Which hotel did you both stay at? We will be at Lily Beach. There seems to be some good reviews on it.

Hubs and I are thinking of going to the Maldives next year and was wondering if you could help us out with a few questions.

Which are the main airlines that fly to Male? Are there any direct flights? Which airlines offer the best deals and how to get them?

Also have anyone stayed at the Hilton on Rangali? Please tell all!

Also, can anyone go driving or do you have to be qualified?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Emma

hi emma,

i can't answer all your qs but i'm sure someone can!

there are direct flights from gatwick to male, i've heard about first choice only so far though.

and do you mean 'diving'? as far as i know anyone can go on a taster dive, but maybe you could email the island directly for a better answer?

hth
allie

Hi Emma
Lots of airlines fly to Male, some fly direct others fly via a stop in the UAE.
You can fly charter direct, first choice, monarch and Tui, a bit cramped for the 9 hour flight there and the 11 hour return (due to high winds), you can upgrade but availability is restricted.
From heathrow you can fly direct on Sri Lankan airways in relative comfort.
Most islands have diving schools, answer a self assessment medical form and you can take a course, some islands offer basic courses for begginers.

Regards

Joe

Hi Sandra
I must admit I am not a fan of Heathrow either, thats why we departed from Gatwick and returned to heathrow, luckily a friend took us there and picked us up.

You will be there before you know it.

Next Feb I will be looking at using Sri Lankan airways direct.

Regards

Joe

We visited Vilu Reef last August.
We were in a beach villa(nu 5). And I have to say that if your staying in a beach villa email the hotel and ask for no 5, they will keep numbered villas if possible, It was the best located on the island.
Our stay was sheer paradise, it is the only place in the world that i did not want to leave.

Hi Emma, Britannia fly direct from Gatwick as we are going with them in November . Apparently Britannia are taking over the monarch flights.

Thanks for the advice.
Any other tips?

Hi Emma,

We're off again in April from Manchester, using scheduled flights with Qatar Airways via Doha. Also know that Emirates, Monarch and Britannia fly from Manchester.

I'm assuming when you're asking about "driving" you mean diving. You wont be able to go on your own without qualification. Most of the hotels that have dive schools will have a test dive available. Then there are the courses that you could take which last about 5 days for the initial qualification for(PADI).

If you don't want to do the diving courses the snorkelling on certain island house reefs is fantastic.

Sean

I guess one good tipp is that even when it is cloudy always put your sun cream on cause it will bite you big time.
Are you going all inclusive?
And what month are you going?
The sea planes are an experiance in them selves.
We didnt see any sharks in the water at all but there were alot of small turtles.

Yas

Leaving Gatwick on April 17th for 2 weeks - can't wait! Looking forward to the seaplane transfer.
The last time we visited the Maldives was about 8 years ago in March staying much closer to Male with a Dhoni transfer. We booked Full Board this time rather than AI. I guess you can upgrade to AI when you are there if you want to.
We are keen snorklers but have never seen turtles so that will be fun. Is it easy to get out to house reef?
As it's a small resort I imagine everything is very informal?
Thanks for the tips.

Thanks everyone, theres some great info here, oh and sorry about the typo 'Driving' LOL

Hi Emma,

When we flew to the Maldives we went with Monarch from Gatwick and we had requested a direct flight. However, when it came to checking in, it said 'via Bahrain' on the board. We immediately queried this and were told by a very rude check-in man that it was still classed as 'direct' as we were not staying over, just getting off for an hour or so!

To me, direct meant not getting off the plane anywhere else, but what do I know.

Just warning you, so you can make sure you get exactly what you want when you book!

Sunaholic.

A direct flight can still involve a stop, eg to refuel. You need to request a non-stop flight to avoid this.

luci

Thanks for clearing that up for me, I will know what to ask for in future.
Is a non-stop flight possible to the Maldives? I would have wanted one, as when we went SARS was rife and getting off the plane in Bahrain was a rather scary experience!

Sunaholic.

Thanks for letting me know about the flights, i would hate of of booked something thinking it was direct / non-stop when it wasnt.

Thanks again

Emma

Sri Lankan fly direct to Maldives a couple of times a week, but on the way back it's via Colombo. This info is based on pre-tsunami so I'm not sure if any of the flights have been cut.

I'd avoid the charters (Monarch/Britannia) unless you are flying premium class. Economy is very cramped for a 10/12 hours flight.

We flew with Emirates via Dubai. Loved it despite the 4 hour stop over. It gave us plenty of time stretch our legs, and look round the amazing duty free complex..... all 5400 square metres of it! We wanted to stop there specifically though for my husband to buy a watch he's wanted for years which was £1500 cheaper than here, but that took us all of 5 minutes and we were fully occupied the whole time. Including cocktails in the bar at 3am.

Alternatives are Qatar Airlines via Doha. Also, not sure of First Choice's routing, but their conomy cabin will mean more space by May so they are worth considering.

As for the diving, you can do a taster lesson usually in a pool to see if it suits you, but you have to be qualified to otherwise. Still - you still see sooo much when snorkelling though.

hth

Lisa

Yes, saw the baby black tipped reef sharks - absolutely harmless and we swam with me as much as we could. After a little while they get used to you and don't rush away. hey are only 2 or 3 foot long so don't worry!

We stayed at Taj Exotica, - amazing place, best hotel we've ever stayed in, primarily due to the staff.

Has anyone just got back from Maldives? It is round about this time next year we are considering going to Maldives(?2 centre with Dubai/?abu Dhabi) and so I was wondering what kind of weather you had? I would hate to go all that way and the weather was bad. It just looks absolutely beautiful there, so relaxing, so if it rains I think it would be a bit of a disappointment. Thanks. maryjo