Experiencing Bliss in the Maldives

Sometimes, two full days in a new place is enough to recharge your soul. This is the lesson we learnt during our trip to the Maldives and now fully embrace it. We really wanted to go on a family vacation. School, work, illnesses had worn us down. But, due to other commitments, we had only four days to spare where two of the days would be used for traveling to and back from our destination. Where should we go? After a lot of debate, like old days, we threw a dart at the world map and Maldives won!

We had several friends who had been to the islands after covid and loved the experience. There are so many options within the Maldives. What is most interesting is that each group of islands has its own resorts and choices for activities. So, once you pick your resort, the itinerary is pretty much set. Almost all international flights arrive and depart from Male and from there you can travel either by plane or boat to your destination. There are of course some larger islands with lots of stay options.

After speaking to a lot of friends and doing a lot of research, we settled on Kuramathi. It met all our Goldilocks conditions – right size, plenty of activities, ability to take a boat, nearby island to experience local life, all-inclusive package options, family friendly and best of all – within our budget. While the classic stay choice would have been a water villa, we chose a two-bedroom beach villa instead and had no regrets. This way, the kids had their bedroom and we had direct access to the water – bliss!

Arrival – Due to unforeseen circumstances, we landed much later than our original expected arrival time. Luckily, the resort still had the boat running. Important note – they all have a cut off time after which boats no longer run. So please make sure you arrive before the cut off time or you will have to spend the night in Male. The immigration and customs process was smooth – especially since we had the return tickets as well. Please do read the dos and don’ts for the country and follow them closely.

We reached Kuramathi around 3:30 pm. We walked into the villa and wow… our jaws dropped. It was just perfect! The kids took the bedroom upstairs while we took the bedroom downstairs. After settling in, we went to the Island coffee shop to enjoy coffee and snacks. It was still quite hot outside but we could not resist heading down to the sand bar. We hung out there until the sun set. We then slowly headed back to our villa. After getting refreshed, we headed to the restaurant, had our dinner and then called it a night.

The next day the boys headed out to enjoy some snorkelling while I chilled. Soon it was lunch time so we all headed back to the villa and changed before grabbing lunch. Later in the afternoon, we went on a submarine ride to view the reefs and life under water. Before we headed out on our excursion, we decided to try one of the restaurants for dinner – Kobe. Luckily, they had a table available at the teppanyaki (hibachi) dining experience. After the submarine excursion ended, we went back to our villa, changed and then headed to the restaurant. Another brilliant experience.

The following day we all woke up late. Decided to take it easy in the morning. After breakfast, hung out by the villa enjoying the almost private beach. Bliss once again! Later in the afternoon we went on a trip to nearby Rashdoo island. We spent some time exploring the island and indulged in some shopping. Once we got back, we quickly hopped on another boat and headed out for the sunset cruise. It was absolutely amazing…. beautiful sunset over the Indian ocean and Dolphins everywhere…. Just magical! We spent the rest of the evening chillin’ and relaxing.

The next day it was time to go back home. Our boat ride was at 9am. Some of us woke up early and headed back to the sand bar for one last dip. Due to low tide, the sand bar was much bigger and we could go further down. We watched as a baby white shark swam nearby. Soon it was time to have breakfast and check out.

We said our good byes and headed back to reality. Personally, I would not mind going back to the Maldives. Maybe spend some time in Male to check out the city as well checking out the UNESCO sites. Will perhaps check out another island or two if we do go back.