Hi guys,
I hope you’re all having a good week. As you probably know if you follow me on social media, I started mine in the Maldives which was just amazing (I still can’t believe I’m here). We are here for 6 days in total, so today marks the half way point for us and I have to say it is one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been. It’s hard to believe my eyes sometimes and to take in all the beauty!
About the Maldives:
The Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean, and is comprised of about 1,200 seperate islands (most of the resorts have an island to themselves). There is a 4 hour time difference to the mainland of Malé and then each island can vary based on daylight hours. Where we stayed (Finolhu) was two hours ahead of the mainland – so 6 hours ahead of Ireland. The Maldives is a muslim country – so if you are staying in the mainland Muslim rules may apply however in the resorts it is the same as pretty much any resort (you can dress how you like and act how you like – within reason of course haha). Also, an important one to note is that you are not allowed bring alcohol into the country, not even duty free.
We got two flights to get to the Maldives and then one internal seaplane (an important thing to consider before booking as these can be expensive. There are resorts you can get boats to as well). We flew from Dublin – Dubai (7 hours) and then from Dubai to Malé (3 and half hours) and we flew with Emirates.
Maldives use US Dollars as their main currency and they use UK/ Irish plugs, which is very handy – no adaptors for me 😊
We travelled during rainy season (May – September) which is also considered off peak, the best weather and most popular time in the Maldives is from October – April/May. Although I have to say we only had a few showers and some wind, it didn’t bother us. It was still lovely and warm, and the storm we experienced on our first night added a bit of excitement and fun to it I think.
Where we stayed:
We stayed in the fun and amazing resort island of Finolhu for our first 3 nights. It is a very relaxed resort, but fun and young as well. We had an over water villa that faced out on to the lagoon – so this is where we spent most of our days. And then at night, we ate at the resort restaurant and went to 1OAK after, this is the resort bar/nightclub where they have shows, bands and djs every night. It wasn’t like a usual nightclub, much less crowded, but equally fun!
Where we ate:
Finolhu has a number of on site restaurants as well as a buffet that is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (Baa Baa beach diner).
We tried Kanusan on our first night- the location is just so pretty overlooking the sea and the food was amazing. Similar to thai food, which I love.
On the second day we went to the Fish and Crab shack for lunch which was just what we had been craving – we got fish and chips 😊
It’s located right at the end of the sandbar which is quite cool.
On our last night we had dinner at the Baahaa grill and this was our favourite meal! We had delicious hummus and pita bread to start with amazing steaks for our main.
What we did:
- Relax at the Cove Club
We went for a jet-lag massage on arrival at the resort – 6 hours is quite a big time difference, so we thought we’d try this as opposed to a regular massage.
- Snorkelling
There is a dive centre at the resort where you can borrow snorkelling equipment for free, we borrowed equipment one of the days and just did a bit of snorkelling behind our villa. I’m a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to fishes/ sharks, but I’m hoping in the next resort to get over my fear. I’ll keep you updated as to how that goes haha!
There is also a watersports centre where you can try paddleboarding and other non-motorised sports for free, and they have some motorised watersports too (jet-skis, sea scooters, etc) that you can pay for.
- Dolphin Excursion
We went out on the Dolphin Excursion on our last night, and had been very excited as I know usually they see quite a few dolphins on that one, but unfortunately as the water was very choppy we didn’t see any! I saw they have a turtle excursion there too, I’d have loved to try that one too!
Today we travelled to our second resort, Amilla Fushi, where we’ll stay for the second half of our trip before travelling home, we were told it’s a very different vibe here – Finolhu is the fun party island, and Amilla Fushi is where you come to relax and unwind.
I’m excited to explore it and get to know another place before heading home,
Anyway, I’m off to enjoy our first night here – I’ll check back in in a few days and tell you everything,
Louise x
