When we decided to honeymoon in the Maldives almost 8 months ago, I started my research on different tropical paradises I had on my list to visit. We started with: Seychelles, Mauritius, Bora Bora, Fiji, Maldives and Bali. After narrowing it down to just Maldives and Bali, we ultimately decided on Maldives due to the abundance of white sandy beaches we would have access to. When we started researching Maldives resorts, it was OVERWHELMING how many resorts there are to choose from. Each have their own additional boat or seaplane ride to get to them from the main Male airport.
A few factors that helped us narrow down our search:
1. Price – You will learn very quickly that many Maldives resorts can go for upwards of $1,000 USD per night. Decide early on what your MAX budget is and what you want that to include. When I was browsing through all the resorts I was getting tempted left and right, but I was able to easily rule out resorts simply based on the price.
2. All inclusive vs. a la carte – We were pretty set on finding an all inclusive resort. We didn’t want to have to worry about paying for every single meal and every drink while on our honeymoon. We also didn’t want to be surprised with the outrageous price at every meal. No joke, a friend of ours who didn’t have an all inclusive was paying upwards of $200 – $300 per meal at a resort in the Maldives!
3. Type of room – This one was a big one for us. We wanted to stay in an over water villa. We weren’t travelling all the way to the Maldives (we traveled about 29 hours) and not doing that. That is where you can get priced out by a lot of the resorts. A lot are super expensive, but the more you pay, the more luxurious your villa is.
4. Location – One of my bucket list items was to eat at the 5.8 Undersea Restaurant. There are a limited number of resorts that have easy access to get to this restaurant. I zoomed in on Google Maps, looked at the surrounding resorts to the restaurant and began researching.
That is how we picked Kuredu Island Resort. Located on the Lhaviyani atoll, this resort fit all the requirements I talked about above. Including the $700 USD seaplane ride to and from Male, we averaged about $600 per night. That includes:
- Round trip seaplane transfer
- All inclusive (3 meals per day and basic wine, beer and spirits)
- Access to basic water sports
- Over water villa
Booking tip:
Paying $4,200 up front can be pretty hard to do. I am all about booking through Expedia and using the “reserve” tool. I can lock in some good rates without committing to the hotel in case I change my mind later on. The reserve tool also allows you to pay when you check in at the hotel or resort. That is one way I am able to plan and travel so much throughout the year. I pay for my flights and excursions and reserve my hotels so it helps to spread out the cost.
Stay tuned for an upcoming blog post where I review Kuredu Island Resort!
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