Going for our honeymoon in Nov 2008! Need help!

We are going to Maldives in Nov 2008 for our honeymoon. Its going to be a really short trip 3-4 nights at the most. We are looking for water bungalows (thatched, with outdoor showers etc) on a small island, not very cosmetic, more secluded. Our budget is around $500 per night (if possible all inclusive). Activities we are interested in are snorkeling. I saw the lovely pictures where resorts serve dinner on the beach, even into the water. Would love to stay at one of those. What are the activities that are a must do in Maldives? We havent done much diving or other water sports that much, but would love to venture?

For the resorts we were considering Karumathi, it turns out that its a huge island, relatively and very crowded. We would like to go for something thats not too crowded or fancy.

All the suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Going for our honeymoon in Nov 2008! Need help!

Your biggest problem is going to be availability, as small island get booked up very quickly, usually 12 months in advance, so it might have to be one of the bigger islands.

regards susie

Going for our honeymoon in Nov 2008! Need help!

During November, normally maximum staying is 07 nights, most of the resorts they offer only for 7 night, however their is few resorts you can try,

- Sun Island (they offer all inclusive)

- Kanuhura

- Anantara

- Giraavaru

- Angsana Ihuru

Have a look at Komandoo. It is small, very well presented, has exceptional water bungalows and is luxurious without being pretentious. It is extremely popular though - we booked ours 16 months in advance.

Regards

John

Hi,

Agree with above post recommending Angsana Ihuru, they will take bookings for less than 7 nights, and you can book direct through the website, with live availability showing.

It does offer what you want but not AI only FB, the house reef is among the best in the country and it is also one of the most photographed islands in the Maldives.

Regards

Emu

Guys,

Thanks for all the suggestions! I looked for all the options on expedia.......and I thought that Anantara has the best rates $470 for Over Water Bungalow, I am assuming this is the one with coconut thatched roofs as seen in all the pics on their website http://spa.anantara.com/maldives/gallery.aspx

Any suggestions on that, I looked for the Komandoo island, and unfortunately its booked for the water bungalow. So Anantara looks the best option so far in our budget and availability. But more suggestions would be helpful....also want to get a first hand opinion on activities possible on this island......and over all for Maldives that shudnt be missed!

Thnx

Anantara is not known for having a reef where you can snorkle.

If that is not important to you, you should go ahead.

As others are mentioning Angsana Ihuru is a very good island, with very god snorkelling and food and service.

Angsana Ihuru is also full board, which will save you on your food budget.

To really appreciate what the Maldives have to offer, you need to put your head under water and see the fish and the corals.

That, the sand and water, plus the soothing climate is what does it for me, and got med hooked ;) That is also why a house reef is very important to a lot of travellers.

Of course, it is nice with a stylish bungalow, but you spend most of your time outside.

For $ 690/ 740 Ihuru is a very good option.

The overwater bungalow fascination I can fully understand, having ';been there'; myself. So you should try this, but you might find out - like I did - that you prefer to wake up, and see white sand and blue and green water through the palm trees, instead of your wooden balcony and the sea behind it...

Besides, the water/ waves underneath could be disturbing your sleep.

Well - you never know until you have tried, do you? ;D

Good luck deciding - and next time you will spend more than 3 - 4 nights. That%26#39;s for sure!

By the way - you could also have a look at Veligandu.

best,

;-b

Thanks B,

I agree Angsana might be agood option, but I will still research a little more to see if I can find a cheaper option, I checked out rates for Veligandu but they dont show any rates or availability after 31st Oct 2008. If I do get an AI at Veligandu for about $100 cheaper than Angsana, would it be worth saving that much or not! Another option I thought of was Kuramathi Lagoon, for the water villa.....I know its a bigger island.....but I think they offer a lot of activities there.....any opinions on kuramathi from anyone?

Thnx again

hello,

first, are you sure you only want to stay there for that number of days? we spent our 10 day honeymoon in the maldives in july and it was AMAZING. worth that long trip. unfortunately, living in the US, we don%26#39;t have much access to all these resorts via travel agencies. after doing much research, we split are stay in mirihi and anantara. both were excellent but much different from each other. it really depends on what you are looking for. mirihi is much laid back and smaller but the best thing about it aside from the impeccable service is the house reef. mind you, it%26#39;s over water villas are beautiful as well. there is nothing that you won%26#39;t like about this place....trust me! the only concern might be availability. i booked ours via their website so that should be your first start.

anantara is wonderful as well. bigger so there are more options in terms of activities and food. you will access to the other island called dhigu. the reef/snorkeling is not that great but they offer excursions that you can take if this isn%26#39;t a big deal to you. we stayed in a deluxe water bungalow in veligandu huraa and it was absolutely awesome especially the huge bathroom with the over-sized tubs. the regular bungalows i%26#39;m sure are just as nice but smaller, however, be careful as to where your bungalow is situated if you want great privacy for your deck. the decks are great but we were always doing stuff (i.e. experiencing their wonderful over-water spa) so we didn%26#39;t use ours as much.

hope this helps. let me know if you have other questions. good luck!

p.s. based on your post, you might want to check out veligandu island as well. it is much cheaper than the 2 i mentioned but their renovated bungalows look pretty nice plus they offer an all inclusive package.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions Pinoy! We are really bound on time, and would love to spend atleast a week in Maldives, but cannot do it this time!

To be really honest with you, my husband doesnt even swim, he is taking swimming lessons to atleast be not drown and try snorkeling in Maldives. I am an average swimmer, but havent ever tried snorkeling or diving. But I would definitely wanna try it. So here is another set of questions:

1) Is it dangerous to try snorkelling/diving in our situation?

2) As first timers, would we need any lessons for snorkeling/diving? Is it going to expensive to try it in Maldives as beginners.

3) In our situation, with the time allowed what are the activities that are must do and not to be missed for our first trip to Maldives? And based on that what would be the best islands/resorts with resonable rates. We would be willing to do an AI for about $700/per day. But definitely want to take a water villa this time.

I tried looking for Mirihi online on their website, but doesnt really show any availability for another year which I doubt. What is the average cost for Mirihi water villa?

Some of the options I was considering were

Angsana (but doesnt have water villa I believe)

Koomandoo

Kuramathi

Veligandu

Thanks again for your help, like you we are planning our honeymoon based on TA/my own research!

$700/day is more than enough as a daily budget. you can definitely get an AI package for that if not even much cheaper. the only other resorts you mentioned that i have considered before were kuramathi and veligandu. i actually almost booked with veligandu is i didn%26#39;t go with mirihi. the bungalows are newly renovated (at least according to their website) and the diving seems to be good. if you want to dive, maldives is the place to do it. i got certified there and it was so worth it; however, it will take up at least 2.5 days of your stay. i got my own private instructor too which was a big plus. as for snorkeling, personally i don%26#39;t think that you need to be a great swimmer (same with scuba diving) but it really depends on your comfort zone. worst case scenario, your husband can where a life jacket. also, depending on where you stay, you can snorkel just outside your water bungalow where the water isn%26#39;t too deep but yet still see tons of fishes. i think kuramathi is like that. btw, what airlines will you be flying?