travelmom13

I an a huge fan of Fodors travel talk...but for my trip to the Maldives I have kinda of struck out on finding people with enough info for the trip. Not that people are holding out on me, but just not a lot of travelers to the Maldives. So just for the sake of others...I found loads of info through Trip Advisor Maldives Forum. Most of the contributors are from the UK. It seems like the Maldives for the UK is like Hawaiian and the Carib. for the US. Just a heads up for thsoe planning trips to the Maldives.

gard

Hi

I have been to the Maldives It was amazing as you can see from the pictures in my trip report. http://gardkarlsen.com/sun_island_index.htm . I would love to go back one day.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

LeighTravelClub

Yes I think you hit the nail on the head travelmom. When we returned from our Maldives trip last year...sorry 2006. I was quite up for discussion on this forum but found a mainly negative response. For example....why go to the Maldives, when we have Hawaii and the Carib.??????
Well actually Maldives does not remotely resemble either but hey........
We are from the UK and yes it does seem mainly to attract Europeans. Quite a unique destination, but for us.....just didn't quite measure up to our 'little piece of paradise' in the Andaman Sea!!!

travelmom13

I guess since my first experiences with Fodors was for a trip to Hawaii and three trips to Thailand. There was so much information it was INSANE...but a really good INSANE! We are seeing this as a once in a lifetime kind of trip on the backend of a BKK/Phuket trip...where we go every year b/c we love it so much (at least the past four years).

Thanks Gard. I have looked at your posts in the past before and taken notes. Very helpful!

LeighTravelClub--so true. I think we will love the Maldives...but will always adore Thailand.

welltraveledbrit

We're considering adding the Maldives onto a round the world trip, I must agree that alot of the information seems to come from the UK. I think it's a popular option for lots of Europeans.We're based in California and I don't have any friends who have visited the Maldives but my brother who lives in the UK has been three times! It's still a fairly exclusive option because it is expensive to get there but it is increasingly popular and seems to be a place people love to return to.

I don't know where you're flying from in the US or what sort of routing you're thinking about but you might find the following tip helpful. I was trying to find good routes to the maldives and discovered that Bangkok Airlines flies directly from Bangkok to Male.

Here's the good bit---Male is one of the destinations that qualifies for their Discovery Airpass, $150 one way. You have to buy the pass outside of Thailand and you must buy a minimum of three segments which means you can combine it with another of their destinations or just buy a throw away domestic segment. I looked into alot of alternatives and this is by far the cheapest option for us and hopefully will be helpful for others too!

travelmom13

That is priceless information welltraveledbrit! How do you buy it and how does it work. We are already ticketed, btu our friends wanted to join us and this might be the way to do it.

They need to book a flight from Phuket to BKK already anyway. So would it work to do HKT-BKK-MLE-BKK? All for $150 total per person?

KimJapan

It's $150 for the BKK - MLE flight, $150 for the MLE - BKK flight and $55 for the HKT - BKK flight....plus tax and surcharge for each flight.

Melnq8

Hi travelmom -

I've been following this thread with interest, as we're Americans who've been to the Maldives many times (we live outside the US though).

Just curious which islands you're planning to visit.

KimJapan

Fares have gone up. It's now $160 each way for BKK - MLE - BKK and $60 for HKT - BKK. Tax and surcharge look like 1225 baht each way for the Maldives flights and 720 baht for HKT - BKK. Total for the 3 legs about $480.

travelmom13

Melng8-We will be at the Hilton/Conrad the whole time (6 days). We thought about going to another atoll..but decided to just stay put. I would love to hear your thoughts on the Maldives!! Care to share.... Where are you from in the US?

KimJapan--as always...SO HELPFUL! I will pass the info on to my friends who would like to join us.

Melnq8

Hi travelmom -

I'm from CO, but have lived in the Middle East and Indonesia for several years. Much easier to get to the Maldives from this part of the world.

My husband is a scuba diver and goes to Bandos every year to meet up with a dive group. The group has been going to Bandos for about 15 years, so they get great deals on diving and lodging.

I've visited Male and a few other resorts as day trips from Bandos, but haven't spent any quality time at any of them. I'd like to though...

The Maldives is beautiful - enjoy your time there!

welltraveledbrit

Kim is entirely right, though I didn't know their rates had gone up to $160...i wish they would bother to update their website which also shows a flight to kunming which is apparently no longer available!

They have an 800 number in the US which you can use to check reservations/schedule.

TracyB

Well for the record, i am from Canada and a few years ago, my husband & i stopped in at the Maldive's after a 3 week trip to Kerala and Dubai for 3 nights...We absolutely loved it..We stayed at Veligandu Island resort and i can't wait to return again one day.

It is easy to do as a sidetrip if u are including Dubai and Kerala, as Emirates fly's into Cochin and out from the Maldives.

I had always wanted to visit the Maldives and i still can't even believe i was there!!

If u would like to see my pic's...

http://travel.webshots.com/album/510...D?vhost=travel

welltraveledbrit

Lovely to see your pictures Tracy.

We've decided to go in early May and will be staying at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu.