Maldives Newbie!

[BaconAndAvocado]

We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 DC, 15 and 17.

We’ve just decided we’d like to go to the Maldives but have no idea where to start, other than Tui!
We are tied to school holidays and are considering either October half term or Christmas (leaving just after Christmas Day).

We all love snorkelling, swimming, relaxing on the beach, good food. Not too worried about evening entertainment but I’m guessing that’s not a huge deal in the Maldives?

There seem to be soooo many different islands.....I would be interested to,hear about anyone’s experiences.

tia

And having a “house reef”(?) means you can get to do snorkelling very easily?

Yes it means snorkelling from the beach or the pier. Not all islands have house reefs and it means you have to take a boat to go snorkelling. I wouldn’t consider an island without. The best house reefs are easily a few miles long and you can spend hours every day without getting bored. Amazing corals, fish, turtles, sharks, stingrays etc.

We went on honeymoon to Meeru Island with Kuoni. It was one of their bigger islands (although still tiny) and had more facilities ie driving range, small pitch and putt, football, spa, etc. was fantastic. It was an hour by speedboat from the airport. X

The resort I posted a link to has kayaks and paddle boards and also a dive centre if you are in to that. It is one you get to by seaplane.

you can do some excursions, I only did the dolphin spotting trip but that was amazing.

at those ages I would be fine with them going on by themselves, the resort is the only thing on the island.

Doesn’t a big house reef but still has reefs you can snorkel around with sharks, stingrays, all sorts of fish.
Its in perfect whale shark territory as well.

We have booked to go to the Heritance Aarah in a couple of months ,, very exciting ,, so I have enjoyed reading all your responses.

There is a very helpful facebook page called Maldives, you will get lots of information on there :)

Sonora25
Why do you say avoid Shan Olhuveli (sorry for spelling !)?

Food quality and cleanliness wasn’t good (one of my kids got food poising)
drinks were of mixed quality
house reef was ok, seen better
staff not super friendly until you start tipping
was given wrong room on arrival (after 15 hours travelling with 2 kids) and had to fight/negotiate for the right one while kids had to wait in the heat
pool was dirty, chipped tiles (some kids hurt their feet), not enough loungers - you had to be there at 9am to get a lounger

save your money and go somewhere better like Kuredu or Kuramathi

I've been to Maafushi which is reached by sea plane, an exciting way to travel. Also Fihalhohi but I found the snorkelling much better at Maafushi.

If you live snorkelling or diving, you won't get better that the Indian Ocean.

Sorry typos. Maayafushi

I have an appointment with the travel agent tomorrow!
As it's so out of my norm, what questions should o be asking?

Thought of:

Is there a seaplane transfer?

Does island have a house reef?

Is there water sports?

Is there a buffet restaurant and à la carte?

Can you experts think if any more important questions to ask?

-type of accommodation (beach villa/garden villa/water bungalow etc) I assume you need a bigger place with two teenagers

-what’s included in AI - this can vary from island to island (get the full list)
-evening entertainment/bars
-size of island

Thanks Sonora25

Not sure if I've mentioned this but the only time we can realistically go is October half term, so late October.
Just on the edge of peak season.

Summer holidays would be better but it seems there's a lot more rain....if the rain is like Florida - torrential for an hour then it stops - that's not so bad.

The AI question is a good one.

Re the accommodation, we would prefer beach bungalows and preferably one large one but, looking online, it's probably going to be 2.

Accommodation seems to be 1-3 people in a bungalow.

They have two bedroom bungalows on some islands. It will be cramped with teenagers in a normal bungalow.
beach villas are lovely and they all have outdoor bathrooms. Check out the Kuramathi two storey villas.

https://www.kuramathi.com/guest-villas/two-bedroom-beach-houses.html

Frasers We are considering booking Diamonds Arturuga.
Would it be ok to DM you with some questions?

Sure go for it , happy to answer anything,,

We stayed at Emerald Maldives Resort & Spa in November 2023 and it was AMAZING! Check it out on Trust Pilot. DH researched it for 6 months before booking. He priced it up in several different ways but in the end booked it through "Simply Maldives" who came up with the most competitive price (by hundreds). You and your family will love it, OP, dream holiday!

We went to Conrad rangali which was amazing, but most recent reviews not so good, so maybe past its peak. Some friends visited Lily Beach with teens and loved it

When we went, Kuoni price was at least a third more than the price we actually paid. I think they are very expensive.

@Verite1 who did you book with please?

We've booked!!! We're going to Diamonds Arturuga.
Thank you Fraser for initial recommendation.
Beyond excited 😝

Lucky you, you will have a fab time, very jealous!