Maldives
Overview
With 700,000 annual visitors, the Maldives is the Indian Ocean’s most popular holiday destination. Thousands of travelers journey here to enjoy deserted beaches, breathtaking scuba diving and some of the world’s finest resort hotels. Equipped with overwater bungalows, underwater spas and providing the cutting edge of luxury services, if you want to get away from it all without missing the creature comforts of home, then the Maldives is the place to be.
The archipelago consists of 26 atolls and is located southwest of Sri Lanka. The highest point in the Maldives is 2.3 meters above sea level, making it the world’s flattest country. Most of the country’s 1200 islands are uninhabited, and each resort occupies exactly one island, where the rooms cannot be built taller than the coconut palms, the country's national tree. The majority of resorts are located to the north and west of the capital Male found in the southeast corner of an atoll with the same name. First settled in 300 BC, the original inhabitants of the Maldives were believed to be Buddhist. With a current population of 300,000, the official religion today is Islam. Tourism and tuna are the country’s main industries.
A stay in the Maldives does not come cheap. Travelers are forbidden from staying on local islands, and room rates start at $300 per night and soar past $2,000. For most, the cost is worth it. Resorts in the Maldives constantly strive to outdo their competitors, and nowhere else can you enjoy some of the finest haute cuisine after a relaxing spa treatment watching tropical reef fish swim past your window. Choose your resort carefully. Most visitors are honeymooners, though certain resorts do cater to scuba divers and surfers, where a more party minded atmosphere can be found at night.
Sun worshippers, honeymooners, spa lovers and water sports enthusiasts alike return again and again to the Maldives, hooked on the archipelago's tropical scenery and hospitable people.
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Maldives
Destination Reviews
Things to do in
Maldives
Doing nothing at all is what draws most visitors to the Maldives. The country's islands have long secluded beaches and stunning lagoons perfect for lazing away tropical days, and most visitors go no further than between their bungalow and the beach. Virtually every resort offers water sports from waterskiing to windsurfing though rental costs are not always included in room fees.
The journey to most resorts in the Maldives is aboard a propeller seaplane, and the view of the deep blue channels and bright turquoise lagoons from the unpressurized planes is a scenic flight in itself. Stepping out of your plane after splashing down in a lagoon is about the most dramatic entrance you will ever make.
If your resort is located near Male, the country’s crowded capital, a visit to the bustling fish market offers a look at where the country's main export, tuna is processed. The nearby Friday Mosque, built in 1656, is the country’s oldest, and the waterfront Presidential Palace is home to the country's president.
Scuba diving with the ocean’s largest fish is a once in a lifetime dream, and with the Maldives home to majestic whale sharks and graceful mantas, divers fly in from all over the world to see these creatures up close. Numerous dive live boards explore the more remote corner of the archipelago to dive with manta rays, whale sharks and shipwrecks. Local islands can be visited as day trips, and walking the sandy lanes to see how Maldivians have survived in the middle of the ocean with just coconut trees to supply fuel, food and building materials is a lesson in ingenuity. Local crafts like woven mats, wall hangings and made of coconut palm make good souvenirs.
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Maldives
Activity Reviews
Hotels in
Maldives
Soneva Fushi - luxury bungalows built in the lagoon
Lohifushi – a surfers resort in the North Male atoll (no direct website)
Huvafenfushi - home to the worlds first underwater spa
Laguna Maldives - - a resort excellent for families
Diva Resort – dive with whale sharks off Maamagili reef
Kurumba - The oldest resort in the Maldives recently refurbished
Dhoni Migilli - (no official website) each room is a dhoni schooner equipped with private crew to sail around the atolls
W Maldives - a resort known for its high quality spa and Ocean Oasis villas
Baros - one of the most popular resorts for honeymooners
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Maldives
Hotel Reviews
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Maldives
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