Hi Sandra,

yes, a fcouple of dollars left every day will be fine. We tend only to do it once a week and then leave $10 but that's just because we often don't have loads of $1 notes.

You will have the same waiter for the whole fortnight. At your first meal you will be allocated a table which will have your room number and your waiters name placed on it - no-one else will then use it during your stay.

No tip required when you get off the seaplane. As for any others, apart from the bar staff and the drink waiters, the only other person i tipped was the guys who brought our luggage to our room. If you go on a boat trip it is usual though to tip the boat crew.

Hope that helps.

Hope you have a fantastic time.

Tracy

Thanks Tracy

yes you and others on this site have been very helpful. Its great to go armed with as much information as possible. Hopefully it makes for a good holiday.

4 days to go. My last day at work on Friday and thats when I will feel my holiday has started.

Sandra

Hi ya Sean. Glad you had a great time ay Lily Beach. It sounds fantastic. When you have the time please could tou send me loadsof photos. I can't wait to go. God i bet it was hot at that temp. Also look forward to your report. My email address is ******

Thanks Julie
*Edit email address removed. Please use PM for contact - Glynis*

Hi Sean,

glad you had another fantastic holiday.

Am very interested in the whale shark trip - think it would be ideal for my hubby you really doesn't swim very well so can't go snorkelling or diving but loves seeing whales. Did you organise it through the island or the dive school? If you don't mind me asking, how much was the trip?

many thanks

Tracy

Hi everyone. I was wondering how much it is. I would love to see whales, its something i would be amazed by. Please say in english pounds.

Julie

Hi Sean

glad you had a great time at Lily Beach.

I know this is a bit pushy but is there any chance you could do a trip report before I leave for Lily Beach on Sunday morning.......please.
Would love to read it before I go.

50 degrees in the sun...mmmm....think my chocolate might melt in that heat!

I'm so glad to hear I will be able to text. Things are getting better and better.

Sandra

The Whale Shark trip was about £38 per person for a full afternoon trip on the speedboat. Takes you around and about Whale Shark Point and the guys on the boat go on the look out for the Whale Sharks. One thing to take into account is they don't always manage to find them. Don't think it's appropriate for just going on the trip to just watch them, as my partner was in the same situation as Tracy's husband, and she couldn't see them from the boat, as we had to snorkel to follow them.

On the way back we had afternoon tea and managed to find two pods of dolphins who followed the boat, and then swam on the prow when we set off again, amazing site !!

Hi sean
I am so envious that you saw the whale sharks, when we were there last Feb I swam with the manta rays at manta point but did not see the Whale Sharks.
It's on my must see list for next Feb, we also had a speed boat ride but again did not meet any Dolphins, was your speed boat ride specifically to find whale Sharks or as an Island hop?

Regards
Joe

Joe,

The trip was specifically for Whale Shark Hunting and is a designated speed boat excursion. As you probably know there is a minimum and a maximum number of people allowed on each of the trips, and this particular trip the max was supposed to be 10. We managed to persuade the management to let us on as there were already 10 people on the list, and we're so glad that they did !!!

Have also added my holiday report for anyone that's interested, link attached.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=31584&highlight=

Sean

Lily Beach April 2005

Well, here goes. This report will definitely not be as comprehensive as Joe's, as he has captured the essence of the island exactly in it.

I will basically summarise our holiday and the wonderful experience that we had.

Firstly the holiday booking. We actually started looking to go to Lily Beach in October last year but didn't actually do anything until late November. We use a company called Kwik Travel who are based in Lichfield. They are an independent travel agent who basically take your request for a holiday and try and tailor it to your needs. The good thing about them I feel is the one to one relationship that you have with your travel representative. A lot of them work from home and therefore have individual numbers that they can be contacted on without the hassle of having to phone a main branch just on the off chance that they might be available.

Anyway we initially requested the first two weeks in April, flying from Manchester and not with Monarch. Was not overly impressed with the flight and service we had last year when flying from Gatwick, nothing really bad, but as people say have definitely had better. Cathy our rep took all the details and then went off to find us our holiday. This is not always a same day service as I believe they do literally trawl through all the brochures, Internet sites etc to find the best deals. She eventually got back to us 4 days later with the bad news that she could get us the rooms but not the flights, but not to worry she'd keep trying. Couple of days later she told us that there were no flights available at all for the dates in question. At this point we resigned ourselves to not going !!!

Three weeks had passed when we received a surprise call from Cathy saying that she'd managed to find us a holiday to Lily going a week later and flying with Qatar Airlines from Manchester to Doha, and then Doha to Male. The price quoted was also very, very good so we literally snapped her hand off. Form the holiday truths website I had read very good reports on Qatar.

At the end of February we had some really bad news concerning a very good friend of mine (32), which just prompted me to upgrade to business class (as they say you can't take your money with you when you go !!!). This was sorted out again by Cathy with no hassle at all.

April 11th, arrived at Manchester airport (terminal 2) in plenty of time for check in and the obligatory duty free shopping. Is it just me or does terminal 2 just seem to have less of everything than terminal 1 ? Whisked through the business class check in, and then up to the lounge to leave our bags. Was quite fun trying to find the Qatar airways lounge as they are all on the same floor, but it is like a maze. We were advised that we would be called from the lounge when it was time to depart, and this happened accordingly.

The first plane was an Airbus A300-332. the business class section was exceptional the service too. Leg room etc was unbelievable, seats that turned effectively into beds at the push of a button. Speaking to other people that were on Lily beach at the same time about the economy cabin there were no complaints about this either, more legroom that standard flights, very good food, and in-flight entertainment. There were no complaints.

Flight time to Doha was about 5 and a half hours.

Doha Airport. On arrival the business class passengers are taken off the plane first (which I thought was novel). On entry to the airport, you are directed to the transfers hall, all hand luggage is scanned, and once through this you need to proceed to the transfers desk. There was a separate desk for Business Class and once we arrived there were told that there was nothing we need to do and we go straight through to the duty free goods area or the lounge. Had a three hour stop over here, which was just a bit too long, but hey you can't have everything. Doha has a duty free area that's not that big so it's not a three hour browsing paradise, there are coffee shops but they do get crowded at the busy times of the day.

Doha to Male. Different plane type with a smaller BC cabin, legroom diminished but still plenty. Was the same in economy. Food good, entertainment limited. Flight time approximately 5 and a half hours.

Male Seaplane Terminal / Male to Lily Beach See Joe's report, it's still the same. Would just add that at the seaplane terminal there is a small souvenir shop that also has free earplugs. Would recommend these for the seaplane flight, as it is quite noisy. Two people that were on our flight still had problems hearing a good three hours later !!!!

Lily Beach 2005. We were allocated room 301, which is at the Western end of the island, which is the quieter end (not than you can call the island noisy in the first place). Requested either this room or 303 as that's where we stayed last year and found it convenient for entry to the reef and not too far from anywhere really.

Room boy was Mohamed, waiter in the dining area Abdullah, and our good friend Rushdee at the pool bar, the only man I know that knows what type of drink I want/need before I do !!!!. As usual the service received was exceptional and although everyone says it that's been to Lily Beach don't see how it can be bettered.

Just for starters on day one the temperature on the beach at 10 in the morning was 50 degrees, we knew we were going to be in for a hot one !! I had bought myself a new underwater housing for my digital camera and needed to check it out to ensure it didn't leak. Set off to the Northern reef edge, when I got there after about 15 minutes I saw a mother and two baby Spotted Eagle Rays about 30 foot below, typical that I didn't have the camera in the housing to take some snaps. After speaking to Atheef from the Oceanpro dive team he told me that they were territorial, and if I'd seen them once they would more than likely stick around. Which they did, and pictures were duly taken, although a bit hazy as they were so far down even the zoom couldn't pick them up fully.

Also managed to see when snorkelling over the fortnight, Moray Eels, Clown Fish, Trigger Fish, Puffer Fish, Surgeon Fish, a baby Sting Ray and also a White Tipped Reef Shark that scared the living daylights out of me just as I went over the edge of the reef.

Unfortunately couldn't do any scuba diving as I developed toothache, and couldn't equalise when descending, was gutted, but it definitely didn't spoil the holiday. Had the tooth out the day we arrived back in the UK, ouch !!!

Trips we did were the Whale Shark Hunting as described previously. Was excellent as we did manage to see the Whale Sharks and got some excellent photos, two pods of dolphins, and other people also saw some Manta's (which I missed), so we managed to see all three which is some kind of rarity on any one trip. Just one thing about the trip is you pay the money you take the chance, there is no guarantee that you will actually see anything, as I went diving last year to Whale Shark point and saw nothing on the two dives we did.

We did book to do a full day trip on the Dhoni that included Island Hopping, a beach barbecue lunch and snorkelling, however, because there weren't enough people (minimum 10) on the trip it was cancelled. We did manage to get 8, and entered into negotiations to go, the management still wanted everyone on the trip to make up the shortfall in money. We tried to compromise, but they wouldn't budge, they wanted to cover the full cost and that was their final stance. We could understand their feelings but thought that a little give and take might have been a better way to deal with this.

On the Sunday before coming home we went on the weekly free trip to the Ari Atolls main island. It's about 50 minutes on a Dhoni, and they show you the island, which is inhabited by about 1800 people, visiting the hospital, main atoll administrative building, police station, "Power Station", local school and some of the souvenir shops. A tip if you do this is to take plenty of water, it was absolutely roasting. A pleasant trip that's worth doing once, and 'er indoors obviously picked up a few souvenirs !!!

We both used the spa, I had the neck, back and shoulder massage and reflexology twice, along with the special 4 hands massage (which is the spa's speciality), this was very good, but at one point did make me feel a bit sea-sick as the two masseurs were doing my back in different directions at the same time. Weird !!
Partner had the coffee and coco scrub, which she said was brilliant, and she did smell absolutely wonderful afterwards. She did buy some of the scrub products as they have a 50% off sale at the minute. Don't think I'd be as good as the girls in the spa though !!!

One thing to mention that was spectacular, and at the same time I'm sure scary to some people, was the tremendous thunderstorm we encountered on the Tuesday of the second week. Happened about 12:30 to 01:00, and I have never heard thunder or seen lightning like it before in my life. We had been watching the lightning in the distance in the bar earlier, but it seemed to be moving away. How wrong we were !!!. When people say that buildings shake from the strength of the thunder I can now believe it. The storm hit us directly overhead, the noise was deafening, and the lightning something that I've never experienced before. It took out the islands telephones, and some of the rooms temporarily lost power, with some having no power at all overnight. Was all put right by 08:00 the next morning, the telephone company were there at 07:30 to sort out the problems (would you get that in the UK ???)

Homeward Bound. Our flight from Male wasn't until 20:00 hours so we didn't actually leave Lily Beach until 16:30. Left with a heavy heart, but we're already planning next years trip. Will hopefully be going with 6 friends in April again.

Upgrade. We were talking to a few people on the island as well as the staff, and there are plans being discussed to close the island for 8 months to do some renovations and upgrades. Build some new full water bungalows at the Western end of the island (which is still being worked on to get the sand back lost after the tsunami), and also to modernise the bar/dining area. This is as a direct result of the opening of at least 12 new resort islands in the next year or so. Whilst I understand that they have to compete with these new resorts, I hope that they don't spoil the intimacy of the island, which to my mind makes it that extra bit special.

If anyone would like to discuss any of the content of the report, please PM me and I'll be happy to discuss. Will hopefully be posting some photographs soon, as and when I have them downloaded.

Best Wishes,

Sean

Great report Sean .... hope you might add it to our reviews section too when you have time
David

Hi ya Sean. What a great report. Really enjoyed reading it. When are they thinking of doing thid up-grading, as we go in November. Look forward to lots of photos

Julie

Not long now Sandra, Have a great time. I really envy you

Julie

Hi, this may sound daft but my hubby and i would like to be able to say a few words in Maldivian when we get there. Anyone know of any phrases or main words ie; 2 beers please ! or hello how are you etc or thankyou. Any help would be great. Thanks

Julie

Hi everyone

just finishing some last minute packing and then we're off to Lily Beach in the morning.

Firstly just want to thank everyone on this site for helping me prepare for my holiday. It really is appreciated.

No baby news so looks like I'm going to need my mobile phone. When we do recieve the news it will be a good excuse for a bottle of champagne & one of those romantic dinners I have read about.

Thanks for the detailed trip report Sean. Already have my earplugs and cameras ready for our trip on the seaplane.

I will now bid you all farewell for a couple of weeks. Hope I have lots of nice things to write about on my return.

Sandra

Have a lovely time Sandra, and I hope it's not too long before you get the news re baby!

Enjoy!

Kath HT Admin

Hi englandfan

Try http://www.lilybeachmaldives.com

great interactive site including english/dhivehi translation section. you will need speakers on your PC of course.

Thanks for reply Dave. Unfortunately we havn't got any. We have a lap-top, due to shortage of space, but cheers anyway

Julie

Hi Englandfan
As dave said the interactive site that he listed is quite good for basic Maldivian words, you should have internal speakers in your laptop that may just need activating, if not you should be able to plug your Walkman type headphones into your laptop to hear the pronunciation.

regards

joe