Post by missq on Apr 30, 2016 13:00:28 GMT 8
I would like to share about Maldives, as we all know is a perfect romantic spot for honeymoon.
Male (pronounce ma-leh) is the capital of Maldives, where is where you will be landing before you can hop on to the other islands
Arrival at Male
As I reached Male at around 1030pm local time, there isn’t any transport to Fihalhohi till the next morning (see under timing of ferry/speed boat). I have arranged in advance to spend the night at a hotel near the airport. There are quite a no. of inns and hotel in the area, so you should not have any problem booking one in advance. You might want to arrange with the hotel in advance as well for airport transfer, which cost 10 USD one-way per person. As it is just a sleepover, we chose a normal hotel at approx 65 USD a night. We headed to the airport the next morning at 830am as the previous correspondence with the Fihalhohi representative was to meet him at 845am. However, we only boarded the speed boat at 10am, as they have consolidated guests from several flights with the latest one landing at only 930am. Honestly, there was some displeasure with the waiting as there isn’t much to do at the airport. To save some time waiting at the airport where instead you could catch more sleep, you might want to check with the representative what is the actual time the boat will depart.
Fihalhohi
A really beautiful island that you should check out if you are visiting Maldives for the first time, or even if you have visited Maldives but not yet been to the island. I would really recommend you to try out their water bungalow which is simply amazing. At 750 USD per night, the price may be a little steep but well worth it. There are house reefs just right below your balcony, where you can jump right down. Fihalhohi fits the image of Maldives as you have imagined or see on photos or pictures. Endless white sands and clear waters with different shades of blue like a huge bowl of sapphires shimmering under the sun.
The snorkel and fins are available for rent at just 5 USD per item per day. A myriad of water life within the beautiful reefs makes you want to dive in time after time. I even caught side of a small shark at the shallow waters!
Buffet breakfast and dinner are provided daily (I stayed in the water bungalow but I believe it is also available for other room types). You could have a full board at an additional 40 USD, which includes a buffet lunch and unlimited drinks. In my opinion, this is not really value for money but each to its own. After your dinner, look up at the sky now void of sunlight but littered with countless shimmering stars. Now if you are staying at the bungalow, head to your balcony and switch off all the outdoor lights of your balcony. Breathtaking would be an understatement. This area would be the best view for the stars as the other areas on the island are still well litted or full of coconut trees that block your view. Even if you are on a budget, do still go towards the water bungalow area. You would still be able to enjoy your stargazing at the platform or the beach.
Mafuushi
We headed to Mafuushi after spending a few days at Fihalhohi. If you are heading towards a resort island first then to Mafuushi like us, you might be disappointed. Unlike Fihalhohi which looks like a paradise, Mafuushi is more of a small town, with lots of houses and new buildings that are undergoing construction. However, this is where you can mingle with the locals and have a true experience of their daily life. The island isn’t big as well and you can jolly well cover the whole island in less than a day, if not for the unforgiving sun and heat that will force you to run for shade.
There are plenty of activities that can be done around Mafuushi, do check out sand bank (sexy breach), banana reef, turtle reef and picnic beach. I would like to highlight Picnic beach, which is really a very nice island to visit. A small chat with the local reveals that it used to be an island resort but was hit with the tsunami. Thankfully, there were no casualty. Thereafter, the Maldvian government ordered the resort not to be rebuilt. Thus, it was abandoned and now a deserted island. Note: Your hotel may show you the activities list with the price listed to be at 100+USD per location, and offer you a special package at around 40 USD. Sounds like an incredible deal, right? Don’t be too quick to agree. Spend some time, walk around the town and you will realize that other hotels are offering at even lower prices such as 30 USD per pax. And yes, you are able to join their trip even if you do not stay at the particular hotel.
Walk around the town and you will find some good deals. For example, Arena hotel offers just 10 USD per person for a buffet dinner. At that price the spread was pretty good. Don’t be afraid to ask the local for the direction to Arena hotel.
Transport
For Maafushi, there are public ferries which cost only 2USD but would take much longer than the speedboat (1.5 hr vs 0.5hr) which costs 20USD. If you enjoy the sea and have time to spare, you could save some money by taking the ferry.
For Fihalhohi, I believe there isn’t any public ferry available to this island, and you would need to arrange in advance with the resort (there is only one resort on Fihalhohi). One-way trip is 70USD per person (ouch!), so if you intend to only stay at Fihalhohi and not visit other islands, it would be 140USD round trip to and fro Male airport. A one way trip to other island (if you are staying over) would cost 25-35USD. If you are doing a day trip to a resort island, that would typically cost around 100USD (25USD for ferry, 75USD for entrance fee)
Timing of ferry/ speedboat
This is something you have to take note of. Even if you are willing to pay more for the speedboat, there are fixed timings that they will set off. First trip would be 8am in the morning, and the next are 12pm and 5pm. Yup, a very huge gap in between the timings. My flight was 1250pm and I was forced to idle at the airport since 9am.
Do take note that there will be no ferry trips in after sunset. You would want to keep this in mind (together with the ferry timing back to airport) when planning your itinerary.
Currency
The currencies that are used on the islands are Maldives Rufiyaa and USD. The exchange rate is 1USD to 15 Rufiyaa (as of Mar 2016). I would advise just having USD on hand would suffice. Any change will be returned in Rufiyaa or USD. Depending on the change amount, usually if the change is only few USD equivalent you may receive in Rufiyaa. Anything more they would provide you change in USD. If you receive small change in Rufiyaa, you can just use it to purchase tidbits or water (would need lots of them!) at the stores.
How much money to bring
I would think the key factor on how much money you should bring would be really depending on how much water activities that you intend to do. Each activity ranges from 25 – 250 USD. For example, para-sailing in Mafuushi cost 100USD/pax, snorkelling would cost 100+USD/pax per location (I will elaborate more on this under Mafuushi).
It is important to factor in the transport costs (especially so if you are visiting more than one island). I would advise to be on the safe side, it is better to bring more as I do not see any money changer or ATM around, unless you want to swipe your credit card.
Food wise, it is of reasonable pricing. Resort islands would cost more but for Mafuushi which is a much more commercial and known island, it is surprisingly cheap. A simple fried rice or noodle dish, or even a fish n chips would cost around 5 USD, while drinks would range from 2 to 5 USD. For one of the better restaurants we visited at Mafuushi, a seafood platter cost only 15 USD with there a whole fish in it! In contrast, while we are at Fihalhohi, a mixed seafood course has a 26 USD price tag but the portion is well..miserable.
Maldavians
Maldavians are generally very friendly and helpful people. They will approach you to ask if you need help with directions, and some would walk with you for a distance to make sure you are on the right track. As the island (Mafuushi) is not really big, they know most hotels, cafes or restaurants at the back of their hand. For strangers like us, though, it may be easy to lose your direction with the countless lanes which looks similar.
Male (pronounce ma-leh) is the capital of Maldives, where is where you will be landing before you can hop on to the other islands
Arrival at Male
As I reached Male at around 1030pm local time, there isn’t any transport to Fihalhohi till the next morning (see under timing of ferry/speed boat). I have arranged in advance to spend the night at a hotel near the airport. There are quite a no. of inns and hotel in the area, so you should not have any problem booking one in advance. You might want to arrange with the hotel in advance as well for airport transfer, which cost 10 USD one-way per person. As it is just a sleepover, we chose a normal hotel at approx 65 USD a night. We headed to the airport the next morning at 830am as the previous correspondence with the Fihalhohi representative was to meet him at 845am. However, we only boarded the speed boat at 10am, as they have consolidated guests from several flights with the latest one landing at only 930am. Honestly, there was some displeasure with the waiting as there isn’t much to do at the airport. To save some time waiting at the airport where instead you could catch more sleep, you might want to check with the representative what is the actual time the boat will depart.
Fihalhohi
A really beautiful island that you should check out if you are visiting Maldives for the first time, or even if you have visited Maldives but not yet been to the island. I would really recommend you to try out their water bungalow which is simply amazing. At 750 USD per night, the price may be a little steep but well worth it. There are house reefs just right below your balcony, where you can jump right down. Fihalhohi fits the image of Maldives as you have imagined or see on photos or pictures. Endless white sands and clear waters with different shades of blue like a huge bowl of sapphires shimmering under the sun.
The snorkel and fins are available for rent at just 5 USD per item per day. A myriad of water life within the beautiful reefs makes you want to dive in time after time. I even caught side of a small shark at the shallow waters!
Buffet breakfast and dinner are provided daily (I stayed in the water bungalow but I believe it is also available for other room types). You could have a full board at an additional 40 USD, which includes a buffet lunch and unlimited drinks. In my opinion, this is not really value for money but each to its own. After your dinner, look up at the sky now void of sunlight but littered with countless shimmering stars. Now if you are staying at the bungalow, head to your balcony and switch off all the outdoor lights of your balcony. Breathtaking would be an understatement. This area would be the best view for the stars as the other areas on the island are still well litted or full of coconut trees that block your view. Even if you are on a budget, do still go towards the water bungalow area. You would still be able to enjoy your stargazing at the platform or the beach.
Mafuushi
We headed to Mafuushi after spending a few days at Fihalhohi. If you are heading towards a resort island first then to Mafuushi like us, you might be disappointed. Unlike Fihalhohi which looks like a paradise, Mafuushi is more of a small town, with lots of houses and new buildings that are undergoing construction. However, this is where you can mingle with the locals and have a true experience of their daily life. The island isn’t big as well and you can jolly well cover the whole island in less than a day, if not for the unforgiving sun and heat that will force you to run for shade.
There are plenty of activities that can be done around Mafuushi, do check out sand bank (sexy breach), banana reef, turtle reef and picnic beach. I would like to highlight Picnic beach, which is really a very nice island to visit. A small chat with the local reveals that it used to be an island resort but was hit with the tsunami. Thankfully, there were no casualty. Thereafter, the Maldvian government ordered the resort not to be rebuilt. Thus, it was abandoned and now a deserted island. Note: Your hotel may show you the activities list with the price listed to be at 100+USD per location, and offer you a special package at around 40 USD. Sounds like an incredible deal, right? Don’t be too quick to agree. Spend some time, walk around the town and you will realize that other hotels are offering at even lower prices such as 30 USD per pax. And yes, you are able to join their trip even if you do not stay at the particular hotel.
Walk around the town and you will find some good deals. For example, Arena hotel offers just 10 USD per person for a buffet dinner. At that price the spread was pretty good. Don’t be afraid to ask the local for the direction to Arena hotel.
Transport
For Maafushi, there are public ferries which cost only 2USD but would take much longer than the speedboat (1.5 hr vs 0.5hr) which costs 20USD. If you enjoy the sea and have time to spare, you could save some money by taking the ferry.
For Fihalhohi, I believe there isn’t any public ferry available to this island, and you would need to arrange in advance with the resort (there is only one resort on Fihalhohi). One-way trip is 70USD per person (ouch!), so if you intend to only stay at Fihalhohi and not visit other islands, it would be 140USD round trip to and fro Male airport. A one way trip to other island (if you are staying over) would cost 25-35USD. If you are doing a day trip to a resort island, that would typically cost around 100USD (25USD for ferry, 75USD for entrance fee)
Timing of ferry/ speedboat
This is something you have to take note of. Even if you are willing to pay more for the speedboat, there are fixed timings that they will set off. First trip would be 8am in the morning, and the next are 12pm and 5pm. Yup, a very huge gap in between the timings. My flight was 1250pm and I was forced to idle at the airport since 9am.
Do take note that there will be no ferry trips in after sunset. You would want to keep this in mind (together with the ferry timing back to airport) when planning your itinerary.
Currency
The currencies that are used on the islands are Maldives Rufiyaa and USD. The exchange rate is 1USD to 15 Rufiyaa (as of Mar 2016). I would advise just having USD on hand would suffice. Any change will be returned in Rufiyaa or USD. Depending on the change amount, usually if the change is only few USD equivalent you may receive in Rufiyaa. Anything more they would provide you change in USD. If you receive small change in Rufiyaa, you can just use it to purchase tidbits or water (would need lots of them!) at the stores.
How much money to bring
I would think the key factor on how much money you should bring would be really depending on how much water activities that you intend to do. Each activity ranges from 25 – 250 USD. For example, para-sailing in Mafuushi cost 100USD/pax, snorkelling would cost 100+USD/pax per location (I will elaborate more on this under Mafuushi).
It is important to factor in the transport costs (especially so if you are visiting more than one island). I would advise to be on the safe side, it is better to bring more as I do not see any money changer or ATM around, unless you want to swipe your credit card.
Food wise, it is of reasonable pricing. Resort islands would cost more but for Mafuushi which is a much more commercial and known island, it is surprisingly cheap. A simple fried rice or noodle dish, or even a fish n chips would cost around 5 USD, while drinks would range from 2 to 5 USD. For one of the better restaurants we visited at Mafuushi, a seafood platter cost only 15 USD with there a whole fish in it! In contrast, while we are at Fihalhohi, a mixed seafood course has a 26 USD price tag but the portion is well..miserable.
Maldavians
Maldavians are generally very friendly and helpful people. They will approach you to ask if you need help with directions, and some would walk with you for a distance to make sure you are on the right track. As the island (Mafuushi) is not really big, they know most hotels, cafes or restaurants at the back of their hand. For strangers like us, though, it may be easy to lose your direction with the countless lanes which looks similar.