Trip Planning for the Maldives

Postcard perfect Maldives is not just for honeymooners. With advanced trip planning for the Maldives, this beautiful island nation is a great family destination for those seeking adventure and relaxation. 

Dreaming about the Maldives? I don’t blame you. The Maldives has been on my bucket list for a long time. Think Maldives is only for honeymooners? Think again. Yes, there are adults-only resorts all around this gorgeous island nation, but families are well catered for at many resorts. With some research and trip planning for the Maldives, you can make your Maldivian holiday a dream come true.

When to Go to the Maldives

Located near the equator, the Maldives is a year-round destination with tropical sunshine and temperatures around 25-30°C. The best time to visit the Maldives is during the dry season. From December to April, there is little rain, low humidity, and endless sunshine. Dry season also coincides with the peak season (Christmas, New Years, and Easter holidays) where resorts operate near full capacity. As such, it is the most expensive time to visit the Maldives. If you don’t mind the occasional tropical rain and cloudbursts, trip planning for the Maldives for the months between May and November may be a better option.

For 10 days straight, it was 32C high and 25C low with glorious sunny skies every day with no rain. The weather was perfect for long leisurely days sunbathing poolside or on the beach with a cocktail in hand. With minimal clouds, the sunsets were amazing with the sky ablaze with orange before turning to a gorgeous canvas of purple-pink skies. Likewise, the water visibility was excellent for snorkelling and diving. 

We would have been happy to travel to the Maldives outside of peak season. However, our BA Amex 2-4-1 companion voucher requires us to complete the round trip journey before mid-March. It was a no-brainer for us to travel in March for some guaranteed winter sunshine. Plus with our daughter starting reception in September, this was our last opportunity to travel outside the school term. Moving forward, all of our future travel plans will be around her school calendar. So we booked our tickets and started some serious trip planning for the Maldives.

Getting to the Maldives

If you are trip planning for the Maldives, it pays to book your air tickets well in advance. During the peak season (November and March) British Airways flies direct to the Maldives (10 hours) three times a week. Otherwise, you can fly indirect via one of the hubs in the Middle East such as Doha via Qatar Airways; Dubai via Emirates Airlines; or Abu Dhabi via Etihad Airways. Some travellers even fly via Colombo on SriLankan Airlines. 

We were lucky to snag three seats on British Airways using the BA companion vouchers in March, paying only taxes on our direct LHR – MLE tickets. The outbound leg was an overnight flight which we prefer as it allows all of us to sleep. The return journey however was a day flight departing at 11:45am. 

That said, taking an indirect flight with a stopover in Dubai or Doha has its advantages. It is a great way to break up the trip and visit another country. Personally, I would take this option if I was feeling anxious about flying long-haul with small children. In fact, many young families at our resort spent a few days in Dubai before taking the four-hour journey over to Male. It’s a very sensible decision. Otherwise, the door-to-door, from home to resort, can be very long, up to 20 hours of transit time. Travelling long-haul for adults is hard enough, let alone for little children. But the journey to the beautiful Maldives was well-worth it and can be stress-free with some pre-planning and preparation.

Seaplane Transfer to your Resort

Another big aspect of trip planning for the Maldives is your final transfer to your resort. If you pick a resort outside of the North Male or South Male Atolls, you’ll most likely take a seaplane. Further afield in far flung atolls such as Laamu or Gaafu Alifu, a domestic flight plus speed boat transfer is necessary. 

All modes of inter-island transfers are organised by your resort. Seaplane transfer operates like a “shuttle” with multiple stops to drop off / pick up passengers along the same route. With no schedule timetable, TMA consolidates the route based on number of passengers and final island destination.  This means you’ll likely have to wait for other passengers before take off on your 15 seater DHC-6-300 seaplane. Note that seaplanes only operate during daylight hours. If you land after 3:30pm, you’ll likely spend the night in Male and take a seaplane out the next day.  Seaplane tickets are booked directly by your resort and charged to your final hotel bill of approximately $400-$600 per person return. 

A resort representative will greet you at the airport and arrange for a shuttle to the seaplane terminal which is a short 5 minute drive away. You’ll leave all your luggage with the seaplane operator at Male Airport and won’t be seeing them again until your seaplane lands at your resort. Therefore, carry all your essential items including a change of clothes in your backpack. Guests can then relax with refreshments at the seaplane lounge whilst watching the seaplane take off on the turquoise water. 

For our seaplane journey, we landed on BA0061 at 9:45am and were on the 12:45pm seaplane with a total of eight passengers and two stops in the Raa Atoll. Some top tips to make you seaplane journey more comfortable:

• Change into some lightweight summer clothes before boarding your seaplane. On the flight it is hot and stuffy without any air-conditioning.
• TMA will provide you some earplugs. However, if you are travelling with young children you may wish to bring specialised kids earplugs or ear defenders as the aircraft is very noisy. 
• Bring some anti-nausea medicine just in case you get motion sickness. I’d recommend taking them right before departure in case the flight is bumpy or the waves are unsettling when the seaplane idles on the water.
• Take the first row if you want to be close to the pilots, but don’t be surprised if you find the pilots completely barefoot whilst operating the seaplanes. 
• Last, have your cameras ready. The seaplanes do not fly very high so it’s a birds eye view over the Indian Ocean. Be ready for magical views of the spectacular atolls with varying shades of blue of water. Sit back and enjoy the ride!

Packing Tips for the Maldives

As for as trip planning for the Maldives is concerned, you’ll want to take extra time in packing all your necessary sun care items and personal toiletries. Once on the resort, there are no convenience shops where you can pick up miscellaneous items. The resort will have a small shop, but it is fairly pricey and stock is small. Therefore, plan and be prepared for every possibility. Here are my top tips for a stress-free tropical  holiday. 

• High SPF sun cream: The tropical sun is intense in the Maldives. I highly recommend bringing plenty of 30+ SPF sun cream. For young children, bring waterproof 50+ SPF to prevent sun burns. For our 10 day trip, we barely survived with 3 x 200ml (i.e. 1 bottle per person) sun cream plus an emergency travel bottle. In sum, bring more suncream than you think, especially if you burn easily. I also recommend bringing SPF lip balm to protect your lips.
• Pure 100% Aloe Vera: This cooling green succulent plant is the gold standard when it comes to sun burns. Not only does aloe vera reduce the red inflammation and pain, but it also stimulates collagen production and moisturises to help the skin recover. In short, never leave for a beach trip without aloe vera. 
• Sudosalve: Sure we’re out of nappies, but I still find myself buying Sudosalve for other reasons. With so much time spent on the beach or pool, rashes and chafing will happen for both kids and adults. It is not as messy as Sudocrem, but just as effective to help soothe and heal heat rashes and  inflamed skin with its antiseptic and antibacterial properties. A must for all water-based activities. 
• First Aid Kit / Medication: Since becoming a parent, I am always careful to pack every medication I might need for a trip. I take everything from Calphol, aspirin, diarrhoea and rehydration medicine, hayfever pills, and cold/flu medicine. I’d rather be prepared than get caught out in case of an emergency. In my sundry bag, there are also plasters, tweezers, earbuds, cotton wool, antibacterial gel and nail clippers. Yes those tweezers come in handy for little annoyances like splinters. 
• Mosquito Repellant: I took some with me, but we did not use mosquito repellant  once in the Maldives. We also took a variety of essential oils such as lavender, citronella and eucalyptus to mix in a mini spray bottle. Again we didn’t need it on our trip. I believe most upscale luxury resorts fog the island regularly so it is nearly free of mosquitos. 
• Sunglasses and Sun hats: Stylish sunnies aren’t just accessories, they are a necessity in the Maldives. The beach is so blinding white that it makes you squint. Snow blindness or photokeratitis can happen not only in the snow, but also on tropical white beaches where the surface of your eyes are sensitive to UV rays. Be sure everyone is looking cool and stylish with sunglasses at all times to protect their eyes. And let’s not forget about the sun hats too! 
• Swim wear / Beach Cover Ups/ Swim Trunks: Of course, this is a no brainer! You’ll be spending all day every day in the ocean or at the pool.  Therefore, bring enough swimwear for the duration of  holiday. For the children, I would recommend at least one set per day, plus some extras for unforeseen accidents. For extra comfort, I always change my daughter out of her swimsuit when we’re not in the water. This is to prevent rashes, but also for practical reasons such as ease of using the bathrooms. Long-sleeve UV rash guards for kids and adults are also excellent for beach time or snorkelling. If you don’t want a big laundry bill, I recommend washing your swim suits nightly and let them air dry. 
• Lightweight Summer Clothes and Sandals: Yes, another no brainer.  It is perfectly acceptable to wear beach attire during lunch and even at breakfast. Many people go snorkelling or for a morning swim in the turquoise sea before breakfast, before retreating to the pool for the rest of the day. By evening, everyone changes out of swimwear for more relaxed casual attire. Think lightweight linen shirts for men and summer dresses or rompers for the ladies.
• Full face snorkel mask, Inflatables and Sand Toys: For endless hours of summer fun, don’t forget to pack a few inflatables especially armbands and donuts. They are cheap, lightweight and take up no space in your luggage. Whilst most resorts will provide complimentary use of snorkels and fins, we bought our full face snorkel masks. It took up some luggage space but was worth it for a more comfortable snorkelling experience.

Money Matters and Tipping

The official currency in the Maldives is the Maldivan rufiyaa (Rf), but chances are you will not need rufiyaas. If you are staying at a resort, you don’t need to carry your wallet around or even bring cash. Everything is charged to your room and you can settle your bill (in US dollars) at the end of your stay with a major credit card. 

That said, you may wish to bring US dollars in small denominations for tipping purposes. Generally tipping and gratuity of 10-12% is added to your bill. Leaving a tip for room staff and resort staff for excellent service is good form, but it is totally discretionary. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort with service charges included. We gave a small tip to resort staff who went out of our way to look after us during our stay. Here’s how to allocate tips if this is helpful. 

• For the room cleaner who came twice a day to keep our room tidy and free of sand, we tipped $1-$2 per day at the end of our stay. 
• For wait staff, this was tricky as there are so many people from the front of house to the kitchen staff and people behind the scenes. We allocated $5-$10 per meal per day  and tipped each staff individually at the end of our stay. 
• For the staff at the kids club who looked after our daughter so we can have some leisurely adult time. At times, our daughter was the only child at the kids club and they absolutely spoiled her. We also tipped the ladies $10 – $20.
• For the massage sessions, we gave a tip to the masseuse after each session, except for the complimentary 45 minute massage. 
• For other staff such as gardeners and kitchen workers, we left a discretionary general tip in an envelope at the reception desk for them to distribute amongst the team. 

Again, tipping is at your discretionary. It is not necessary, but appreciated by the staff. As an American, I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t leave a tip especially as the staff are so friendly and go the extra mile to ensure our comfort and safety. 

Respecting the Local Custom and Local Environment 

The Maldives is a Muslim country. Therefore it is important to abide by local rules. Tourists are prohibited from carry alcohol, pork products, and pornography into the country. That said, alcohol and pork products are available on resort islands under special license. 

Whilst it is tempting to take the powder white sand, seashells, and corals home in your luggage. This is strictly illegal in order to protect the fragile ecosystem in the Maldives. The seashells, especially conch shells, are used by hermit crabs which are vital in controlling sand fly population. Likewise, dead corals eventually break down and turn into powdery white sand that the Maldives is famous for. 

Picking a Resort in the Maldives

The one topic I haven’t touched upon is how to pick a resort. Believe me, there are so many choices ranging from standard luxury to ultra luxury. It can be a minefield. In the next post, I’ll share with you how I approached picking a resort and later a review of our resort. 

Until then, happy spring and happy trip planning for the Maldives!