Well planned Maldives holiday and a quickly online purchase of next available flight can have big differences, especially if you are on your first trip to the island nation. The Male city is the capital of country and there few other cities. Though they are officially known as cities they are also tiny islands with limited facilities and resources. The capital Male’ is the central hub of the country. Citizens in living in other islands often depend on Male’ for health care, supply of food and other essentials, government services. There is a a minor decentralization in government administration. But, islands and their small populations make it challenging to build all necessary infrastructure required for modern societies. So, when you are visiting the Maldives it is important to address all your preferences and requirements in advance. One way to do that is to book a bespoke package from a local travel agent who knows the country well and where to source resources. If you book through an automated online booking platform you may have a hard time reaching their customer support and then trying to arrange things through them. Eventually there will be more limitation than doing it directly through a local agent that is specialized in bespoke luxury offers.
Taking your own medication with you is something that is essential. In Male’ there are several pharmacies but the mostly sell Indian products. Some of these are questionable in terms of its quality. The government has recently announced overhaul of the system after identifying some low quality products that are commonly used. In Europe and advanced countries like Japan, Korea or Singapore the medications are far better in quality. Missing an critical medication can eventually cause you to have an early departure, no resort would give a refund for unused night as the standard hotel policy.
Women’s sanitary products are important too. It’s not that Maldives does not have them. Most resorts have at least one shop that sells essentials including sanitary items for women. But, there have rare occasions they run out of stock. When the stock is available the brands are often limited. In worst case you can rent a boat and visit a local island buy something but that is totally unnecessary as it can be easily planned ahead. Keep this included on your Maldives holiday planning checklist.
When you are on a Maldives holiday you often embrace beauty of its beaches and amazing sea life. In such as setting you also want to create wonderful memories with your partner. A lot of men, in 21st century, seems taking medication to keep a healthy relationship with the partner. When you are visiting Maldives you may have thought you won’t need it there, but the fact is otherwise. If you somehow forget to bring you can check with your butler to buy it. But, it relying on a product that you have already tested is always better.
Sun cream is always essential as Maldives is a humid country with temperature going high as 32 degrees. A high factor is suitable to the most guests. Sun screen location is available in many islands as well, but limitation of choices will be there. So, never forget your creams and beauty products. Shower Gel and Soap are provided in hotels as standard policy and that works well to most guests. May be this not important to be mentioned but think of someone who wants to save on baggage weight.
Some luxury resorts have particular dress codes at different restaurants. Smart casual or island chic works well across the industry, especially in the evenings. While you pack beach wear remember to do appropriately for the restaurant visits. Also, If you are an addictive snorkeler you may already have personal set of gears that should be included in the baggage. Otherwise it is available for rental but your can’t get to choose from different brands. If you are staying for 2 weeks it would be cheaper to have your own set bought at home than taking for daily rental.
If you are flying a private jet to the Maldives you may want keep it well organized. Jet rental companies are mostly aware of the local jet handling agents but if you are flying personal jet and have never being to Maldives before it may be little challenging to pick a reliable jet handler. Crew accommodation, refueling, parking slot reservation and most importantly landing permits are some of the factors to note. Long haul flights would certainly require inflight catering and this can be arranged as well but prior order and payment is essential. Velana International Airport and VRDA Maafaru in Noonu Atoll are the most popular airports for jet holidays. The later has many luxury resorts around, about 15 – 30 minutes by speed boat from Maafaru. Unlike VRMM Velana the congestion and overcrowding is also a lot less there. For there are no catering company located right in Maafaru, agents usually arrange food to be prepared and transported from near by five star resorts. For more complex menus the travel agent would have to do lot of communication with resort. So, ordering with adequate time in advance is very important. For certain dishes such as Grilled Wagyu A5 Steak the meat has to be imported.
If you are choosing a resort located near Male’ International Airport it is absolutely vital that you obtain VIP airport service that includes fast-track and lounge service. Otherwise you will have to go through the regular arrival terminal which is often overcrowded as airport struggles to cater over a million tourists arriving the country every year. It is very obvious that this airport is doing over its capacity. Waiting an hour or more in queues for passport processing is something that is totally avoidable with VIP package offered by Priority Maldives. Under this service they arrange a greeter to welcome you as soon as you get off the aircraft and escorts to the lounge while regular passengers proceed to the arrival terminal. There are many comforting components included in the package. But, the availability is often a problem. Last minute requests are sometimes not honoured due to being full, there are limited slots available for each flight time.
Do you have any dietary requirement or preference? This is something very critical and important to be organized prior to booking a resort or private island. Local travel agents usually have more experience in making such bespoke arrangements. If you are vegetarian you need to tell agent exactly which items you do not eat and which items you prefer. There are many secs among the vegetarians such as vegan or pescatarian. Some vegan to occasionally eat fish while others remain strict on plant-based foot. If you are seeking a resort that as a vegetarian restaurant you may be limiting your choices too much as such resorts are extremely rare in the Maldives.
Some guests may get in touch with the chosen directly to arrange meals. It may be better to get this done through an experience travel agent. You may ask why? Communication is an area that sometimes lead to confusion. An experienced hand dealing with the important matter not only sounds right but it is makes the arrangements more reliable. Involving local travel agent also has another benefit. In case the resort fails to deliver something the agent may be able to arrange an alternative, may be from a near-by island or another resorts in the atoll.
All the Maldives resorts offer different excursions or activities to experience during the stay. In addition to water sports or scuba diving there are different experiences you can sign up during the stay. The excursions are usually scheduled for a week, meaning there would be different excursion on different days of the week. If you are staying for just 1 week there is a chance that your favourite activity gets fully booked. For example, some resorts have only 1 boat dedicated for Big Game Fishing and one of the reasons you chose Maldives is your love for fishing. To avoid such cases you may want to pre-book some activities while doing the hotel resorts. But, note that many sea-based activities are subject to weather conditions.
