World TravellerGuide to travelling the world

A luxury holiday in the Maldives is a glance at paradise! Imagine swimming and snorkeling in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, sparkling white sand, sunbathing in the warmest of sunshines, lots of water sports, many historical and cultural places to visit, and being pampered at the spa facilities in one of the 87 luxury resorts. Because the Maldives has some of the world’s best scuba diving, you can explore the coral reef islands and swim among the fish, turtles, and other sea life.

Other water sports include popular catamaran sailing, jet skiing, kite and wind surfing, and many more. Some resorts will take guests for night fishing at special locations where they can catch their own fish, take it/them back to the resort, and have chefs prepare and serve their dinner!

The Republic of Maldives is comprised of 1,190 small islands southwest of India and Sri Lanka. Only 200 of the islands are populated, and one-third of the country’s people live in the capital, Male, which was once a walled city with the Royal Palace inside. Male has its own international airport, and from there you can be transported to your island destination by water tax, speedboat, or seaplane.

There are festivals and native shows through the year which can be booked through your resort. You can take a seaplane flight and take spectacular pictures as reminders of your trip. Island hopping half-day or full-day excursions will take you to isolated islands where you can have a barbeque and do some swimming or snorkeling or just laze on the beach.

Snorkeling at a resort such as the Banyan Tree and others is an experience which is most unusual with guests being shown amazing sights at the coral reefs including giant moray eels, turtles, sharks, fish, octopus, and more. Night snorkeling brings out additional sights such as shrimp and lobsters. Snorkel safaris are also offered to reefs nearby to give you a larger area to dive in.

Consider doing the Whale Submarine adventure where you take a ten-minute ferry trip to a submarine that seats approximately 50 people. The seats face large portholes for superb viewing. The sub goes down about 100 feet for 30 to 40 minutes and, luckily, there is no sense of motion.

Time spent in Male gives a chance to see such attractions as the National Museum located in Sultan Park. The park itself is small but relaxing with its variety of tropical flowers and plants as well as bird and animal species.

The National Museum is not large, but its collections of historical artifacts, textiles, royal antiquities including thrones, and especially a coral head of the Lord Buddha make it well worth making this a “must see” part of your historical viewing.

For dining you can choose from everything from an all inclusive package at your resort to experiencing the many exotic restaurants, coffee shops, and quaint tea shops.

A Maldives holiday is perfect for a honeymoon, a special anniversary, and also for singles and families.