A few questions please re Olhuveli

We are looking at booking the Olhuveli for Feb 2010 and it will be our first trip to the Maldives.

I have a few questions if someone can help with please.

1. Are sea shoes required? We aren%26#39;t big snorkellers but can easily spend all day in the shallows and swimming looking for fish.

2. Do men need to wear long trousers for evening dinner?

3. First Choice want an extra £3k for booking Water Villa, All inclusive - we don%26#39;t know if it%26#39;s better to book deluxe room and upgrade on arrival. I assume that Feb may be one of their busier months so don%26#39;t know. I%26#39;ve emailed Olhuveli direct and their 2010 prices wont be available until March.

Have spent hours looking at all the resorts and because they all look so fab was very difficult to choose.

Many thanks for any info.

A few questions please re Olhuveli

Hi ZippyDJ,

We didnt take seashoes with us and we were ok, all walkways are kept immaculate and the lagoon is pretty much clear through to the drop off point, it is your own call as it can be nasty getting a cut, I got a little scratch when we went in november off coral and it still hasnt healed! (this was on a diff island which wasnt as well mainained as Olv!)

As most Maldivian islands, dress code is very relaxed and people wear pretty much what they want so its whatever is comfy and when its lovely and warm the last thing you want to wear is long trousers.

We stayed in a deluxe room and thought the room was lovely, best cheapest room of all the 3 islands we visited, walls are very thin though as we found out when we had noisy neighbours but staff are fantastic and we were moved to another room and had a fantastic holiday. If your heart is set on a water villa, then i would book from UK as there is no guarantee there will be any available.

Olv is the best holiday I have ever been on and we are looking at booking to return this year so you wont regret it, hope this helps!

S

A few questions please re Olhuveli

Hi Zippy,

Good reply from Sue, just to add - you mention £3K to upgrade to water villas, save your money and stay with the beach bungalows, WB%26#39;s are in my eyes very over rated but for 3K extra....... even more so.

If you sleep lightly...you are likely to be woken from the sea, generally wb%26#39;s do not have the best access to the beach and are further away from the best of the beach and due to location most are affected by the sun and how much you actually get on your private terrace during the day.

Sea shoes are a personal thing - and always better to have just in case your feet are more sensitive to the coral sand, or you do in fact get cut you will then want to wear them.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Emu

Hi Sueyf %26amp; Emu

Thanks for the replies.

I%26#39;ve managed to get a reasonable deal with Thomas Cook, so have gone for the Water Villa. I%26#39;ve always dreamt of staying in one of these and just couldn%26#39;t resist (despite Emu%26#39;s best advice). Just hope that I don%26#39;t live to regret it.

I don%26#39;t want to wish my life away but Feb 2010 seems an awful long way off. I%26#39;ll be sure to keep looking on TA to help me along the way.

Hi there. We stayed in a Water Villa (no jacuzzi) and it was great. When you walk to and from your WV, you look down into the lagoon and see different fish, even a baby shark which we unfortunately never saw, but friends did. We had a ray that lived at the bottom of the one pole of our WV and we would watch it swim around.

Each WV has a balcony with two sun beds, two chairs (with cushions) and a table so its very comfortable. The best though is to spend time on the beaches or by the pools, the water is so warm and clear.

I would take sea shoes because the walk from the snorkelling area to the resort can burn your feet if its a very hot day. Just leave them wrapped up in your towel on a bench if you go snorkelling, its very safe.

Don%26#39;t forget to visit the end of the pier in the evenings as soon as it gets dark to see the mantas. But a note is that they don%26#39;t come if its rainy with rough seas. I know because I went to look during a rainy period of our holiday and it was for nothing!

You will love Olhuveli, no doubt about it.