Maldives - Essential
Holiday Information and Facts :
General ...
About, 400 miles
South West of Sri-Lanka lie the Maldives, an independent republic of almost
2,000 tiny coral islands, scattered across the translucent azure waters of
the Indian Ocean. Only about 200 of these islands are inhabited. Simple
fishing villages and others are developed into resort islands. The inner
land is flushed with tall coconut palms and other woody trees.
It's outlined with
un-spoilt gleaming white beaches then the crystal-clear lagoon and then
again surrounded with growing multiple colored coral reef, which is home for
the matching colored fishes. A heaven for the water-sports enthusiasts and
as well as the sun-seekers. It is illegal to take out of the sea in the
Maldives, either living coral or souvenirs from wrecks, it is also illegal
to remove shells from the islands or to purchase any items made from
turtles.
Local electricity in
resorts and Male' is AC 220-230 V.
Maldives
as a holiday destination,
gives a brief description of the Maldives and the resorts; their location,
suitability and vivid descriptions of few resorts. This document will fetch
a through knowledge on geographical distribution of the resorts and will
give the reader an understanding of how Maldives is different from other
holiday destination.
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Arrival ...
On arrival at Male'
International Airport, a representative from the resort or from us will be thier to
welcome you. You may have to wait till all other guests, going to the same
resort, check-out before you leave to the resort.
Guests flying to the
resort will take a 5 minute ride on a bus to check-in terminal and guests
going by sea will take only a 3 minute walk to the jetty.
Meals ...
Unless otherwise
mentioned meals mostly are provided on buffet, which means there is little
or no choice but you can enjoy a variety of seafood in Eastern and western
style. Beach barbeques are very frequent and you can enjoy fresh fish caught
the same evening.
Accommodation ...
Accommodation in
standard rooms are neat and clean with plain furnishing. Deluxe and water
bungalows are air-conditioned and elegantly furnished. All rooms are
forefront to the sea with private balconies and at a few resorts, a couple
of rooms are built in two storey blocks.
Entertainment ...
Entertainment is
very much limited but many water sports are available in all most all the
resorts unless there is rare case of very bad whether. Resorts near capital
Male' have live bands in the evenings and most of the others have Discos.
Water sports include swimming, diving, snorkeling, surfing, wind surfing,
sailing, catamaran, fishing (popping) etc...
Heath and
Vaccination ...
Vaccination is
recommended for protection against hepatitis A, polio and typhoid - please
check with your doctor. Click here to visit Ministry of health home page.
Ramadan - fasting
month ...
Maldives is a Muslim
country, hence all Maldivian staff on the islands mark the Month of Ramadan
every year. No service available at the resorts will be interrupted because of this.
Drinks ...
Almost all the
canned drinks and liquors are imported and drinks are a little more
expensive. Even-though Maldives is a Muslim nation and alcoholic drinks are
available on resort islands. However, no alcohol may be taken into the
country. Tourists are required to store any alcoholic drinks with the
customs on arrival and they can collect these items on thier departure.
Money ...
We would advice you
to have some US dollar cash handy in small denominations for tipping porters
on arrival. In most of the islands' you are asked to sign for all extras
during your stay and to settle you bills prior to departure. Credit cards
accepted are VISA, Master Card, AMEX, Diners and JCB. ( resort information
contains the types of cards they accept.)
Tax ...
The govermernt bed tax of US$ 8.00 is also levied per person per
night and at most times this is tax is included in the room rate.
Water ...
Most resort islands
have desalination plants to filter 'island water' while others offer fresh
water (rainwater). During periods of heavy demand or low rainfall, water
supplies may be restricted on few islands, all though 'island water' is
always adequate for washing and showers. Most islands offer heated water.
On live-aboard vessels
fresh water is available at baths and toilets and for drinking you'll get
bottled mineral water.
Communication ...
All resorts and inhabited islands have local and IDD telephones. Most resorts do have telephone access from the room or from the reception area. GSM mobile access is available througout Maldives and are providied by Dhiraagu and Wataniya. Please make sure that your service provider has roaming agreements with any of these providers and visit their websites to find which areas are covered.
A few resorts offer internet access from the room while others have small cyber-cafe's. Some resorts and hotels also offer Wi-Fi access. On the capital island there are a few cafe's which offer Wi-Fi access and cyber-cafe's are located very near to the arrival jetty and shopping areas.
Transfer to resorts,
live-aboards, night transfers ...
Most of the transfer
to near by islands are by speed boat or locally built boats (8-9 miles per
hour). Please note that timings and resort descriptions are estimates and
may vary depending on sea and weather conditions.
To resorts located in
Ari atoll or any other atoll the transfer is by seaplane, helicopter or
speed boat. The transfer to Ari atoll resorts may take from 20 to 45 minutes
by air and longer with speed boat.
The seas inside the
atolls are mostly calm unless if it is a rainy season, which is mostly
during May and June.
Over-night hotels
A wide range of hotels are available for over-night stays. Click here to view a list of options available.
Take note
that there are no transfers for resorts further away from the airport. You
should check with your resort if they have night transfers if you coming or
leaving by an evening flight. You can use the only airport hotel, Hulhule Island Hotel or any other hotel on the capital
for your over-night stay. The airport hotel is just 3 minutes ride from the
arrival terminal while you can reach a hotel in Male' by 10 minutes ferry
boat ride and than 5-10 minutes by taxi or van. There are shuttle ferry
boats every 15 minutes between the airport and the capital Male' and it cost
Rf 10 (approx. USD 1.00) per person.
Diving ...
-
A medical
certificate of physical fitness is required for all those taking a diving
package.
- Qualified divers
must bring their log book and copies of diving certificates.
- As diving is not
usually covered by holiday insurance policies, we strongly advice that you
that you check and if
necessary take out the extra cover.
- One should not dive
within 24 hours of arrival or departure.
- Minimum age is 12
years.
- Tank and weights
only - means you must take you own regulator and stab jacket.
- It is recommended
that divers bring their own mask and snorkel.
- Diving may be
booked at the time of booking or after arrival at the resort.
Snorkeling ...
All most every
island has it's own house reef. The resorts also arrange trips to near by
reefs and un-inhabited island near by. The guests on live-aboard can snorkel
at any spot they anchor - they normally anchor at secure reefs on fishing
villages and deserted islands. It is recommended that divers bring their own
mask, snorkel and fins.
Updated:
September 16, 2006
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