Maldives Complete Blog

Best of the Maldives: Nearest Local Island – Kandooma

Maldives Complete — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:06:54 GMT

As for intimately close rocks, many islands are just a wade away from each other. Other resorts, companion resorts, deserted islands. But the closest island where Maldivian locals live and work is adjacent to Kandooma. The picture above shows me a few metres into a 50 metre swim to the local island Guraidhoo. The resort will arrange visits a taste of Maldivian life…probably the most convenient ‘local island excursion’ in the country.

Best of the Maldives: Floor Decoration – Anantara Veli

Maldives Complete — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:11:26 GMT

Bed decoration, with petals and blossoms from local gardens, is a longstanding tropical resort tradition practiced with great panache in the Maldives. Kuramathi has innovated on the concept with towel sculptures. And Anantara Veli provides another twist with coral floor decorations (see photo above). They create a variety of artistic greetings to guests using coral bits from the beach.

This distinction seemed appropriate to call out today with the passage of another romantic rock flirtingly brushing by the earth more closely than it has in over three decades - Asteroid 433 Eros (‘Eros’ of course the ‘God of Love’). Mind you, that intimate encounter is still 16 million miles away.

So today in Anantara Veli you can get romantic signs from above in the heavens or below at your feet from possibly the most romantic rocks in the Maldives.

Best of the Maldives Online: Kids Site – Kuramathi

Maldives Complete — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:04:00 GMT

Kaki is not alone in bringing the marine delights and insights home to young guests on the web. Kuramathi’s web site features its very own ‘Kids Corner’ online. Anyone on the Internet can join in the maritime fun and curiosity with material like their interactive ‘Marine Life Alphabet’…

“In here, you shall find all those familiar fish you often see swimming about in the ocean in Alphabetical Order, each described in a playful manner. From Angelfish to Zebra Moral Eel, learn the names of the fish and their unique characteristics in a snap! Little guests, have also the chance to experiment with colours, with the new Marine Life Colouring Book which comes as a downloadable PDF booklet. Learning was never made this easy! After absorbing the interesting bubbles of Marine Life, test your skills by going snorkelling and prove yourself the winner when you can name the fish you see!”

Actually, seeing a baby Zebra Moray Eel, at Kuramathi’s sister resort Kurumba, was the underwater highlight for my wife Lori during our last visit to the Maldives. There were wonderful reef sharks swimming all around us, but all she wanted to look at was this shy little black and white stripped critter ensconced in a crevasse.

Best of the Maldives: Kids Marine Biology – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru

Maldives Complete — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:51:29 GMT

It’s not just the wee turtles and anemone fish that get special nurseries for their development at Four Seasons, but the littlest guest get their very own special area inthe Marine Discovery Centre. Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru has put in its trademark attention to detail to a special young kids area of the Discovery Centre with colourful decoration and a hands-on ‘discovery’ tank. It even has it’s own special mascot, ‘Kaku’ (short for ‘kauni’ which is ‘crab’ in Dhivehi). Kaku has his own email address, postal address (“3rd Hole on Landaa’s Palm Tree Road”), and Facebook page where he posts his ‘Reef News’ articles. So kids can keep engaged and keep learning even after their family stay.

“Hi, I’m Kaku - Landaa Giraavaru’s resident journalist hermit crab. Join me on Facebook and I'll keep you informed of all the pioneering conservation projects underway at Landaa’s Marine Discovery Centre.”

Best of the Maldives: Baby Turtles – Four Seasons Kuda Huraa

Maldives Complete — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:27:00 GMT

A real ‘Born Free’ story in the Maldives are the turtle nurseries that a few resorts support. Our family delighted at the nursery tank that Filtheyo had and visiting it fostered our daughter Isley’s love of turtles and her adoption of them as her favourite creature to this day. But, Four Seasons Kuda Huraa have taken a page from their sister resort of Landaa Giraavaru to creative a comprehensive turtle conversation programme around their newly launched nursery and discovery center.

Kuredu may be the destination for big, monster turtles in the wild. But at the complete other end of the spectrum, Kuda Huraa is now the place to experience these charming critters up close and personal in their infancy. Taking a page from their sister resort’s (Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru) stunning Marine Discovery Centre which focuses on Mantas and Anenome Fish, Kuda Huraa has opened a comparable centre but with a focus on turtles…

“Five of the world’s seven species of sea turtles live in the Maldives, and two of these are regularly seen. The critically endangered hawksbill turtle lives on coral reefs, while the endangered green turtle feeds on seagrass, keeping the seabed healthy and productive. The Resort’s Kuda Velaa (‘Little Turtles’) Protection Programme works with island communities across the Maldives to increase awareness of turtle conservation and protect nests from poachers. The project also gives endangered green turtles a head start in life by rearing a select number of hatchlings from protected nests for up to 15 months to improve their chance of survival in the wild. For the first nine months they are kept in land-based pools before they are relocated to larger enclosures in the lagoon where they will start to forage for themselves on sea grasses, adapting them to the wild. Guests can attend daily turtle feeding sessions to learn more about Kuda Huraa's most delicate little residents.”

Not just kids are enthralled by these terrapin tolders. In fact, this month’s Harper Bazaar features international model and actress Nargis Fakhri posing with them (see photo above) in her shoot there…

“’It's awe-inspiring; I feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere,’ she says. Her favourite part of the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa is the children's activities section. She's also thrilled about shooting with turtles, something that the Bazaar team has captured in this shoot.”

Best of the Maldives: Dolphins – Rihiveli Beach

Maldives Complete — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:05:00 GMT

The best free divers in the ocean are our aquatic cousins the cetaceans. As I said yesterday, that’s not ‘free diving’ as in ‘free beer’. Nor is it as in ‘born free’. But in Rihiveli Beach it is. Rihiveli have their own resident dolphin pod in their lagoon.

‘Swimming with dolphins’ is one of those magical experiences that are regularly found a top people’s bucket lists. So popular that an industry is growing quite lucratively to provide dolphin swimming experiences. Some of these are tracking dolphin pods down to jump in the water and snorkelling with them. We tried one of these excursions in Mauritius and the dolphins seemed quite bored with our presence and simply kept their distance. Because of the dolphins independent mindedness, another popular alternative is swimming with dolphins in captivity. Either in large swimming pools or enclosed ocean spaces. The Maldives has approved a Dolphin Lagoon, the website for which was launched yesterday.

Such a facility has stirred, and always does, much debate about the ‘zoo issue’. The arguments essentially boil down as follows. Opponents say it is inhumane and immoral to extract creatures from their natural habitat and stress them with confinement purely for our entertainment. Proponents say that such facilities allow people to connect with these creatures they normally would not get a chance to encounter which in turns build financial and political support for environmental causes which in turn enhances the lives of the entire animal kingdom. I personally line up on the proponent side. Of course, I am all in favour of regulation and oversight to ensure that the animals’ captivity is as healthy and comfortable as possible. But in our increasingly virtual, urbanized, manufactured world, the more voters (especially powerful ones who take posh holidays) and walking pocketbooks (especially affluent ones who do the same) who have the chance to be enchanted by these whimsical creatures, the better the prospects for their species overall.

But if you want see the ‘born free’ diving version, then Rihiveli is your resort.

(Thanks Francisco)

Best of the Maldives: Free Diving – Six Senses Laamu

Maldives Complete — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:25:01 GMT

Not ‘Free Diving’ as in ‘Free Beer’. ‘Free’ as in free of any artificial aids.

A bit of a crazy and often quite dangerous sport. Its practice has been reigned in over recent years after some fatalities. But now the sport is more restrained and even more meticulous about safe practices and limits.

Six Senses Laamu is featuring iconic world champion diver Umberto Palazarri in a special programme this week which offers a rare, up close glimpse of this extreme sport…

“Hot on the heels of hosting a memorable inaugural Water/Wo/Men event attracting the biggest names in watersports and water conservation, Six Senses Laamu is delighted to host a week of free diving activities by iconic world champion diver Umberto Palazarri…Umberto will host daily free diving clinics teaching them the unique techniques of free diving and explorative dives around the beautiful coral reefs surrounding Six Senses Laamu. In the evening he will host dinner talks at LEAF where he will give talks on his dives and discoveries.”

I’ve regularly try just taking a plunge down a bit deeper when I am snorkelling in order to see something a bit close. Pretty much as soon as my body is inverted, my eyes and sinuses start to ache feeling the extra water pressure just a couple metres down. It always fascinated me when the locals and dive masters could descend several metres at will. How Umberto plummets to the bottom of the ocean is beyond me.

Sakis also features some cool videos on the event and free diving in his post on the week.

Best of the Maldives: Whiskey – Island Hideaway

Maldives Complete — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:13:00 GMT

“Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.”

- Robert Burns, Address to a Hagis

Scots at heart around the world will be raising a wee dram in honour of ‘Rabbie Burrrns’ tonight. And if you are in the Maldives, then the best place for a Burns Supper is Island Hideaway with its Meeru Bar which boasts “the largest malt whiskey selection in the Indian Ocean.” Indeed, they serve up 60 different types of whiskey including Macallan 25 Year and Handmade 1976 Vintage Bourbon. The bar manager tells me that Macallan and Glen Moray are the most popular.

If you are having difficulty deciding on which malt to fill your glass with such a baffling array of options, then I suggest the following handy guide – Single Malt Whiskey Flavour Map.

To the health of the women!

Best of the Maldives: Maldivian Experience- Park Hyatt Hadahaa

Maldives Complete — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:06:00 GMT

Happy National Day!

A celebration of Maldivian independence from Portuguese rule in 1558. Our recommendation for the resort to celebrate all things Maldivian is Park Hyatt Hadahaa. For starters, they add a bit of an authentic twist to their local island excursion. Most resorts offer day trips to local island which provide a glimpse of daily life through a cursory tour. Perhaps the chance to pick up a more native piece of handicraft. Hadahaa has put a bit more effort into introducing its guests to the Maldivian culture with it ‘Journey to the Maldivian Passions’ with 3 distinct experiences on offer..

Identity, Faith and Celebration - Take a journey to an outlying island and explore the Maldives first hand. Your personal guide will accompany you to Kondey or Dhandhoo on our high-powered speedboat and then provide an educational tour on the intricacies of local culture, religion and festivities.
Artisans - We visit the source of this unique skill and meet the local artisans in their workshops to glimpse a moment of their life. Incorporating traditional values and skills of the people of the islands, handicrafts of Maldives which combine skilled craftsmanship with artistic techniques.
Food and Family - Meet a local host and share a moment in the daily life of a fisherman’s wife and her family devotions, and see them living in coral houses furnished with handicrafts. Discover the simple existence of Maldivians in harmony with nature, learning the women’s daily household chores, how they prepare the unique main meals from scarce wood in the smoky traditional kitchens.

Each take about 3 hours, cost about $200 per person and have a minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 people.

Hadahaa’s interest in the local culture is not relegated to fancy forays, but rather are woven into the entire resort. Just this month they launched a community development initiative called ‘Hadahha Thrive’ which involves the contributions of all of the Maldivian staff…

“Currently more than 55% of the resort’s employees are Maldivian and despite most coming from the nearby islands, the remote location of Hadahaa means nearly all staff live on the island. With this in mind, Park Hyatt has begun to develop a symbiotic relationship with the neighbouring islands and has formed a committee of elected ‘Ambassadors’ to represent the different communities. Through better connectivity, shared knowledge, development of business skills, and encouragement and participation from both sides, Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa hopes to create a mutually beneficial programme that inspires sustainable development projects, allows the resort to gather supplies and recruits from nearby islands, and ensures the local communities develop and prosper…Park Hyatt has selected Gemanafushi and Dhandoo as the first communities to take part in the kick-off projects, based on the number of employees from each of these neighbouring islands. The programme will initially focus on improving five key areas - Business Development…Career Development…Hospitality…Environment…Social Awareness”

Finally, at the resort itself, Hadahaa features the distinctive Battuta restaurant (photo below)…

“Here at our signature Maldivian restaurant, we provide our guests with a distinctive and authentic dining experience. Battuta's delivers guests with a culinary journey that samples local flavours and regional spices…Nestled into the native flora of the island, guests are offered a thoroughly indigenous experience in a beautiful open space cooled by ocean breezes….An open kitchen is central to the restaurant where you can experience the ultimate regional food experience being cooked right in front of your eyes. This restaurant offers food specialties from the Maldives, India and the Middle East.”

Best of the Maldives: Underwater Art – Soneva Fushi

Maldives Complete — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:00:00 GMT

In the Maldives you can marvel at nature’s artistry through such masterpieces of its coral gardens, and some resorts feature reef regeneration to aid and complement such artistry, but Soneva Fushi showcased underwater art (which is coming up for a benefit exhibit soon in London) as a part of their long term sponsorship of the Blue Marine Foundation...

“olly and suzi’s manta ray and shark art will be exhibited in 2012 and 30% of the sales will be given to Blue Marine Foundation, a new charity formed by a group of influential individuals, brands and organisations to protect the world's oceans through the establishment of a global network of marine reserves. Six Senses' Maldivian resorts – Soneva Fushi, Soneva Gili and recently launched Six Senses Laamu – are sponsoring the foundation for the next three years.”

New Tags

Maldives Complete — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:16:00 GMT

Reef-frames are the only things with better labels as I have this week updated the ‘Tags’ used on Maldives Complete. Of course, you can always use Google or the Search facility on the blog to search for text like ‘snorkelling’ or ‘surfing’. But, text search will indiscriminately bring up any mention whatsoever of that word. Tags are used by sites to indicate important topics in the post or page. If you select one of the ‘Tags’ at the bottom of the posts (or in the ‘tag cloud’ – see above – which highlight the most prevalent tags scaled to proportion of their use), then it will bring you all the posts that are focused on that subject.

For a long time, I have had a collection of tags corresponding to the various ‘Best of the Maldives’ categories (eg. Sport, Activity, Service, Online). And over time, those have morphed a bit as certain sub-categories grew big enough to merit their own break out (eg. Surfing, Shopping). For starters this week, I have added another breakout to ‘Activity’ which is ‘Boating’.

But I have also added the following Tags which don’t relate to ‘Best Of’ categories, but rather to my other types of posts…

Destination – about the Maldives itself in general (eg. weather, family tips)
Industry – about tourism in the Maldives (eg. rating system, tourist numbers)
Tour – reviews of my days there when I do personal trips
Site – about the Maldives Complete site itself like new features (like this post here)
Fun – whimsical stuff that just brings a smile to my face.

Best of the Maldives: Reefscaping Labels - Kandooma

Maldives Complete — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:27:00 GMT

While for many the downsides of big lagoons are their less dramatic snorkelling and more remote house reef, many resorts now are using Reefscaping to both enhance the snorkelling in the lagoons as well as the aquatic environment overall. In fact, Lori and I have our own frames presented to us by Four Seasons Kuda Huraa (#KH327) and by Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru (#LG729 – which we assembled together at their Marine Discovery Centre).

Now many resorts are getting in on coral reef regeneration – Constance Halaveli, Coco Palm Dhuni Kholu, Waldorf Astoria Maldives, Banyan Tree Madivaru, Baros. But Kandooma led the way and was the first project I covered.

They’ve added a touch with I think both personalises and incentivises this fine initiative – labelling the frames with the donor names (see photo above…’Su’ is no relation). I am involved with a number of charities and in fund raising (especially capital drives), the first question that you ask is ‘what are the naming opportunities?’ American Universities have this down to an art form where just about every light switch has a mini plaque honouring the gift of some patron. Yes, people are generous and do give just for the sake of the cause. But people also have a bit of pride and getting their name (or the name of a loved one) marked indelibly on a place or thing that means something special to them is a huge boost. I also think that the approach adds a certain personality to the Reefscaping project. You can see the diverse people, with names clearly from many different countries and cultures, who have all converged to contribute to making this place of earth even more of an aquatic treasure.

Best of the Maldives: Biggest Lagoon – Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Huraa

Maldives Complete — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:30:13 GMT

To each his own. Many Maldive aficionados focus on the best house reefs as a critical decision criteria. The deep, coral and fish filled features stand in stark contrast to the shallow and sandy lagoons that also permeate the archipelago. Typically, the two are mutually exclusive. The geography of an island that makes for big lagoons tends to make for distant or less prominent house reefs.

But not everyone is all house reef obsessed. With Olympic-class pedalos on hand, a nice big lagoon to cruise around in can be a good thing. As CastawayGR noted on the Trip Advisor Forum post “Looking for the perfect turquoise lagoon in Maldives” –

“I was wondering if anyone can help me find an island surrounded by the best turquoise lagoon…What I am looking for is a really small almost desert romantic getaway with white beaches and turquoise water for as far as my eyes can see.”

And Suzan3 echoed in the post “Biggest Lagoons” –

“You’re after what I'm after, except I’m not a fan or snorkelling, nor am I of coral reefs. I want a resort that has crystal clear waters all round...”

Lagoons don’t just have aesthetic appeal. They are great havens of aquarium-like snorkelling. Maybe not as dramatic as house reef drop-offs, but you still see a variety of small fish especially in scattered coral droppings as well as the occasional ray stirring up the sand looking for food and the ubiquitous mini reef sharks. Great for young kids to explore snorkelling for the first time. It was also a great way for my 80 year old mother-in-law to feel comfortable enough to try snorkelling (even though she was in 2 feet of water, she still had a life jacket on, a floatation noodle and my wife standing at her side to help her – see photo below). But she loved seeing the smattering of colourful tropical fish that scampered by her.

In theta posts, a few suggestions were offered for the biggest lagoon and I had some of my own guesses. But for something so common in the Maldives, I had to turn to the real expert, Seven Holiday’s Adrian Neville. He took time out from writing his latest update to his essential guide “Resorts of the Maldives” to pen the follow guest post for me which is a veritable ‘Lagoon Guide’ for the biggest and bluest in the Maldives…

“First of all, we need to be a bit clearer about what constitutes ‘biggest’. Let’s assume that we are looking at the total area of the lagoon - the length and the width. We are not looking at ‘volume’ as we are looking for shallow lagoons rather than deep ones. You can look for the biggest lagoon with a single resort in, but that's a bit precious. As long as the next resort island is not too near, I'd say you're going to be happy. (And of the ones below, only Fun Island and Olhuveli are way too close. Though Reethi Rah is a touch too close to Summer Island for a Six Star, as Four Seasons Kuda Huraa is to Huraa, the inhabited island)…

Velassaru [ed. one of my nominees] does have a large and attractive lagoon 7 kms long, but just across the atoll is Taj Exotica…
Taj Exotica has a lagoon that is twice the length at 14 kms.
Meeru has a 14 kms lagoon which is also wide on one side.
Reethi Rah [ed. a lagoon cited in the TA post], I must say, is a non-starter. The length of the lagoon is 5 kms and little in the way of width.
LUX* (formerly Diva) has a length of 11 kms and is wide to one end.
Gangehi's is 9kms long and wide too.
Kuramathi has a curving lagoon of 18kms length and looking into the interior of Rasdhoo Atoll it is shallow for much of the area.
Sun Island and Holiday Island share a lagoon 18 kms long.
Fun Island, Olhuveli and Rihiveli share a lagoon some 20kms in length.
Amari Addu sits in a lagoon that bends 20kms around the NE corner of Addu Atoll at the southernmost end of the country.
Equator Village is at the tip of the 25 kms lagoon that runs up to Hithadu.
Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Huraa has the biggest lagoon I measured. It was 33kms in Meemu Atoll. It is also wide and shallow around those two resorts. (3 more resorts are planned further down the lagoon).

Those are the current active resorts, but there are some notables to mention of resorts not on line…

The proposed resort on Maafushi island in Dhaalu sits in a 26kms lagoon.
The two proposed resorts just off the end of Gan island in Laamu share a 30kms long lagoon.
If Hudhufushi ever gets finished, in the relatively northern atoll of Llaviyani, it will have a lagoon of 32kms length and a wide, shallow area adjacent.

And finally. It's notable that it is the southern atolls where the lagoons are large. In the north, the atolls are more 'split up'. The country actually slopes in height from the north down to the south, so the northern islands are as it were propped higher and so the large lagoons have not formed or have worn away. Well, that was fun and diverting. I'm not quite up to drawing a definitive conclusion though.”

While Adrian won’t claim it definitive, I’ll go with his call Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Hura.

Best of the Maldives: Pedalo - Kuredu

Maldives Complete — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:09:36 GMT

Photo courtesy of DJ Stotty.

At Kuredu’s sporty island, even the leisure boating will get you skinny.

The Maldives don’t have many resorts for a long run or bike ride (outside Gan), but there is boundless ocean. Not your English seaside, tired old pedalo but the Cadillac of puddle pedalling with a broad white canopy. They rent for $20 for 1 hour or $35 for 2 hours.

Spinning with the spinner dolphins

Best of the Maldives: Skinniest – Jumeirah Vittaveli

Maldives Complete — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:41:40 GMT

With so many tempting treats to savour, my wife Lori has decided that she needs to shed a few of the pounds that she brought back with her from our last Maldives trip. She’s started the ‘Rice Diet’ whose first phase includes eating nothing but rice and fruit and she lost 4 pounds in 4 days.

If skinny is your thing, then Jumeirah Vittaveli has the smallest waistline of all. It even has an hourglass figure (see map above).

Some visitors (us included) like the smaller islands for the charm of a pre-sunset (or whenever) circumnavigational stroll. But, if you want to get from sunset to sunrise side in the fewest footsteps possible, then skinny is the trick.

This post was inspired by our stay at the Four Seasons Kuda Huraa where we took one wrong turn and were on the opposite side of the island in seconds. But checking out Maldives Complete’s exhaustive list of lengths and widths, Vittaveli came up with the literally narrow victory at 70 metres across at its shortest point.