Terrified of the ocean in the Maldives

[Orangedoritos]

Hi everyone I'm looking for some advice from users who have been to The Maldives.

I do suffer with anxiety so please understand that. I probably sound completely nuts! I think my fears are a bit extreme but I'm panicking a bit... I will list them below and hopefully someone can reassure me x

Have never flown outside of Europe so this is the first time I will fly over an ocean that has sharks or a vast amount of dangerous marine life for example killer jellyfish. Im terrified of flying.. mainly us crashing or the plane falling... so if we did end up in the Indian Ocean I think I would die of panic rather than the actual plane crash!

Assuming we get there safe... the seaplane! Obviously this worries me as they are so small and flimsy im scared of that too

Im worried about actually going in to the water at the beach because I’ve heard stories about the sting rays hiding under the sand. So people say to shuffle your feet... why? If I shuffle them or not im 100% sure if a sting ray is startled by me it will jab me. Im actually really worried about this. Im trying to find some shoes to wear in the water.

Another thing is there any chance of poisonous jelly fish being close by in the shallow water? I can’t swim much however im scared of being stung. I’ve been stung by a jellyfish in spain but they were tiny and was like a stingy nettle rash. The internet says to avoid them but what if one brushes against me... what if it is a blue ringed jellyfish surely there would be more reports of deaths? Im sure I’ve got nothing to worry about but if these animals are there... why don’t they hurt swimmers more often? Literally if there a dangerous jelly fish how are people not coming into contact with them, I mean unless they stick to the deeper depths or hide under rocks... I don’t know

Any advice would be helpful as I'm wishing i could cancel my holiday and get a refund I think I’ve made a big mistake. Ive spent a lot of money and my anxiety is ruining the holiday before it’s even begun.

Also does anyone have a link to the plug adapter that we need for uk plug to maldives plug? Thank you

I can't go in open water I have an irrational fear of fish (and balloons) so understand some of what you're saying.

Just interested why you chose to go there knowing it's such a journey?

I wanted to go to paradise and I wasn’t so worried when I booked it. I’ve even been googling the missing plane that apparently flew over the Indian Ocean before never being found again and I’ve really scared myself.

I really don't understand why you're going on this holiday when your fears are so elaborate and ingrained. Have you explored cancelling? Might be worth seeing what you stand to lose and then making a decision based on those facts.

And as for a jet landing in shark infested waters - incredibly unlikely - planes are ridiculously safe - the very safest form of transportation there is. And if, by some million-to-one chance that your plane did fail in some way, well let's just say that you'd be unlikely to survive the landing. As for a seaplane - it's on floats so you'd be raised up above the water and those are at least designed to land on water - unlike a jet.

Personally, I think I'd see if I could cancel.

There are plane courses you can go on for people who are scared of flying.

Something that really helped me with a fear of under the water was doing snorkelling when I got there. That might sound counterintuitive but being able to see what was under the water and how beautiful it is was amazing and I spent hours snorkelling. I was in my depth and had shoes on that you wear in the water and could lift my head up at any time.

So fix the plane phobia and go and enjoy.

Stop googling! The Maldives are fantastic - paradise on earth. Just look forward to the amazing opportunity you have to go there. I am terrified of flying and didn't enjoy the seaplane but it is worth it . They are much safer statistically than getting in a car.

I also worry about things in the ocean that can sting but the waters are so clear and you soon forget about it when you see all the beautiful fish. I have spent many hours in the Maldives swimming and diving and have never been stung by anything nor have I heard of anyone else being stung.

Just try to look forward to what will be absolute heaven when you get there. That's my advice!

Really don't understand why you would book to go on this holiday if everything frightens you. Unless you seek help beforehand it's going to be a big waste of money

You truly need to have professional help on your anxieties, or you're going to live your whole life like this.

I’ve been to the Maldives. The seaplanes fly quite low. They land on the water and pull up to a jetty where you get off.
I didn’t experience any jelly fish or stingrays. The waters are crystal clear, so you’ll see the fish easily and get out of the water if you’re not comfortable.
I got a bit bored in the Maldives I like to discover places and couldn’t really do that being on one atoll.

I’ve been to the Maldives twice and it’s lovely, even taken the children there but with your anxiety I am not sure you would get the full benefit of it . there’s no point in going if you can’t enjoy the sea, that is the whole point of it as a holiday otherwise just go to a nice five star resort for a lot cheaper.

I’m going to be honest with you, I was there in April and we saw a seasnake and stingrays I swam right over and my husband was shouting get out the way, get out of the way, however nobody died the one thing that nearly did kill my daughter was idiocy of the staff serving her nuts and telling her it’s healthy when she has an allergy.

Also saw sharks too but they don’t bother me because the sharks there are totally harmless unless you’re going deep sea diving which is unlikely. Didn’t See any jellyfish.

I don't really understand the plane crash thing. If your plane crashes over land or the ocean from 30,000 feet you won't survive the impact so what does it matter? You aren't going to be eking out an existence on a deserted island like Robinson Crusoe or battling with sharks.

I didn’t see any jelly fish and the rats were in deeper water. Got to swim with turtles.

I would sit in the shallows on the beach with little sharks around me that were terrified of me (probably only 50cm long) but lots of lovely fish too. They might warn you about trigger fish and not going over their homes depending on the time of year but they were really easy to spot and avoid.

I know quite a few people that have been and none of us have had any fishy incidents...

We had a villa on stilts but the water level underneath was still only about waist height x

Air travel by commercial aircraft is very safe - I think the risk per flight is 1 in 11 million, its a lot higher in a car.

I would stop watching MH370 videos, that really isn't going to help. My daughter who has flown every year, often several times, perfectly fine watched one on that and said she would never fly again. Its also led to her getting lots more scary plane things come up on her recommended. But if you look at the statistics its incredibly safe.

Smaller aircraft I suspect are higher risk than that but presumably you've booked it as part of a package so the tour company will also have checked its safety record and be satisfied with it.

The swimming / jelly fish I don't know about but it seems a very odd destination to pick if you are both scared of flying and the ocean. I would try and cancel or swap to a more suitable destination. Fears due reduce by facing them but if you try and face too many at once you will just be overwhelmed.

Paradise is kind of a mythical thing. If you are scared of everything and can't swim I very much doubt Maldives will be paradise. I would still fly somewhere but less ocean / beach based, no seaplanes etc.

There are plenty of islands in the Maldives that have a speed boat transfer rather than a sea plane... why didn't you book one of those instead/see if you can transfer the booking to another resort?

Re the fear of the sea creatures etc. why don't you just buy some swimming gear for when you want to go in the sea that covers you? Like a wetsuit size but not necessarily wetsuit material... then you won't have to worry about things brushing up against you or anything...?

And as someone who also has an extreme fear of flying (done all the courses etc. to no avail!), get yourself some Valium from the gp & you'll be sorted!

I'm not a fan of flying or things in the sea really but found the Maldives stunning.

Things I did were book direct flights so only had the one take off/landing.

Stayed on Bandos which is a 10 minute speed boat trip from the airport, which is obviously useless now.

Take rubber soled water shoes and
Snorkel in a life jacket, makes such a difference. I went obsessively twice a day.

Thanks guys for all the replies. I think I would like to have a paddle about with some snorkelling gear and take a look around however I suppose I won’t know if I like it until I try. The sharks that come up to the shore are fine, I think they are fascinating and I would love to see them. It’s the deep water I find scary. I remember when I was 14 we went on holiday to Menorca and I met some guys and girls there. We all went up to the cliffs to jump into the sea and I was obviously scared but in the end I did jump. Was the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done. I swam back to the ladder to climb back up and I saw so many jellyfish afterwards... a couple of the people had swam to the cliffs on the other side and needed to swim back over to walk back to the hotel... but the water was filled with jellyfish. I remember seeing a huge bright orange one just floating in the corner near the cliff. So to be fair I think I’ve probably just not swam for so many years that I’ve mostly forgot. Also then the anxiety sets in. I might go swimming one weekend with my husband and actually try to swim... il see if I can do it confidently or not. Is it possible to forget how to swim?

I would go swimming as much as you can. You don't normally forget how to swim but you get weaker if you don't practice. Start once a week maybe and build up.

Some counselling for anxiety might be worthwhile too - you can self refer via the NHS website.

Not sure how hot the Maldives will be but some people elsewhere wear wetsuits and / or aqua shoes. You can get them quite cheapily online.

You shuffle because the vibrations from your feet scares the stingrays away. They only attack when they think they are being attacked.

I think you can do beginners snorkelling / scuba diving courses in UK, its also worth looking up technique before if never done it before.

Ask your GP to prescribe you diazepam - it helped me on the seaplane a lot.

I think you can enjoy the Maldives without swimming and snorkeling, we went with 3 year old DD so mainly paddled - take sea shoes if you are nervous of jellyfish etc. don't buy them when you're there as they cost a fortune!

@Scarlett555 thanks hun

Well done for booking it Orange. Go and have a fabulous time. Try reading Steve Allright's 'Flying with confidence'. He's a BA pilot. Got me flying again and I got to go home to my home country for the first time in years. Just hadn't bothered. You'll have a great sense of achievement and lively memories. The Maldives sounds gorgeous - go for it!!

Lovely memories but perhaps lively too 😆

Try to buy those sand shoe things that surfers wear, friends of mine use them in the water in Florida because of the sting rays. Have a great time!

First of all it's an amazing place, truly stunning. The plane is no more likely to crash than a plane going to Spain so put that one on the back burner of fears. On a practical note, plug sockets may vary, I think it was US but it's been a good number of years since I went, check with the hotel website. Now onto the scary things in the sea, I took water shoes to avoid standing on spiky things, I also took a thin wetsuit, you get surprisingly cold in 30 degree water when diving and snorkelling for hours each day. The jellyfish issue is possible but the the hotel will monitor for anything dangerous to humans, they don't want their clients to get hurt (they will also have the relevant antidote) but if you wear a wetsuit it reduces the likelihood to close to zero.

I swam with manta rays they are gentle giants, go and have an amazing time and take a waterproof camera housing

Having a plan will help your anxieties. Get shoes for the sea/beach - if nothing else, they’ll help protect your feet from coral.
Have a lime for potential jellyfish stings. Or vinegar, but limes are easier to get 😄 I’ve been stung a few times and lime works instantly.
Shuffle to scare off stingrays.
I haven’t been to the Maldives but I can imagine the beaches and shallows are well prepared and protected by the hotels and tourist industry officials.