02

We have just returned from Lux South Ari Atol with our 2.5 year old and they were incredible with her. All the staff learned her name and said hello and asked about her toys and dolls every time they saw her.

The kids club is lovely (although we never left her alone as she has to be 3) and Shein, the main lady there, was adored by my daughter and she still talks about her. There were loads of children on the island and they obviously advertise to families on their website and social media so people know to expect families.

They also have the best private waiting area for the sea plane transfer so it makes it all doable and less stressful with a small one.

We just got a basic beach room which can come with an additional single bed and it was perfect. We debated bigger rooms with pools etc but they seemed to only convert a sofa to a bed but maybe an extra bed gets put in. The beach huts are still incredible.

We’ll definitely be back one day!

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Hollowvictory · 21/02/2019 03:31

Just come back from centara grand Maldives was lovely and super for kids.
Did go past the lux mentioned above, also looked fab. Choose somewhere with kids fac and several restaurants. If you like snork choose a hotel with a house reef. I don't think you could go wro g really unless you chose a honeymoon hotel with few kids facilities

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nuttyslackster · 21/02/2019 13:29

Thanks for your suggestions. I will google them both. It's good to know that resorts are welcoming of children and have kids clubs, though whether my DC will want to go into one is another matter! I am reluctant to get a pool villa due to safety, and overwater accommodation is obviously out, so I think a basic beach villa will be best bet.

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tryingtogrowarosegarden · 21/02/2019 13:57

Niyama Private Islands in Maldives is absolutely delightful and very family oriented too.

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Hollowvictory · 22/02/2019 07:35

Op many kids clubs only take children from age 4 but you may find a resort that offers a nanny or creche service for younger ones. Or you may not be bothered about kids club anyway asing as the resort is child friendly.
The long journey is quite a slog though, we went with Emirates via dubai as I'm not a British Airways fan so it was 3 flights. BA fly direct to Male though.
What is your budget? It is an expensive holiday. I'd advise going all inclusive as some resorts are not. Our resort included spa treatments every day and excursions. Check carefully in terms of what's impo to you.

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Hersetta427 · 21/03/2019 21:47

We went to lily beach with our 3 yr old and she was treated like a princess by the staff (in fact they called her princess for the whole 2 weeks - would you like a milkshake princess, waiters appeared out of no-where when she got out of the pool to wrap a warm towel around her- she was very spoilt. Being cute, blonde and an excellent swimmer doing lengths of the pool definitely helped. This year we are trying vilamendhoo which is opposite lily. I know it won't be as good as lily but it was half the price!

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Hersetta427 · 22/03/2019 10:51

BA only fly direct from Nov-March otherwise you will need to go via dubai, or Qatar, or columbo. Having done all 3 I have preferred Dubai as the Emirates planes are more spacious than the other airlines.

Lily did have a kids club although a lot of the time my daughter was the only one there so the two ladies who ran it used to take her to the turtle nursery to feed them apple, then take her for ice cream etc. She had a lovely time and often came back with her face painted in face paint flowers.

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nuttyslackster · 22/03/2019 19:02

Thanks for the ideas, have checked out all of the suggestions and there are some strong contenders. Lily beach looks great but for our dates it would be over £8k for accommodation which is a bit more than we were hoping. Hoping to get all in, including the flights, for £8k ideally.

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Hersetta427 · 22/03/2019 20:19

Nutty I would look at vilamendhoo, villu reef, kuredu and band is then.

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Hersetta427 · 23/03/2019 09:52

So have a look at packages with someone like Emirates holidays as they worked out £500 cheaper on our holiday as they gave me a huge discount by using their flights.

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nuttyslackster · 25/07/2019 15:02

Hi all - just to let you know we went for Lily Beach in the end. Can't wait Smile Thanks for the tips/advice.

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Squiffy01 · 30/01/2022 16:18

@nuttyslackster did you end up going how was it? Just found this thread and looking to go in June for my husbands 40th with. 3.5 year old

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nuttyslackster · 30/01/2022 16:31

Yes, we got there just before the pandemic hid. It was absolutely fantastic - holiday of dreams! Made some amazing family memories.

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Squiffy01 · 30/01/2022 19:55

@nuttyslackster so glad you got it in before everything closed.
It is a serious contender for us. Is there anything you would recommend doing/ not doing? Anything you would change?
Any tips would be great.

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nuttyslackster · 30/01/2022 20:45

It was wonderfully family friendly but also relaxing for the adults as my DC spent time in the kids club each day - so best of both worlds. We were there a week and that was about right for us.

The Maldives works really well in terms of the time difference - you can keep children up late and hopefully they will sleep in.

Honestly, there's very little I'd change. Lily Beach was fantastic. Now my daughter can swim I'd probably go for a villa with plunge pool. But that's about it.

We flew premium economy and had direct flights which made the journey easier. Taking the sea plane was a fun experience but it does make the journey quite long as the planes often stop off at multiple islands so the advertised flight time is a bit misleading.

I am sure you will enjoy whichever resort you pick. Perfect place to celebrate a 40th!

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AdriannaP · 20/03/2022 06:30

@nuttyslackster I have been to the Maldives before (a few times), considering Lily Beach this year. Children are 7 and 1 then. How would you rate food for children at buffet? They don’t eat spicy food but I would like a good variety of fruit and veg.

Were you happy with the kids club? Is there a shallow kids pool? Did you go snorkelling and is fhe house reef easy to access? We want to take 7 year old snorkelling. Thanks 😊

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nuttyslackster · 20/03/2022 08:13

Main buffet was excellent, loads of choice - don't think you'd have any issues there.
Yes there's a shallow kids pool although my DC preferred the bigger pool as it was a bit warmer.
House reef easy enough to access (though I don't have comparators). You can do a guided tour first time if that helps.
Kids club worked well for us and ladies who ran it were lovely - only downside is that it is small and some of the time my DC was the only one there, but the resort was fairly quiet as Covid was spreading round Asia. We did wonder if it would be enough stimulation for an older child but I think 7 would still be ok. They do have a programme of activities but didn't really stick to that whilst we were there. I imagine with greater numbers they might.

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bert3400 · 20/03/2022 08:18

We are booked into Iru Fushi for April, it's a family friendly resort with lots of restaurants & Kids Club . Lots of activities for everyone but not too big either. We liked it has its a local company who run the chain of hotels (Sun Siyam)

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AdriannaP · 20/03/2022 08:23

@nuttyslackster thanks really helpful. We are going in the school holidays so I assume more children will be there. We have been to other islands and the number of children in kids club was never huge (about 5-10, more in a bigger island). I think most islands are fairly small and it’s not like you go to a TUI family Hotel in spain IYSWIM.

As we have a big age gap, my DC likes to go to the kids club and play with other children and do crafts etc (and of course in previous years she was an only child).

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nuttyslackster · 20/03/2022 18:26

Also should mention the kids club is about a minute's walk from the pool area so super easy to go and check on your DC.
We loved Lily Beach, though as I said we have no comparison.
The basic beach villas were looking a little dated, but everything else about the island was so good frankly we didn't mind that the rooms didn't have the wow factor. They are also renovating some of them.

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AdriannaP · 20/03/2022 19:50

@nuttyslackster good to know thanks. We are also considering Kuredu again, the kids club is also very central there. Unfortunately we didn’t like the food that much and the house reef is a bit small, but lots of turtles (and we might not snorkel much this year given we have a baby).

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