Zubzz In Maldives!
MALDIVES!
Name a better way to start the year!
Maldives is a “country” consisting of a chain of coral Islands in the Indian Ocean.
I can’t give specific details on the departure from Ghana because my departure and arrival were from and to Germany but there are some basics that cut across. Ghanaians don’t need a visa, but you will need to fill out a health declaration form to get your visa on arrival.
We’re travelling in COVID times, so currently these are their requirements:
All arriving and departing passengers via airports and seaports are required to complete the Traveler Health Declaration form within 48 hours, prior to the departure. Find it here. (You need to fill it before you get to Maldives and before you leave Maldives, so you’re filling the form twice. Very important, don’t forget)
All travelers should hold a valid negative PCR test result with a sample taken at most 96 hours prior to the first port of embarkation, en-route to the Maldives. Children below the age of 1 (one) year are exempted.
All passengers EXCEPT those arriving on tourist visa must do a COVID-19 PCR test between the 3rd and 5th day of their arrival in the Maldives, effective 27th December 2021, until further notice from the Health Protection Agency of the Maldives.
The Traveler Health Declaration collects your contact details in the Maldives, flight details, COVID-19 vaccination information, quarantine requirements and your health status.
Tourists are currently exempt from the quarantine mandate.
So here’s the thing. Even though I was given the option to have my vaccination card or a PCR test for my return flight (I received an email from the airline stating that), I was asked for both and I would have been denied boarding if I didn’t have them. So please don’t cut corners, have both.
Their currency is the Maldivian Rufiyaa (1000MVR = ¢390±), but the resorts and hotels charge in dollars.
The immigration queues are LONG! That applies to both arrival and departure so please get to the airport for departure early. I’m not kidding, it took me 1 hour and 26 minutes to get to the front of the line.
There is supposed to be wifi at the airport, where you input you number and get a code but guess whose code never came, even after multiple tries. There’s no free wifi anywhere else, and for some reason my roaming data wouldn’t work, so the only thing to do was go upstairs, order food ($15!) and use their wifi.
Also, their airport isn’t very clean, and the bathrooms are a little gross. Use the bathroom before you leave your hotel or wait till you’re inside the departure area.
On arrival, when you’re done with immigration you need to find your hotel/resort’s stall and sort out your transportation.
The international airport is in Male, which has some nice and very affordable hotels but if you really and truly want to experience Maldives, you’ll need to go to the other islands - thats where the beautiful beaches are. Transportation there is either via sea plane which takes 15 minutes or speed boat which takes 45. My resort charged $150 for speedboat transfer and $400 for seaplane, and obviously I went with the speedboat. The rates are per person, and apparently those are the general prices (a little more or less depending on where you’re going) across resorts/hotels. Let me just say, depending on which resort you’re going to the ride can be very long, so if you can afford it, get the sea plane. I tried to switch after the first trip but it wasn’t possible.
Okay enough with the general info! Lets talk about MY trip!
I stayed at Summer Island Maldives, a 4 star resort in North Male Atoll. The right word would be serene - It was completely booked but so quiet. The entire resort is spread out across the isalnd, which makes the walking distance between facilities (like restaurant to room) a bit long, especially if you get a room at the back but look at it as good exercise.
My flight from Vienna (I transited through Austria) landed at 8:00am Maldives time (3am Gh time. They are 5 hours ahead). Immigration + flight time combined, I got there a little after 11:00am and I was more than a little bummed they wouldn’t let me check in early because I was super sleepy. I ended up hanging out at the bar while I waited so it wasn’t so bad.
I finally got to check in around 2:00pm and the room was LOVELY!
There are 7 accommodation types here:
Garden Room - $336 half board, $338 full board
Superior Beach - $336 half board, $338 full board
Superior Vista - $471 half board, $511 full board
Superior Bungalow - $336 half board, $376 full board
Premium Beach Villa - $461 half board, $501 full board
Water Villa - $536 half board, $576 full board
The Summer House - $1604 half board, $1644 full board
and I got a water villa, a room built literally over water. It was absolutely worth the price! From the glass “window” in the ground that let me see the fishes underneath me to the beautiful beautiful clear blue ocean right outside my door, everything was perfect. Even the bathtub came with a view. From my room I got a very clear view of the horizon where two seas seem to meet and not mix (you can see the colour differences very clearly).
The room came with a coffee maker, 2 complimentary bottles of water. Now I don’t know if you people remember from my Ahanta blog but I like my water processed (don’t lecture me) but according to the tags on the bottles, this was fresh water bottled at the resort.
*There is a green tax to be paid of $6 per night in addition to your room
I’m always a little nervous about food when I’m going into different territories, reason being the taste preferences tend to REALLY differ sometimes. For example some countries use certain spices in all their meals, some make rice extra soft, some dont use pepper as a base etc.
I was so relieved by how GOOD this was. All my meals tasted for lack of a better word, normal. The
usual amount of salt and pepper, spicy when it should be, sweet when it should be.
I got a half board package, which meant my room came with breakfast & dinner. I wish they had mentioned earlier, but for packages, you can not take the food to your room, you need to eat in the restaurant (where the food is set up buffet style). I ended up using just two of my package meals because I really didn’t want to be outside.
Everything is charged in dollars here, so the food is relatively expensive, but all the prices were Ghana Standard (Zero shade, but the realisation that we’re paying the same prices to eat in Ghana as you’ll pay to eat in Maldives made me laugh).
I got the
Sunrise Breakfast (cereal, juice, pastries, bread, a hash brown & eggs) - $20
Eggs Benedict - $14.
Seafood Platter - 60
Wine (a bottle) - $55
Lamb chops - $27
Everything was DELICIOUS. The Lamb was a little hard, but the flavour was amazing.
I had the dinner buffet the night before I left and I wasn’t really a fan of the fried rice and the sushi. Also, there were no options for main meat options which surprised me. Everything else was very nice and the panna cotta was the best I have EVER had.
A breakfast buffet was set up for those of us who had to leave early in the morning and honestly, I wasn’t impressed. The options available were very limited.
There are a number of activities available, mostly centred around water sports like fishing, diving courses, kayaking etc.
You can also go on an excursion around the island or get a massage at the spa.
Travel time from Accra to their airport is around 11 hours and flights from Accra are EXPENSIVE ,the cheapest I’ve seen is around ¢10,500 for an economy ticket (It is an expensive holiday, but not unaffordable. Do your research and you’ll definitely find a package within your budget)
Go with dollars, because they a. wont accept cedi and b. change euro at a pretty bad rate. If you’re going alone, get a book or your laptop for the night time because there’s zero to do between 7pm-6:00am. Also, it’s very safe, or at least it was at my resort. Also it gets really dark fast, and pretty eerie when it is. It’s literally pitch black. The walk from my room to the reception at 5am the day I was leaving is one I’m glad no one saw.
Last thing! Most (if not all) resorts are on their own islands, so movement from place to place isnt really a thing. You’ll have to hire a speedboat to get to the next resort, and they may refuse you entry if you’re not a guest.
Generally it’s a super romantic, very relaxing holiday destination. I had a good time solo b/c I currently (subject to change) prefer traveling alone but I don’t doubt it might have been a little more fun with a group or a partner.
DEFINITELY worth the money.