Maldives Magic

If you’ve never heard of the Maldives, you are in for a treat! I am sharing my experience of three different trips to this magical destination and its dreamy white beaches, towering palm trees, and turquoise waters. After reading and seeing my photos, you will know what I mean by Maldives Magic!

I got inspired to create this post for two reasons. One reason is because a friend of mine is going to the Maldives in November 2021 for her first time. Talking to her about her upcoming trip made me think about my vacations there. I would love to return.

The second reason is because this time of year (October) is when I usually booked my Maldives trips. I chose to go to the Maldives in January and February to take a break from the cold European winters. I would start looking for destinations about this time and get the trip booked to have something to look forward to in a few months.

I mentioned my Maldives trip in two other blog posts, ‘My Top Destinations‘ and ‘Best Getaway Beaches‘. You will want to check those out as well.

Overview of Maldives

The Maldives (or Maldive Islands) is an independent country located in the north-central Indian Ocean. There are approximately 1200 small coral islands grouped in clusters called atolls. Only 200 of the islands are inhabited.

These tiny islands extend more than 510 miles (820 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from east to west. The northernmost atoll is 370 miles (600 km) south of India. The central area, including the capital island of Male, is 400 miles (645 km) southwest of Sri Lanka.

The Maldives are made up of 20 natural atolls. An atoll (also known as a coral atoll) is a ring-shaped coral reef, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. The formation of an atoll is a slow process that can take millions of years. It begins when an underwater volcano erupts and creates a buildup of lava on the seafloor. With continued eruptions, the lava continues to build until it breaks through the ocean’s surface and forms an island. Of all the 1200 Maldive islands, not one is higher than 6 feet (1.8 meters) above sea level.

Because of the small size of each island, you will normally only find one resort per island.

When is the best time to go to the Maldives? The rainy season is from May to August due to the southwest monsoon. Between December and March, the northeast monsoon brings dry and mild winds. The average annual temperature varies from 76 to 86 °F (24 to 30 °C). Rainfall averages around 84 inches (2,130 mm) per year. 

The official language of the Maldives is an Indo-European language called Dhivehi (or Maldivian). Arabic, Hindi, and English are also spoken and Islam is the state religion.

When traveling to the Maldives, you will normally go through the international airport on Male island. The Velana International Airport is located on Hulhulé Island in the North Malé Atoll near the capital island Malé. The airport is well connected with major airports around the world and serves as the main gateway into the Maldives for tourists.

Velidhu Island

Velidhu (sometimes spelled Velidoo) was the first Maldives island we went to in January 2009. I believe I found it in a travel agency brochure and booked it through the agency. I was looking for the best price to go to the Maldives, so we decided on a very small island with not many bells and whistles.

I seem to have lost all my own photos of our trip to Velidhu. To give you an idea of what it looks like, I am including photos in this section from the internet instead of my own.

We took a 20-minute sea plane ride from the main airport of Male to reach our tiny island. It was my first time in a sea plane and such a thrill to land on the water.

Velidhu is located in the North Ari Atoll.

Velidhu
Distance to Malé	77 km (48 mi)
Dimensions
• Length	.39 km (.24 mi)
• Width	.23 km (.14 mi)

The island was surrounded by a small white soft sandy beach. You could literally walk around the island in 15 minutes. So if you are not one to like small secluded islands, you shouldn’t come to these types of Maldive islands. There are bigger ones to choose from if that is more your style.

For our first time to Maldives, we chose to stay in a water bungalow. The island had 80 beach bungalows and 20 water bungalows. I had never stayed in a hut over water, so this was definitely another thrill for me. Our hut had a glass floor in the living room area where you could watch the fish swim below. How cool is that?!

We had a half-board meal plan which included breakfast and dinner. Some Maldive islands offer you the choice of half-board, full-board (3 meals), or all-inclusive (all meals and alcoholic drinks). We were assigned a table for the whole week at the restaurant with a given dinner time. Each meal was buffet style. On the bigger Maldive islands, you may have multiple restaurant choices. We walked only 5 minutes from our water bungalow to the restaurant by the beach. You could even show up barefoot if you wanted to.

One of the reasons we chose this island as well as the other two was because it had a ‘house reef’. A house reef is defined as a coral reef that is easily accessible from a resort and is usually right off the beach and comfortably within swimming distance.

The advantage of islands offering a house reef is that you can simply snorkel right off the island. You don’t need to book a boat ride to a nearby reef for snorkeling.

We found this to be a great advantage and only stayed in islands offering this for our next two trips to the Maldives.

One strange phenomenon we saw on Velidhu island was the sparkling water and sand at night. The Maldives is known as one of a handful of places around the world that have bioluminescent phytoplankton lighting up the water. We were shocked and intrigued when we first saw it. As waves break on the shore or your bare feet step into wet sand, a bright blue glow appears. I wish we could have captured it on camera, but the above picture shows what it looked like.

Fihalhohi Island

The following year in February 2010, we returned to the Maldives, this time to a different island called Fihalhohi (pronounced “fia lohi’). Instead of taking a sea plane, we had to take a speed boat to reach this island from the main Maldives airport in Male.

Fihalhohi island is located on the southern rim of the Male atoll, 28 kilometers from the Male International airport. The boat ride from Male to Fihalhohi was 45 minutes. After using both sea planes and speed boats to reach islands in the Maldives, I personally would recommend to choose an island where you can take a sea plane. It’s usually quicker and much more interesting.

Fihalhohi
Distance to Malé	28 km (17 mi)
Dimensions
• Length	.4 km (.26 mi)
• Width	.26 km (.16 mi)

The funny thing I noticed about these smaller islands is how they resembled ‘Gilligan’s Island’, a popular t.v. show from the 60s. It felt so remote and far away from civilization.

Each island in the Maldives is a perfect blend of blue, white, and green. The palm trees are perfectly shaped and hang over the beaches like a prop.

For this Maldives vacation, we opted to stay in a beach bungalow. Bungalows on the beach are considerably cheaper than the water bungalows. I have to say though that this island had gorgeous water bungalows. We sneaked a peek of one while it was being cleaned. We tried to upgrade to a water bungalow after we got there, but there were none available for our stay.

Our beach bungalow was on the second floor of a two-story building, accessible by wooden stairs. It had a secluded balcony surrounded by palm trees and fruit bats hanging from the branches. It was a different kind of experience, but I have to say I prefer staying in a water bungalow in the Maldives.

What you will find on these small Maldives islands is that beach areas around the island are accessible by all the guests. You just need to find some free chairs and camp out there for the day.

I was amazed at how few people we saw during the day on the island. It felt like we had the whole island to ourselves.

Fihalhohi had a nice beach bar on one side of the island. They served light food and all sorts of drinks and cocktails. It was so peaceful to sit there and enjoy the sunset view.

The bartenders were very friendly and we got to know them over the course of the week. Many of the Maldives employees come from nearby Sri Lanka. They come there to make better money to send home to their families.

The temperatures in February were near the upper 80s F (30c). The skies were mostly clear but there are some days with scattered clouds. I don’t remember it ever raining in the Maldives in the January-February timeframe.

We walked around this tiny island everyday to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

There was a sports shop near the beach bar that rented out water sports equipment. It varies from island to island if water sports equipment is included in your package. Normally excursions cost extra but we found the prices reasonable.

We rented our snorkel gear at this shop for the whole week. We also rented kayaks one day and did a tour of the island.

On some islands, you can do water skiing. My partner did this in Fihalhohi one day. It was so much fun.

We also booked an excursion to do fishing. This was a funny and entertaining experience. They didn’t provide fishing poles but only fishing wire. We had to throw the wire and hook into the water and pull it back slowly.

The local guys on the boat didn’t speak much English but they did manage to say ‘Fish, Fish!’ when they saw them in the water. We pulled and pulled the wire and lo and behold, we ended up catching a fish!

We didn’t know this at the time, but when you catch a fish, they give it to the cooks to serve it to you the following evening. It was quite amusing and sad at the same time to see this colorful fish on a big plate at our dinner table. When in the Maldives…

During our week, we also took advantage of the onsite spa. We had balinese & shiatsu massages, a coconut body scrub, and a pedicure. This is what I call living. 

The best thing about spending time in the Maldives is watching the sunsets. No matter where your island is located, you should be able to see a sunset from one side of the island. It is pure bliss.

Here is a link to book your trip on Fihalhohi!

Vakarufalhi Island

You would think we would be sick of going to the Maldives, but we returned for our third year in a row in January 2011. We chose this time to go to an island called Vakarufalhi located in the South Ari Atoll. It was by far the best Maldive island experience we had.

We took a 30-minute sea plane ride to reach this island. We got great views of the small island and its house reef from the small plane window.

Vakarufalhi
Distance to Malé	90 km (56 mi)
Dimensions
• Length	.22 km (.14 mi)
• Width	.25 km (.15 mi)

The main reason we chose this island was because of the nice water bungalows and the ‘house reef’. You can see in the above aerial photo the difference between the water color of light turquoise and deep blue. What separates the two is the coral reef that encircles the island. The reef is where abundant fish and wildlife live.

You simply need to walk out on the long pier to access the reef. We spent endless hours snorkeling here to view the colorful fish and coral.

The water bungalows on Vakarufalhi were top notch. The interior was very spacious and there was a big deck on the back side with no view of the neighboring bungalows. You could access the shallow water from the deck stairs and swim at any time of the day.

Our large bed faced huge glass windows looking out into vast water. No land, no people, only serenity. This is what the Maldives is all about.

Our water bungalow private deck was large enough to spend the entire day relaxing. We are not ones to enjoy lying in the sun but prefer to be more active. We spent most of our free time snorkeling in the Maldives. I love seeing all the fish in these crystal clear waters. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good underwater camera back then (2009-2011), so I can’t share our own photos of the amazing underwater life.

We felt like royalty staying in this huge water bungalow. It makes such a difference to your island experience.

As far as wildlife on the Maldives islands, you will find lots of lizards and different bird species. It’s a treat to see a colorful lizard peeking at you from a tree branch.

After a slow and quiet day of relaxation, we would get cleaned up and head to the island beach bar. It’s a perfect way to unwind before dinner.

On Vakarufalhi, they had a separate dining area for people staying in the 25 water bungalows. The 50 beach bungalows had a dining area on the other side. We both shared the same buffet though.

We had the same waiter every night and got to know him well after our week there. He was very friendly and we built a nice relationship during our week stay.

The highlight of our stay on Vakarufalhi was a one-day excursion to a private uninhabited island. We boarded a colorful speed boat and had a lovely picnic and leisure time on this pristine island.

When we arrived to the tiny island, they had a smaller boat to take us ashore. We had to jump out into the shallow water to walk up on the beach. It was like something out of a movie.

After the barbecue lunch they set up and served us, we were free to walk around the island and explore. We found a picturesque swing hanging from a large palm tree and took some great shots of it.

We also saw an area decorated with traditional wedding props. I believe they must have had a recent wedding here. What a wonderful backdrop for a wedding!

When we left at the end of the amazing day, they gave us the option to walk out to the bigger boat. We all tried but ended up waist deep in the water. The smaller boat came to pick up those who didn’t want to swim further. It was quite funny and made for a terrific photo.

Other activities we did during the week was a spa visit where we had a couples’ massage in the same room looking down at a glass floor to see the fish below. That was very cool.

I love the Maldives. I especially love the smaller islands that we experienced. There was a special ambiance about them. It was peaceful. There were less tourists. The employees were more personal. The attention was more detailed.

There are many options of islands and resorts in the Maldives. You can cater your vacation to your needs and desires. I am sure the bigger islands with more amenities are more expensive, but it’s your choice.

Summary of Maldives Magic

I hope by reading this post you got an idea of the magic that Maldives offers. It is a place like no other. I heard many years ago that the islands would disappear and be covered by water due to the changing world climate. They are still there. Go there if you have the chance. You will be amazed with the Maldives Magic.

After the experience of our three trips, I think one week is plenty of time to experience the Maldives. We only stayed one week each time. I would get quite restless to stay longer than one week. It may be a long way to go for one week depending on where you live in the world. You could always combine your Maldives trip with an additional week in nearby Sri Lanka (which we visited on a separate trip).

I usually don’t return to the same travel destination more than once. The Maldives was an exception. It was well worth repeating for the beauty, tranquility, and magic!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!