Maldives Holiday – Take the Gateway to Paradise

Being scattered with different islands, Maldives is one of the best places you can go if you love the sun and water. Its setting makes for a perfect refuge for the people who just want to take a breath from the stressful hustle and bustle of the city life. It is the ideal vacation spot where you can do nothing but enjoy and relax and never think of the commitments you are doing all year round.

Lovely sunshine, warm seas, magnificent beaches, remarkable resorts, spectacular scenery, and the fresh, lush, and amazing vegetation are truly astonishing factors that make Maldives just the perfect island paradise anyone should ever experience with. With all the warm temperature running all year round, you can go there to take a Maldives holiday anytime of the year, though peak season usually starts December and ends April.

A Perfect Holiday for Nature Lovers and Adventurers

Maldives has been voted as one of the top holiday destinations in the 20 countries, which include Thailand, Malaysia, and Dubai, in the recent conducted poll. The reason is probably because the island is still left unharmed and unspoiled even with commercial resorts sightings giving all nature lovers and vacationers to savor the magical paradise the island brings. People love the sense of tranquility one finds in Maldives.

The beauty of beaches and resorts are unmatched. It is breathtaking that one can simply stretch on the warm sand and savor their hungry-for-picturesque-scenery eyes on the stunning appeal of the island even for hours and hours. Once you start roaming your eyes around and absorbing the picturesque scenery, you will never want to leave. Nature lovers will exactly understand that feeling of magic once they step their foot on this island.

What you can do with your Maldives holiday is bonus to your vacation. Water sports enthusiasts exactly love the feeling when they can do all the activities like wind surfing, water skiing, snorkeling, diving, sailing, parasailing, reeling in with marine fishes and a lot, lot more. If you are not just a nature lover but an adventurer as well, you can have the feeling too by trying out all these water activities.

The center of commercial trades is Male, the capital city of Maldives. You can take a stroll and visit the local fish market place, where varieties of sea foods and fresh, green vegetables can be found. You can also take yourself to some really good restaurants that overlook the seas. You can go to quaint stores to buy local products as souvenirs for yourself. Visit the famous, old mosque and the art gallery that houses some of the oldest of the oldest artifacts. Enjoy all the sights and when you get tired from all the walking and strolling, have yourself treated to the maximum. Resorts and hotels offer luxury spas.

How to Explore the Islands

Since Male doesn't have its own airway connection, it is by the airport of the island Hulhule where you can land and then from there you can take water travel to go to Maldives' capital city. You can go to other islands of Maldives by taking boat rides from Male.

There is no reason to worry over safety since the local tourism industry has managed transportations and accommodations well that you will encounter no troubles visiting Maldives.

Maldives Holiday Packing Guide

It's the night before you leave, all travel documents are tucked securely in an envelope; your booking in a hotel somewhere in the Maldives is confirmed; and everything is virtually set – except your luggage! You have carefully planned your trip for months but failed somehow failed to pack your bags.

Imagine this situation happening to you. The trip hasn't started yet but you have already bumped into a problem. What a way to start your vacation! Well, you will probably solve this seemingly simple problem. After all, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but not after several hours of worrying and looking for the items you should bring that should have been prepared days before. The point is clear, put emphasis on everything, including the things that will fill your bag.

Here are some tips to remember when packing for a vacation:

Travel light – not because it is easier to carry a lighter bag but because carrying too much weight can be a real problem at the airport. Airline carriers have allowable weight limit to both check-in and carryon baggage - you need to pay for any excess weight you carry. You should also consider the size of your bag. You may not be carrying too much weight but if your bag is larger than the set size, you may have to buy a new one right at the airport or leave with nothing at all.

Different airline carriers have different policies about the allowable weight and size of you baggage. Be sure to check on it before you leave.

Pack wisely – For men, this is not a problem at all as they can exist with just an extra pair of shorts and shirts. But for women, packing for a holiday is totally different story. It is almost weird that women love to carry everything that can fit in their bags. And if there is no more room for other stuffs, they will take another bag and try to fill it to its limits. But regardless of gender, simple rules apply: bring only the things you need and leave everything that's unnecessary. You are going on a beach resort so leave your formal dress in your closet, forget your high-heel shoes and leave your blower behind.

Roll instead of folding your clothes – it saves you space and reduces unwanted wrinkles.

Identify what stuff goes to which bag – If you are traveling, you probably have at least 1 check-in luggage and 1 carryon bag. Take note: important travel documents, a set of clean clothes, vital medicines and other items you can't live without should be packed on your carryon bag. The rest of your stuff goes to your check-in luggage. Why? Bags can get lost while inside the terminal, on its way to the plane; so you have to make sure that the most important things are right beside you.

Create a checklist – There is no shame admitting that you can forget things. Who doesn't? To ensure that you have all the things you need are already prepared, use a checklist. After all, you cannot blame anyone for not remembering the things you should have brought along with you. Moreover, using a checklist will help you eliminate items that you really don't need in case everything doesn't fit inside your bag.

Use your checklist before you leave the resort at the end of your vacation.

Maldives Holiday – Factors in Choosing Resorts Package

If you are looking for a luxury holiday in a tropical island, a Maldives holiday is most ideal for you. A great number of beautiful resorts are outstretched in the 20 percent of Maldives islands and they offer luxury packages, including pampering spa, restaurants, great facilities, and water sports experiences. The beaches that outlay in the thousands of islands boast of the most pristine white sands and bluest of the blue waters, plus the most crystalline waters that the lagoons nearby are filled with.

If you are going with a Maldives holiday, you need to plan ahead so that you will have the best and most comfortable resort for your preference. If you are caught with excitement and find it hard to plan properly, here are some guides to let you choose your most perfect Maldives resort package.

How Much Budget
Maldives resorts are all spectacular, but you need to determine how much you will bring with your budget. If you are on a tight budget schedule, be sure to check the packages. While most believe they can save more if they do their own bookings, check the all-inclusive packages as they work out more affordable in the end.

What Activities
Plan the activities you want to engage in on your Maldives holiday. Do you want to enjoy the days just lazing around Male and the nights just having a few drinks in an island? Or would you want to visit one island after another and do all these water sports activities Maldives is so famous for? Plan how you will spend your vacation holiday in the island before you select the resort package to make the most out of it.

What Resort Package
Once you have established your funds and planned your activities in the island, you can browse for the packages. The budget and activities will be your factors in choosing, so be firmer with these aspects. Packages can range from room only to room with breakfast, or from full board to all-inclusive one. Check the items and privileges in each package and compare each to draw which one you'll get cheaper deals.

If your activities include going into other islands, it is advisable that you pick room or room and breakfast package as it is more practical than when you opt for the all-inclusive one but you cannot maximize its features. On the other hand, if you plan to just stay and enjoy the days and nights in an island only, it is advisable to take the all-inclusive resort package as you can maximize its cost.

Type of Accommodation
Resorts in Maldives are offered in a range, so you might want to review the packages. You can either select a resort that features beach villa situated just a few meters away from the beach ocean or one that provides water villa erected right in the beach ocean. For information, water villas cost more than the beach villas. So if you want ultimate luxury with your Maldives holiday, water villas are always the best pick. They come with luxury price, but you will have luxury experience as well.

Peak or Off-peak
The peak season happens on the months of December to April. Of course, you will expect the best weather on these months, with lots of sunshine and least rain. However, it is to be expected that peak seasons are always more expensive than when you visit the island on off-peak seasons.

Maldives Holiday: A Day Trip to Male

It is almost ordinary for someone when visiting a country for the first time to explore its capital. Since the international airport is often located is the capital, it is very practical to roam around the city whether on the first day or on the last day of the vacation. Tourists who visit the Maldives, however, are not like that. Often, once tourists arrive in the country, they go directly to their island resort and spend the rest of their time there. Still, there are some who take a day trip to Male, which are often organized by several island resorts.

Male is neither a large city nor a large island to start with. With just about a mile long and a little over half of a mile wide, you can walk around the city in over an hour. But if you will try to explore and check what the city has to offer, you will discover a few notable attractions.

The National Museum, located in Sultan Park, provides a glimpse of history of the Maldives. The stylish colonial construction features various artifacts, including the throne, that were once used by the sultans during the early years of the country.

Since the Maldivians are predominantly Muslims, expect to see a mosque. But Huskuru Miskiiy Mosque (Old Friday Mosque) possesses a unique magnificence with ethnic workmanship and arched corals that are truly a masterpiece. Glimpse of the past can also be seen in the tombs of the national heroes and the members of the royalty located in the area. The Islamic Center is the most significant landmark in Male. Its most stunning feature is the golden dome that stands out wherever you are in the city. With its huge size, it can accommodate around 5000 people. The Islamic Center also has offices, conference halls and a library.

If you like shopping, then you should visit the Majeedhee Magu. The place is lined up with several stores offering an array of products including, electronics, cosmetics, garments and jewelry. The Orchid Magu and Chandanee Magu have a bunch of souvenir cafes and shops. The Male fishing market can be quite a site. If the time is right, you can see, loads upon loads of fish being sold in the market.

Unlike other major cities, Male is not known to for bars and clubs where you can party till dawn but there are other forms of entertainment. The New Harbor sometimes holds an outdoor concert. There are two cinemas in Male, the Olympus and Star, located in Majeedhee Magu.

Eating can be quite an experience in Male. The Maldives has its own unique taste but influences from Indian, Sri Lankan, Arabic and Oriental cuisines create a whole new identity for a Maldivian cuisine. If you want to taste an authentic Maldivian food, try eating on small cafes or local eateries. They taste almost as good as the foods that are served in your hotel restaurant minus the cost.  For the less adventurous and for those who want to stay on the safe side, several restaurants also offer Italian, French, Thai, Chinese, Indian and American cuisines.

Male is basically a crowded and bustling place, but at the same time, it a city far different from what we are used to seeing. So on your visit to the Maldives, take time to visit Male and see these sites for yourself.

Maldives Holiday – A Taste of Paradise

With its stunning scenery, beautiful resorts, tranquil beaches, colorful people, world class underwater beauty, savory foods and warm accommodation, the Maldives is almost synonymous to paradise. And when we speak of this place, it is like describing what an ideal world should be. Thus, it is not surprising if people fall head over heals when they see the Maldives for the first time.

The People
Economics has played a great role on how the people of these islands treat anyone who visits their country. The Maldives relies heavily on tourism. In fact, tourism carries 20 percent of the country's GDP. On their part, it is a serious business. That is why once in the Maldives, expect to be welcomed with warm hospitality and politeness that you rarely see anywhere in the world.

The Food
A diverse culture produces a diverse taste. But often times, diversity leads to the lost of identity. And the loss of identify in terms of culinary cuisines leads to confusion between what is authentic and what is borrowed. In the Maldives, diversity has actually elevated its food into a gastronomical pleasure you should not miss. The combination of Arabic, Indian, Sri Lankan and Oriental tastes fussed up with the existing local taste to become a culinary identity that is truly Maldivian. No trip will ever be complete without experiencing the taste of the local food.

The Beach
There are so many things you can do in the Maldives but many visitors prefer to go barefoot and just enjoy the white sand beach while looking at an uninterrupted view of the turquoise ocean and the neighboring islands. Spending time at the beach is enough to make the holiday complete.

The Ocean
The Maldives is not about shopping, neither is it about partying. The Maldives is all about the ocean – showcasing the beauty of the ocean you have never expected. The Maldives probably has the most number of dive sites per square kilometer than any other countries in the world. The distinct characteristic of the island and how it has come to be are the reasons why this place offers an underwater world that can be described as nothing but the best. As they say, "no one can ever guess how wonderful and how rich the ocean is if they have not visited the Maldives.

The Accommodation
Surely, the Maldives has no shortage of things what can be termed as "the best." With its world class resorts, the country offers a one of a kind experience from the moment you step onto the beach resort to the very last moment you spend on the islands. If you like pampering, then choosing one of several resorts in the country will guarantee that you get what you deserve. The Maldives is known to provide the best services no other country can offer. No matter who you are or what you do, you can experience a royalty treatment in every resort in the islands.

Words cannot express how beautiful the Maldives unless you have actually seen the place in person. And once you do, with the unique charm of the Maldives islands, it is almost assured that you will choose to stay in this place for as long as it takes or at least, let the clock stand still while you are being mesmerized with the beauty of the place.