Thanks mate, I am on Vodafone too so hopefully will be OK....

Cheers again

Guys

so let me get this right we DO NOT need to take any sort of adaptor with us, we can just use our electrical equipment as we would in the UK.. ( 3 pin plugs)

Cheers

Yep that's right - standard 3 pin plugs are the norm in the Maldives.

My friend just came back from Baros and was enchanged. She is VERY difficult to please. One warning - the weather seems to be changing in the Maldives. She was there early December and they had rain, clouds and terrible winds. should have been sun, sun and more sun !

It is expensive and has been recently refurbished. My husband and I went there before it was refurbished in 2002 and the physical island/lagoon is just beautiful.

Been to the Taj Coral Reef in 2000 and don't think it has been refurbished since then, and again the physical island was gorgeous and it is one of the less expensive ones. Well not extortionate anyway ! I can't afford it these days as I married the bartender !!!!

Hi Experts!

Been looking to book a holiday to Cuba for June time of late but then noticed the maldives and really like the look of them (as well as Cape Verde islands but thats too expensive).

Prices vary a lot and have read mixed reviews about all the affordable places on trip advisor and noticed som epleaces dont include spirits on their All Inclusive option.

Can anyone give any advice on the place to stay for around £2000? Is that too little? I dont know!

Also, if people could advise on any hotels worth looking at for an AI basis?

Lee

hi Lee
Have you had a look at our reviews? We have some really good ones.

Hi Fiona,

I have but theres so many and i dont know what might be in my pricerange.

the main question was really if it can be done at a good qualitiy for 2k.

Depends how long you want to go for and when, I think.
I've just booked for Maayafushi (all inclusive) and paid much less than £2k for 1 week in December for us both. Have a look at Portland. It took me ages to find an island that felt right for us at right price etc..but I enjoyed all the research!

I think for a fornight you might be pushing it slightly with 2K - move it slightly to £2.5k and you get something no problem. I take it you want all inclusive - if so have a look at the following island which you sould be able to get within your budget.

Lily Beach
Kuredu
Sun Island (possibly)
Maayafushi
Meerufenfushi
Kuramathi

I have been to Lily Beach 3 times and am going back in May - the all inclusive there is very good. All the spirits included in the all inclusive are branded (smirnoff, bacardi, walkers, Johnnie Walker etc). The only thing you will find (as everywhere is the Maldives) is that cocktails are not included in the all inclusive. Some islands also don't include bottles of water but happily they do at Lily Beach and included two cocktails of the day for you to drink in the evenings only.

We went last May and paid £2300 for 2 weeks - this year it is £2500 for 16 nights although it does depend on when you want to go - the cheapest times in the maldives is between May and July. Most Expensive is between December and March.

Cynical- £2500 for two AI for 16 days. That sounds brilliant. I knew you could do it for a week but not for that long! Is that a package?

Yep - through Hayes and Jarvis and scheduled flights with Quatar ailines.

When you look at how much you can spend altogether on a short haul holiday for 2 weeks that seems a real bargain.

I know - that's why we never really want to go anywhere else.

How good is the weather in may/june?

Went we wentin May last year it was exceedingly hot - between 35-42 degrees daily and around 28 degrees at night. Sea temps are 29 degrees so water is very warm.

It's was very humid so often felt hotter than it actually was but although we did loose 2 half days to rain, and there were often heavy rain storms at night, we would (and are) go back at this time of year again.

The reduction in price for these months certainly made up for the bit of rain and cloud we had.

THanks for the replys folks. It is a 14 nighter we are looking at.

Its been mentioned on the type of island but what are the real differences? Is it just the hotels that are on the islands that make the difference or are some islands more scenic than others?

If i was just to go full board, what are the prices like for drink?

both times I have been to the Maldives I paid less than 1200 per person AI , sun island and club faru , also both times have been late May(06) and late June(05) little bit of rain in the evening but nothing to run home for - check teletext or Sky holidays the later you leave it the more likely you are it will depend on the Island - some people prefer a real get away island eg Sun Island I liked Faru as it was clean and simple , yet it is near Male and the airport but the noise is slight and we didn't notice it after a couple of days

I certainly like the idea of a desert island type getaway.

Why is it that Thomson and Frist choice dont use these islands? They do the North Male Atol ect.

Mr P,

You are right in that it is one hotel per island so depending on how many stars the hotel has got, depends on how much you will pay - anything from £900 for two weeks at the 3 star Club Faru which overlooks male so you are very close to the airport and a local isdustrial island to £5000 plus for the likes of the 5 star plus of the Hilton and the banyan tree.

All the islands are pretty attractive. Some might have better house reefs than others which makes for better snorkeling - some don't have one at all so do your reasearch well.

Perhaps you should decide on how big an island you want to stay on. One that is fairly small and you can walk completely around in 20 mins or so or one that is much larger that may have more entertainment and sporting facilities (like Sun island which is the largest tourist island in the Maldives and is 1.5km long).

We ourselves always choose a small island usually one with 80 rooms or so - wouldn't like to stay at a island with 350-450 rooms - sort of ruins the robinson crusoe effect for me.

By the way, first choice offer both sun island and club faru. Also look at hayes and Jarvis (they are owned by first choice). They use the first choice direct flights (or a scheduled flight if you'd prefer) and they offer a much wider choice of hotels - like Lily Beach for example.

Tracy