When you think of getting away to turquoise waters, secluded beaches, and ultimate pampering, I mean really getting away, the Maldives come to mind. This travel wish list destination is popular to dream about. A mystery to most travelers. Today, we'll discuss the amazing Maldives.
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When you think of getting away to turquoise waters, secluded beaches, and ultimate pampering, I mean really getting away, the Maldives come to mind. This travel wish list destination is popular to dream about. A mystery to most travelers. Today, we'll discuss the amazing Maldives.
~~~~~~~
Grab Ryan's free download for planning the ultimate family all-inclusive vacation: https://bit.ly/allinclusivevacationtoptips
Grab Julie's free download for a baby and toddler vacation packing list:
https://bit.ly/babytoddlerpackinglist
Ready to plan your vacation? Most families are confused and overwhelmed when planning a vacation. We work with you to plan a trip perfect for your family. Saving you time, money, and stress!
Join the travel conversations and the fun in the All Things Travel Show Facebook group!
Hello and welcome to All Things Travel. When you think of getting away to turquoise waters, secluded beaches, and ultimate pampering, I mean really getting away, the Maldives come to mind. This travel wish list destination is popular to dream about. A mystery to most travelers. Today, we'll discuss the amazing Maldives. The maldives is such a unique destination We've all heard of it and seen pictures of those over the water bungalows But many clients and guests don't really know what the maldives is. So it's a country in south asia situated in the indian ocean It's southwest of sri lanka and india and 400 nautical miles from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives is really a chain of 26 atolls that stretches across the equator and comprises a territory spanning about 35, 000 square miles, including the sea land area of all the islands. The land area is 115 square miles out of 35, 000 square miles including the sea. The Maldives is actually the smallest country in Asia, as well as one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states. Let's check out the Maldives and learn about why it should be on your list. Where you need to go and how you can get there. You want to plan an amazing trip to an over the water bungalow, but you don't know how to get started As your travel advisor, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your vacation. And we take the stress out of planning so that you can focus on the fun, creating memories, and lounging on the beach. You can reach me at Ryan at CreatingMagicVacations. com And you can reach me at Julie at CreatingMagicVacations. com Alright, so Julie, this is our Travel Wishlist, series where we're talking about these big heavy hitters that everybody talks about wanting to go to and, and we're trying to pull back the curtain a little bit about what these destinations have to offer. And so the Maldives are a real mystery, aren't they? They are so many times people say I want to go to the maldives I want to go to the maldives, but they don't really know what they're talking about. So i'm excited to tell them about it a couple things about the maldives that make it that special place first and foremost is the weather So over the course of the year get this The temperature typically varies from 80 degrees to 88 degrees and is rarely below 77 degrees fahrenheit or above 90 degrees fahrenheit. It's like perfect weather all year long. Wow. The second thing that makes the Maldives very special are the beaches, and by that I mean when we think about those resorts that we see kind of spanning over the water, it's like these resorts are almost private islands that have their own beach system. Yes, the third is going for the the coral the diving the swimming with sea life like whale sharks and Turtles if you want to see creatures in the sea If you want to see coral reefs This is one of the best places in the world to do it. One of the resorts do it is to hop off your over the water bungalow and boom, you're right there. Seriously. Like I'm going to talk about a resort here a little while where you have a whole list of diving spots. That are within, easy access from your resort and then obviously water sports So I talked about the diving I talked about the snorkeling but during the monsoon season believe it or not Which is summertime in the Maldives That is the best time for surfing and they have some of the best surfing in the world Now you're in the middle of nowhere So, you wouldn't expect to have very good food and service, and what the Maldives is to the exact opposite. They actually have world class cuisine, but you just said at the beginning of the show how close they are to India, how close they are to Asia. I was watching a show about traveling to the Maldives and the chef at one of the resorts was saying within a day, we can get anything from around the world shipped to us because of where we are located, amongst all these continents. So, really, the cuisine is quite varied and top notch. And then obviously the last one, and what we think about when we think about these amazing resorts, the spa, the luxury, the service, is just above and beyond. So julie with them all these having all these special characteristics, There are some real considerations when it comes to going to this destination, right? these are some things that our clients really need to understand before we start planning a trip there. So obviously, as we've mentioned on our other destinations for your travel wishlist, you need a passport and you need to have at least six months left on the passport after you return home. The second really big thing with the Maldives is it is hard to get there. It's a long trip. It is a long flight, like over 20 hours. And that's if you book early and get a good flight. If you wait to book your flight to the Maldives, you are looking at multiple stops and a really long trip. So a lot of clients can split up their travel by either stopping over in Europe or stopping over in Dubai. I actually have some clients traveling for their honeymoon to the Maldives in the spring, and they are stopping over in Thailand. So they'll go to Thailand, do a couple days in Thailand, and then go from Thailand to the Maldives. Now they still have some pretty long flights both ways, but at least it's not like 30 hours at once. The other thing is that once you land in the Maldives, typically you're going to be flying into Mali, and you need to think about your transfers when you get there. Sometimes the resorts include these, and sometimes we have to find a way to book these. Separately, but you'll likely be taking a seaplane or a boat to your resort because of, the way the islands are all situated. You also want to know are those transfers going to be included in the price? Because if not that can add a good amount to your budget. There's also a ton of options for a resort So it can be challenging to narrow it down I know clients that i've talked to about the maldives Everyone is picturing that over the water bungalow and they haven't thought much further beyond that right To try to narrow down where you need to be and I also think with this too People don't think about the maldives being a family destination but there are options for the entire family that includes kids clubs and activities for kids, Yes, you can envision that adults only experience and i'll give an example of that, but there's also family options here So you really have to work with somebody who knows the maldives and understands? what your family wants or what you want and what best resort there is for that. Right. I would agree. I think a lot of the pictures you see are like the honeymoon couple, you know, lounging on the private deck of their over the water bungalow, but there are a lot of family friendly options that can work for you. So all this being said, you really need to consider. The budget that you have going into this trip, and really what I put in the show notes here it can be expensive, but there are options for families and adults only that fit most upper budgets. This is not a cheap trip, but it's an amazing trip. And I think you'll be surprised when I break down the options of both an adult's trip and a family trip, what it could be. But first, Julie, I want to talk about where in the world does all things travel, and I think you're really going to be excited about this one. Oh, I can't wait. So, I looked back at the last couple episodes, and I wanted to find our international destination that we haven't talked about yet. And the top one that came up was Helsinki, Finland. Yeah, I was super excited and so I started to look at things to do in Helsinki And obviously there's a lot to see a lot to do one thing really stuck with me because when I think of going to a European city that I've not been before This is one of my favorite all time things to do and this is stroll around the central market For souvenir shopping, tasty local food fresh produce, and great people watching, be sure to head to the Central Market. It's located near the harbor, which sits on the coast of the Baltic Sea. In October, the Herring Market begins, which is a huge local event. The market has heated tents when it gets cold, and there are plenty of restaurants and cafes around making it a fun place to visit. Any time of the year and yes, it's rather touristy, but it's also popular with the local fins I love that does that not sound like so much fun? I want to go there now and I want to eat herring and I want to just hang out. Yeah, that sounds amazing Let's do it. All right rest of the episode is canceled because i'm headed to the airport I love it! Well hey, our Finnish listener, we are super excited that you're listening. Do us a favor, reach out to Julie or I either on Facebook or via email, because I would love to send a thank you gift all the way to Helsinki. for you being a listener to the podcast. All right, Julie, so like you did with Italy, I broke down two different trips. Obviously, with the Maldives, there's not a lot of variation in trip type, but I talked about who was going. So my first trip is the two adults. And I've looked at February 11th to February 17th, 2024. So right over Valentine's Day. How romantic. It is it is the monsoon season isn't there and when I say monsoon season Don't let that make you not want to go then it's just that's the rainy season I guess if you want to think about it that yes. All right, so The resort I picked for this, so this is six nights at the resort and they do talk about when I researched the Maldives about hopping around from resort to resort but I just focused on one resort although the second one that I'm going to talk about today. I have some different options with that. So this is the You and Me Cocoon Resort. And it's a private, rustic, romantic island in an untouched corner of the Maldives. It's just a 20 minutes by speed boat from the domestic airport, or a 45 minute seaplane from that Mali International Airport like you talked about. A couple things that are really cool about this resort. I love this. Dine Under the Waves at H2O. A first of its kind, it is a fully submerged underwater restaurant that gives diners a 360 degree view of the marine environment as they enjoy a delicious meal. What do you think about it? That's amazing. Does that sound good? That does sound so cool. Wow All right. So what else can we do there? This is so fun They also offer a getaway from it all experience Which basically allows you to have a unique holiday with exclusive service full dine around policy at four different gourmet restaurants And everything is included. This resort overall has 109 rooms, 99 of which, which are over the water, and 10 at the beach. So you've got king size beds overlooking the water, and I chose a manta villa. And the manta villas are overlooking the sea ocean with a sunrise view. These water villas have a rustic luxury feel with polished wood floors, a king size bed, rain shower, seaside deck, with an infinite view. Of the blue lagoon an all inclusive package and what was interesting with these resorts You could get kind of a bed and breakfast package. You could get a half board package. You could get an all inclusive package. So One of the things that I read about with the maldives is it's very expensive The food is very expensive. The drinks are very expensive. So if you can Go all inclusive and then you don't have to worry about it. So with these two options today, that's what I did For this Banta Villa for six nights, and this does include your transfers, it's eight thousand four hundred and forty dollars. That's a great price. It's a great price for what you're getting and then obviously that resort is going to have all sorts of options with water activities, they'll have scuba diving on site, all that stuff so that you can really be as active or relaxed as you want to be. Wow, that's a great deal Ryan. I really love that option. So the second option that I had is for a family of four. I had two adults and an eight year old and a twelve year old. And I did that same week, so it's six nights. This resort that I chose is, and forgive my pronunciation here, but it's the Dahawa Ihuru Resort. It's surrounded by one of the best preserved coral reefs in the Maldives. And it has, actually around it, it has a shipwreck. So you can go snorkeling out to the shipwreck, diving to the shipwreck. In fact, you want to talk about shipwrecks. There are actually there are multiple dive spots that are within a short boat ride or even a short swim out from this area. They have sunset cruises. They have dolphin cruises. They have cooking classes. They have fishing. This because it's a family resort has a kids club. It has paddy diving, a dive center, all that stuff. And then on top of that it has multiple restaurants and what I really like about this is You can actually travel to another resort that's only five minutes away on another island and spend the day there and dine at those restaurants as well. Wow, that's amazing. Yeah, absolutely. So, all sorts of stuff that you can do here. You're not going to get bored. And so for this, I chose the Beachfront Jet Pool Villa Double. It is sheltered by leafy trees, swaying palms and flowering shrubs. The Beachfront Villa is the perfect coastal hideout for up to four guests. So basically what it has is it has one big bed, it has a pull out sofa, and then you can actually request a second pull out sofa. To be brought into the room. So those two kids wouldn't have to share a bed if they didn't want to and so for all of this and again, this is all inclusive and This is an all inclusive dining and play option. So a lot of your activities are going to be included in this price It's eleven thousand nine hundred and fourteen dollars for the family. I'm impressed with that I'm really impressed. Yeah, and you know and both of these I can tell you They are the prototypical Maldives resort. I mean, the first one with the two adults, you are over the water. You are staring at the water with this second one. You are steps out on the beach. You actually you have a private jet pool, but then on the other side, you can actually walk out right onto the beach. There's a swing right there. You can sit and look at the water in front of your villa. I would go to both these places and I don't know if I'd want to leave. The only thing you really have to think of on top of those prices is the flights and then you're done. I mean, that's very doable. It is very doable. You want to plan an amazing trip to the Maldives, but you don't know how to get started. As your travel advisor, we work with you to create a customized itinerary for your Maldives vacation and take the stress of planning away so you can focus on the fun and creating memories on these beautiful beaches. You can reach out to us at Julie at CreatingMagicVacations. com You can also reach me at Ryan at CreatingMagicVacations. com We look forward to talking to you about a wishlist travel destination next week on All Things Travel. So I, I was joking around, I'm like, what if I just pronounced it Maledives the whole, uh, the whole episode. You can do that. You can put that at the end. We know, we know all about the Maledives. Can you just put all the bad pronunciations at the end? The Maledives. What's the other one? The Maldives. There's just a lot.