Story and photos by Dan and Daphne Ciufo (unless otherwise noted)
When one thinks of The Maldives, the first question is usually, “Where is that?” Which is what I said when my wife told me we were booking a dive trip to The Maldives. About an hour flight south from India, and 3 hours east from Dubai, the Maldives is an archipelago of 1,192 small islands, most of which are tiny atolls in the Indian Ocean that conjure images of a tropical paradise fusing Indian, Sri Lankan, Arab, Persian and some African cultures.
Water Play or Beach Play?
PLAYING in the Maldives revolves around all things water, with scuba diving being the crown jewel. As a series of small atolls, many of which are small enough to be circumnavigated in 15 minutes, there are obviously copious beautiful beaching opportunities, if that’s your thing. The sand tends towards the fine powdery gold variety. Many atolls consist exclusively of a single resort and are surrounded by “house reefs” and protective features which help the shallower water present an almost unspeakably clear aqua-green color, while farther out the deeper blues are gorgeous and still relatively clear for diving.
As a diving and snorkeling destination, playing in the Maldives is primo! There is a plethora of good coral and the beautiful, diverse sea life is highlighted by an abundance of Sting Rays, Eagle Rays and Chevy Impala-sized Manta Rays. Sharks are abundant as well, primarily Nurse, Reef, and Guitar varieties. I can’t directly address dive costs here as we chose to play on a dive boat for 8 days. The trip was organized by Aloha Divers out of Okinawa, Japan, a top-notch dive operation with amazingly skilled dive masters and beautiful trips both in Okinawa and many other destinations. You can learn more about them at www.alohadiversokinawa.com. There are many live-aboard dive options in Maldives, but Aloha used Fun Azul Fleet (www.fun-azulfleet.net/areaguide/382) whose staff was safe, friendly, and exceedingly competent. And it’s not just for divers-I’m a lowly snorkeler and still swam with sharks, mantas and thousands of other little fishees. So, if you’re a diver, a live-aboard is going to be your ticket to happiness.
A pretty common arrangement is a live-aboard boat with multiple sleeping cabins accompanied by a “Dhoni” boat (the actual dive boat) which goes out daily for two to four dives. The Fun Azul was not high luxury but was very comfortable and the buffet style south Asian food was excellent-every single meal. But if you’re a land lubber like me, there are other Maldivian treats that will float your boat.
Dream Stays
If your idea of play is the ultimate “boring” beach chill then the Maldives is your huckleberry! For your STAY, there are nice hotels on Male’, the main small island of about 250,000 people, but the quintessential Maldivian experience is to be had by staying at one of the many luxury atoll resorts that range from three to five stars with the expected commensurate pricing. For middle of the road pricing and convenience to the main island, we enjoyed Kurumba Maldives, the first resort built in the Maldives and a short 15-miinute speed boat ride directly from the airport. There is an array of rooms, all of which have excellent beach access plus the typical resort amenities like the gym, spa, and numerous excellent restaurants of international cuisine, Middle Eastern, Thai and Indian. We feasted well at the latter two.
For higher end Maldivian “stay” experiences, the gold medal goes to the huts or bungalows over the water. Many resorts have an array of room options which include beach access, beach access with pool, or “over water bungalows”. Go for it! Think Fiji or Bora Bora. This experience is worth a splurge if you can do it-it’s only your children’s inheritance anyway. We chose the Anantara Veli and it did not disappoint. This being one of my wife’s lifetime dreams and since we were celebrating our anniversary, the over-water bungalow was well worth the outlay.
The Anantara Veli is a beautiful, clean, aqua-green water, adult-only 5-star paradise. There are villa options for beach front or over the water and several board-inclusive offerings. The dining is first-rate and not cheap if you go without a dining package. By upgrading to direct water access for our bungalow, the resort automatically upgrades to a third daily meal and provides a butler. The personal service and food were, I think, as good as we’ll ever have and you can ask for help for any of their luxury properties directly from our friend, Fathi there at www.anantara.com/en/veli-maldives.
For Your Eating Pleasure in The Maldives
EATING is a consistent pleasure in the resorts and fusing Indian and native Maldivian spices and dishes resulted in extremely tasty curries, vegetable stews, seafood and Middle Eastern fare. The signature curry in the Maldives is fish curry, often with tuna. It’s presented almost as a soup, while nearly all meals will find some rice somewhere present.
Other highlights for us included Mas Huni, a minced tuna with onion, coconut and spices that worked perfectly on the Roshi bread, sort of a tortilla affair but of rice or coconut. These are eaten for breakfast, which is nearly all savory offerings. Resorts typically have several culinary options, with some included board, and additional extra-pay restaurants that are higher end. Both our locations had a couple included restaurants that were of excellent quality. Often the more exclusive ones, besides being an expensive add-on, do have ambiance or design features that are special like Hibachi or over the water dining, etc.
The food game at Kurumba Maldives, the Fun Azul boat, then the Anantara Veli was strong-every meal was both excellent in quality and copious in volume. The buffet at the Veli was eye watering in scope and included regional offerings from India, the Mediterranean and the West. What we missed on this trip was the local “mom and pop” restaurants-there are fast food and some local options, but those are primarily in Male’ city where most tourists pass through and don’t spend much time. For those who need a familiar fix, the small airport has your old faithful KFC and Pizza Hut, and surprisingly a Dairy Queen if you want to travel all the way around the world for that Blizzard! This was an inaugural resort experience for us since we usually find a good Motel 4, but we’re definitely spoiled. We went into our first 5-Star feeling like guilty kids and left feeling like royalty!
We divided our trip in three chapters; first was the jet lag adjustment period for a couple days at the mid-priced but still very nice Kurumba Maldives. Second was the active part of the trip, the 8-day dive boat. We finished with three days of a dreamy and pampered stay at the higher-end Anantara Veli. My innate sense of delayed gratification normally insists I try to save the nicest treats for last. If you’re looking for a vacation focused on the ocean, luxury resorts, water activities, outstanding and interesting food and people, you will have a hard time beating the Maldives!
Read more about Dan and Daphne’s adventures in South-Central Japan, Tokyo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Western Balkans, and Yellowstone and Grand Tetons.
Great articles!!
Thanks. Dan and Daphne tell great stories and the underwater photos are very cool!