White sandy beaches, blue seas, idyllic islands and luxurious resorts: this is why you should visit this perfect paradise.
1. Call a taxi
Often, taxis from other countries are the source of much extortion by travelers. Taxis here are easy public ferries connecting the islands: most foreigners will only use the route between the airport on Hulhulé Island and the capital, Male. Possibly the most scenic airport taxi rank in the world, it’s a turquoise waters filled with luxury yachts, picturesque dognes (sailing boats) and bright tropical fish. A 10-minute ride costs $1.30, but crowd viewing is free. Seaplane taxis offer another spectacular view of the Maldives.
2. Fish business
Male’s fish market is eye-opening, but not for the squeamish. Huge tuna are laid out in slabs, while discerning buyers shop at homes and resorts. Once you see a fishmonger at work, you’ll pray you never run into a grumpy guy in a dark alley. Expect to pay around 45 raffia ($3.80) for a kilo of high-quality tuna meat caught that morning. Go early – it’s clean but very little refrigeration.
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3. Dine underwater
Admire the fish on and off the plate at Ithaa, the world’s first underwater restaurant at Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort. The 14 glass domes are located 5 meters below the sea and serve plenty of fish, while the wine cellar is dug 2 meters deep into the island (hilton.com). The nearby Anantara Kihavah resort has also followed suit with the four-story Sea.Fire.Salt.Sky, where Sky is a rooftop bar and Sea is underwater (anantara.com).
4. Island fares
Rated as the top restaurant in the Maldives, Ufaa is located on COMO Coco Island in Kaafu Atoll, 30 minutes south of Male by seaplane. New Zealand-born chef Shane Avan serves fish fresh from the sea with a Maldivian-Mediterranean-Asian fusion. Please book in advance if you plan to drop by from another hotel (comohotels.com). The Reethi restaurant at One & Only Reethi Rah in the North Male Atoll is often referred to as its closest competitor (oneandonlyresorts.com)
5. Shark Park
The Maldives banned all shark fishing in 2010 and became a shark sanctuary: night dive with grey reef sharks, spot hammerhead sharks or watch whale sharks. There is no clear season for the big guys, local marine biologists say. They just show up around the bait balls, which are tons of delicious little fish that roll around. Check out snorkeling trips in South Ari Atoll (maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org). If paddling with predators isn’t your thing, most lagoons are shark nurseries, and the harmless little greytip and little lemon sharks are easy to spot as you walk to the water spa’s pier.
6. Screen saver scene
You know that picture that comes preinstalled on new laptops? Yes, there are palm trees and toothpaste white sand. It was probably filmed in the Maldives. Throw in a hammock, umbrella, and ice-cold drink, and you’ll see why this tiny country tops the world’s must-see list. The Maldives straddles the equator, so the temperature doesn’t differ much from the annual average of 30 degrees.
7. Sleep on water
Of the nearly 1,200 islands in the Maldives archipelago, only about 300 are inhabited, and all have the smallest land area. solution? Sleeping on the water is a must here. Usually more expensive than a garden room, you can dive right into the blue lagoon from the overwater living room.
8. Sensational Spa
Most spas in Maldives resorts are over water, preferably with glass floors so you can watch baby sharks frolic face down on the massage table. Spa Cenvaree at the new adults-only Centara Ras Fushi resort in Maldives was recently named Best Luxury Emerging Spa in the Indian Ocean at the recent World Luxury Spa Awards 2014 (centarahotelsresorts.com), while Lamu Island Ayurvedic treatments at Six Senses Spa (sixsenses.com) and Banyan Tree’s luxury spa Vabbinfaru (banyantree.com) also took home trophies. You can’t go wrong with ESPA at One & Only Reethi Rah (reethirah.oneandonlyresorts.com/spa.aspx) or the Jiva Grande Spa at Taj Exotica (tajhotels.com). Of course, the world’s first underwater spa is at the Maldives’ Huvafenfushi Resort (huvafenfushi.peraquum.com).
9. Spice Shopping
Opposite Male Fish Market is a real local market: walk along the harbour walls past fishing boats and dhoni until you see boxes of ripe papayas, peppers and a large bunch of green bananas hanging around a rough building . Must-buys include local spice blends for heart-warming curries and raw golden edamame: coconut and palm sugar rolled into cigar-like dried leaves for a quick pick-me-up if you’re languishing in the midday heat.
10. Elite Resort
The first tourists arrived in the Maldives in 1972, but now the world’s major hotel brands are here. Recent hotel openings include Maalifushi by COMO by wellness pioneer Christina Ong (seecomohotels.com), the new luxury face of Club Med with 52 villas (clubmed.com.au) and the 150 villas and suites at Atmosphere Kanifushi in Maldives (atmosphere -kanifushi.com). Expect royalty and rock stars at Noonu Atoll’s two new arrivals, Louis Vuitton and Moet’s (chevalblanc.com) owner’s exclusive 45 villa Cheval Blanc Randheli, and ultra-luxury Velaa with Michelin-starred restaurants and a golf academy Private Island by José María Olazábal (velaaprivateisland.com). Elite, yes, but more family-friendly than you might initially think.
11. Top-notch snorkeling
You don’t have to go all out to enjoy the spectacular marine life of the Maldives. Even the most fearsome snorkelers can spot spectacular lionfish, parrotfish, an array of rays and the odd unicorn, as well as the oriental sweetlip and clownfish endemic to the Maldives. The archipelago is a staging area for fish life, so expect an abundance of variety and a rainbow of colors even in the shallowest waters.
12. Sleep with the locals
Traditionally, the Maldives has more than 300 inhabited islands, divided into resort islands and local islands. The government has recently launched a new integrated resort development project, with the first guesthouse islands located in Lamu Atoll in the northern part of the Maldives. The goal is to provide 2,100 new hotel beds by 2017, which is good news for travelers on a budget and those looking for a deeper cultural experience.
13. SURF’S UP
It’s all about reef breaks here, most notably Male Atoll, which can get a little crowded. The most recent 2014 Asian Surfing Championships were held close to four seasons at Sultan’s Point, and the inaugural Maldives Open 2014 was held from September 3 to 7 at Lohis Point, a long, stable stretch near the Hudhuran Fushi Resort in Adalan left-handed. Take a surf tour at your resort or on a boat. Luxury surf safari company Tropic Surf has set up a surf shack at its new Maalifushi by COMO resort in the relatively undeveloped Thaa Atoll, deep in the country’s southwest. It ranks the farm as the most popular resting place in the area, but new ones are still being discovered (tropicsurf.net). Peak surfing runs from May to October, starting earlier in the southernmost atolls.
14. Descend
There are thousands of species of fish here, and diving in the Maldives is well known. The diving season lasts from January to April, with clear waters, little wind and visibility up to 30 meters, but very good all year round. Expect everything: steep drops, caves, shipwrecks, reefs, straits, soft and hard corals. Divers from theperfectdive.com.au say North Ari Atoll and South Ari Atoll are in the spotlight for their manta rays and whale shark activity, while quieter Lamu Atoll is emerging as a new preferred location.
15. Fast food
Sit down with a local for a Maldivian snack. While super spicy tuna curry tops the menu, the cafe offers quick meals or snacks to get you through the afternoon slump. Order maas roshi (small tuna and coconut patties) and kaashi bokibaa (coconut, rose water and palm sugar balls).
16. Go Online
Maldivians definitely fish before they can walk. Net fishing is illegal even for commercial activity: locals use pole and line fishing, as they have done for centuries, to catch only one fish at a time. There is no doubt that they bring fish in quickly, and are sustainable, with no environmental damage from trawling. You can chase the big game on a liveaboard or on marked and posted fishing trips through your resort.
17. Dolphin Watching
One of the greatest pleasures of the Maldives is its little spinner dolphins. They’re named for their antics: In the late afternoon, as they step out of the lagoon and into the deep ocean to hunt, the dolphins will jump into the air and spin, just for sheer pleasure, it will show up. They will happily follow your boat, but don’t follow orders.
18. Style files
The Maldives has its own laid-back tropical vibe. A chic dining room, open-air lobby, overhead thatched roof and the swish of an overhead fan draw white curtains over your rustic wooden four-poster bed, and you can look forward to sandy floors. The color scheme is turquoise lagoons, white sands, pale blue skies and yellows for a big sun and a lemon curl in a martini glass.
19. The Big Five
Discover the Maldives’ Big Five: manta and eagle rays, turtles, dolphins and sharks, including whale sharks. The list of protected species includes sea turtles, large clams, whale sharks and conch shells. Endangered marine species such as whale sharks, turtles, dolphins and corals are protected by law.
20. Say it easy
Does your ticket send you to Kadhdhoo Kaadedhdhoo or Kadhdhoo Kooddoo? The language of the Maldives is Dhivehi, a mixture of Arabic, Urdu and Sri Lankan Sinhala, with a script called Thanna. To the untrained eye, the alphabet might even resemble a series of punctuation marks. That’s all you need: “fushi” means “island” and “Hingadhaan!” means “let’s go!”
The author is a guest of Como Hotels & Resorts and Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.
