Is Maldives a "Wow!" destination?
 

I'll be in Malaysia in October and am thinking of flying on to the Maldives for 5 nights. Or should I just pop over to Pangkor Laut and stay in a sea villa? I heard someone say that the latter is overrated.

Maldives IMO is hands done a WOW destination. Compred to the Maldives no contest. Compared to really any beaches most anywhere not contest, even the Carribean which has some really good ones (i.e. St John.) White powdery sand, sea colour changing from azure to turquoise to black to green. You can sit on the beach and hear the surf breaking on the reefs out in the lagoon and watch it as well. Seen from a seaplane, the islands trulys look like pieces of jewelery strung along a necklace. Really just a beautiful place. You can pick out a little island and be on your own.

Langkawai is a former tin mining area. THere are lot of mangrove swamps. Areas have been built up for beaches. There are some pretty beaches, but none, IMO are spectacular. There are some nice hotels. But really is it an easy place to go to from KL or Singapore if you want a weekend. It's not a destination for snorkeling and diving and just plain beauty like the Maldives.

Sorry, I just relalized that Pankour Laut is your intended destination. I would say very much the same as for Langkawi, although I have not seen the Pankor Laut hotel in years myself. However, the beach there is not anything nearly as nice as you will find in the Maldives, and neither is the quality of the snorkeling from the over-the-water bungalows.

Thanks Cicerone. It's been quite a dilemma trying to decide where to go! Thought of Phuket but have been there too many times recently. Bali again would be nice but it meant doubling back. Now to decide where to stay! I'm leaning towards Taj Exotica as it's more my kind of budget compared to One & Only etc for an over water suite.

Check out the weather situation before you go as October is not the best time to visit the Maldives. If you do decide to go then which side of the atoll you are staying will have a great influence on sea/diving/snorkelling conditions.

Thanks Crellston. Er, I don't plan to go into the water at all other than a submarine dive. I just like staring into the ocean while in the shade.

My wife and I visited The Maldives last November and found that we were just a little too early to miss the rainy season. However,that didn't spoil our time there. It's worth selecting a resort that requires seaplane transfer because that certainly adds to the WOW factor.
One of the reasons for us visiting The Maldives was to try to lose our addiction to Phi Phi. On that score...it failed. Nevertheless, I would say that, yes it is a ''WOW'' destination. Photos from our time at Maldives here

http://leightravel.smugmug.com/

Yes, did not focus on the month, October is rainy, see weatherbase.com and look at Male assuming you want to stay in the north Male atoll area, which you do as the south will be even rainier as the real heavy monsoon is down in Gan then.

Of course Phuket and the east cost of Malaysia is going to be quite rainy in October too, the whole area are experiencing the northeast monsoon during those months. Bali is actually going to be one of the drier places.

I have to say that I think the Maldives is one of the places that is beautiful even in the rain, but I can see where you might not want to go there for a beach holiday and have rain. My last trip was about 8 weeks ago at the beginning of the spring rainy season and even the thunderstorms were gorgeous: huge coal-black clouds filling the entire sky and changing the water color every minute. But I was there for business and took a long weekend and wasn’t paying for the fights, etc and so really the weather was not going to bother me with just relaxing for 2 days, but it might bother you. Also, the winds associated with the monsoon would affect snorkeling and diving.

Have heard pretty good things about Taj Exotica actually, don’t think that is a bad choice if you end up deciding to go there. .

Is Maldives WOW? Yes, its Bombastic. Only word of caution is to make sure you research your resort. I've been to three of them. Two were great, one (the Huvafen Fushi) was a huge disappointment. I have pictures and info at http://www.bombasticlife.com

Thanks for the photo links, Leigh & Bomb. Am now a little concerned about the weather. I don't have a problem with a daily tropical downpour if it does not last forever but am wary of cyclonic conditions.

During our stay we had short periods of very heavy downpour, which sometimes was quite pleasant as it was otherwise very hot. As I have said, this did not detract from our visit, I just wanted you to be aware that in October you are unlikely to have wall to wall sunshine.
One of our club members will be going in early September for ten days so by late September I will be able to pass on another account.

Cilla_Tey,

I agree with the others that Maldives is a WOW destination. Having said that, there is not much to do aside from either lying on the beach or swimming/snorkelling/diving. Though coral and marine life is the best I have experienced. It would be a shame if you don't plan to go into the water. (No need to dive. You'll see sooo much just snorkeling). Light rain won't bother you if you're IN the water.

Agree with the other poster that you might want to check the facility, as you depend on your hotel for pretty much everything.