My Recommendation for Maldives trip

Here we go my recommendation for Maldives trip. 

1. If you are travel with backpacker style, you can use my itinerary. With budget 564USD include meals, transport and hotel. Exclude airplane cost. (Please check my previous post for more details)

2. If you are on honeymoon, please spend one or two nights on the resort. Choose within your budget and your preference. If you like snorkling, you can find a resort with a good snorkling area. 

3. If you are travelling with kids, find a kids friendly resort like Holiday Inn Resort. This is based on experienced from a moms. Usually kids friendly will be good for elderly traveller

My Humble Opinion about Maldives :

They have vary type of resorts, better on transportation also facilities,  more usd friendly, and good marketing campaign. Compare to Derawan (based on my experience)

But if you looking for coral reef, more vary fishes, please choose Indonesian beaches. Also you don’t have to think your itinerary,usually the travel organizer already prepare for all your itinerary and join a grup trip for sharing cost. But you can modify for private trip. I do hope, Indonesian goverment can improve the facility and create better campaign. 

Again, it’s my humble opinion based on my experience. Or maybe it’s because i’ve seen Derawan before Maldives? But i did a backpacker style in Derawan. So it should be apple-to-apple 😄😊

So see you again, my fellow travelmate. 

Happy travelling. Keep travelling! 

Kandooma, Maratuanya Maldives (part 2 of Maldives trip)

Here we go the second part of my super-ordinary-trip to Maldives.

Day 4 : 15 may 2015

Well, if you googling or searching, Maldives mostly pictured with beautiful beaches and a nice resort. So i need to experienced that thing. 

We choose Holiday Inn Resort. Due to the closest from Maafushi (12 minutes) and i’ve ever experienced Holiday Inn in Phuket. So we go there for whole day.

SIXTH tips : you can compare with other resorts. But Holiday Inn is the best for you who bring kiddos. The pool and beaches is kids friendly. If you want to stay, rate around 500usd per night per room, and all you can eat and drink. So if you want to have fancy trip, resort should be your thing. 

We need to spend 150usd one day per person (yeah, i know how to spend money right? 😅) 50usd for entrance fee and 100usd like your deposit. If you spend less, you can’t have it back. If you spend more, you need to pay again. I only left 1usd.. See, i’m that good. That was only for lunch, drinks mocktail and dinner 😆

We did some activities like swimming, tanning, watching people who do surfing, and absolutely taking a lot of great pictures. (Yes, i’m good at this!)

  

The beach is like Maratua island in Derawan. Has a white sand and nice resort. Well, this is world class resort compare to Maratua. 

One of best moment was when you find another Indonesian beside my travel partner. There is 3 Indonesian girls working there. They were so nice.. They said it’s not easy working here but they were so grateful since the benefit is good for them. 

So here is the sunset before leaving Kandooma island. 

    

Day 5 : 16 May 2015

We are going to main island. We think it’s Male then turns out it’s Hulhumale (the same island with airport). 

SEVENTH TIPS: please do make sure your island and please update the hotel your arrival time so they can pick you up. 

We did the speedboat again at 9am to Hulhumale/Male, while other couple do public ferry at 8am to Male island.  And please do take the sea sick pills. 😂

Arrived on the airport, we are trying to find taxi on the information but they called the hotel to pick us. 

Anyway, at airport you can find several small plane which taking you to other small island.

So stayed at Vimela Beach, a good one, just in front of the beach. So slept for 3 hours (again) then we had a lunch and coffee-hot choco time. For coffee, we donate not pay for it. Nice place with good decoration. We had a chance seeing Kids day celebration on the beach. 

 NINETH TIPS : do search on tripadvisor for restaurants. It’s only 8 of them 😆 

The beach is like Sanur beach at Bali. 

 
Day 6 : 17 May 2015

We are leaving Maldives.

   Small airport yet they have Dome Cafe here!!! 😍  TEN TIPS : please buy your ‘oleh-oleh’ here. But choose wisely, tshirt is 25usd with poor printing quality. And use your free internet wisely. It’s only 5minutes 😂 and please do regulary check your flight schedule since we didn’t quite heard the announcement. 

We board and wait for 30minutes on a plane due to busy traffic. I think all flight schedule is too tight. Well, i forgot to mention that you directly can see the beach after you go out from the airport. 

So.. That’s it my super-ordinary trip.. 

Next post will be my humble opinion on beach comparison and final recommendation! 

Thank you! Happy travelling! 

Maafushi, derawannya Maldives (Part 1 of my Maldives trip)

Here we go. I’m writing my super ordinary trip to Maldives. It was started with my-super-duper-crazy trip friends ask promo tickets from Tigerair singapore – male all around 230usd. Affordable, right? 

So there you go FIRST tips, subscribe your email (i suggest your-not-so-professional-thing email) to all airlines. 😊

Then find a hotel. SECOND tips, for me Booking.com is the best. You can book hotels without payment first and most of it free cancellation (read all the details while you are doing the book). 

Why i’m going straight to the hotel? Since i don’t do fancy hotels, i’m backpacker style so i limit my budget. While doing it, we found several options, several island.. 

So we decide to limit max.1 mio rupiah per night. And we will stay at Maafushi island and Hulhumale or Male island. We found a hotel within a budget. 

So we are too busy working.. (This is not exaggerating, literally do) then it’s come to the 1,5 month before leaving. We check again the hotel. And i found reference from Travel blog pergi dulu and read about Maldives. We change our hotel booking to the recommendation one Ocean Vista in Maafushi but still use Vimela Hotel for Hulhumale.

So here is our trip.. This time we didn’t do iten things before going to this trip. Well, i least we know where to go but not knowing what to do. Very rare for both ESTJ person. 

Day 1, 12 May 2015

Well, we travelled to Singapore at 7.30pm and stayed at changi the whole nite. Some advice for terminal 2 : 

• Please do use sweater or jacket. 
• There is a bunch of sofa or place to bunk in. Near big screen or near charger station. 
• Or if’s necessary bring your own sleeping bag. 
• Don’t forget to eat
• Or you can use airport hotel or airport bed around 130sgd for double or 50sgd per bed

Day 2, 13 May 2015

After breakfast and did some photo session (yes, we played ‘tourist thing’ 😎) 

Our flight start at 9.30am singapore time and landed 11.20am maldives time. It’s 4,5 hours travel with 3 hours difference from singapore or 2 hours from Jakarta. 

This is THIRD Tips, if you do check your booking please tick the hotel pick you up from airport. It’s easier. 

We don’t picked up by the hotel so we are trying to use public ferry and it’s hard to find. So we use taxi around 25 rufiyaah. (Please do change currency on airport around 1usd = 15 rufiyaah and you can exchange again later but keep the receipt) 

Then we offered to do speedboat for 30 minutes by 20 usd compare to public boat 1,5 hours by 20 rufiyaah. Since we are too tired, then let’s go! 

Lunch just in front of the ferry terminal, eat some local food and taste good. Please do eat there if you are insist do something like us 😆

We travelled to Maafushi and of course take my anti sea sick pills. (Yes i’m beach person!) 

We arrived!!! And it’s local island with a lot of small hotels and guest house. Just like derawan. 

We found our hotel or maybe better called it guest house. A good one. 

We slept! Finally a bed! 3 hours ! 

At 5pm we did walking around the island and find out the beaches is so-so. And we found a prison there. Kinda scary. 

In front of our guest house, Ocean Vista. We find the best spot for sunset. 

 
So we sat down there and enjoy the view although it’s bit disappointed with all the rubbish there. 

We ate at the hotel. After comparing some place, i think all the food is the same 😁

Well, decide to do snorkling tomorrow and going the resort on friday. We booked the trip on the hotel. FOURTH tips, please do check to other trip organizer near hotel and please do bargain. Especially this time is not peak season. 

Day 3, 14 May 2015

8am breakfast and planned to go snorkling at 9am. But it’s windy and not a good time to do snorkling. So it’s postponed to after lunch. 

We go to the beach around the island. 

We found the trip organiser and cheaper than the hotel. FIFTH TIPS, do compare with the others trips organiser.Well, since we believe on gentleman agreement, we don’t cancel. But we take sailing trip here with 30usd per person. Sailing!! 

Snorkling is fun. We found nemo and turtles. But it’s same like Derawan, north Kalimantan. So for me it’s not too excited. 

Sailing was a great experience. 

  
We sailed to a bunk beach. An white sand island. 

So we go back to Maafushi and had a first sunset since yesterday sunset didn’t visible. 

And again, had dinner at hotel. 
There you go first part of my trip and tips. 

Will do continue later!

Happy travelling!