Hello everyone! Assalamu Alaikum.
My name is Nahid Hasan. A few days ago, I went to Maldives. Maldives was amazing in one word. White beaches, crystal clear water, sharks, underwater scenarios – all together, the tour was top-notch. In today’s blog, I’ll share my whole Maldives tour experience with you all. Let’s start today’s blog.
Maldives visa is on arrival, so you don’t need to do anything in advance. You need a valid passport, an air ticket soft copy, or QR code of the Imuga form.
We started our journey on 10th Dec 2023. It was a 6-day, 5-night round trip. First, Dhaka to Male, then Male to Maafushi island, then Maafushi to Gulhi island, then from Gulhi to Male again, and in the end, from Male back to Dhaka. We went with one of US BANGLA flights. Dhaka-Male-Dhaka return fare price was 348$ per person.
We got into the flight. The aircraft launched on time. It’s a 4-hour-long flight. After 4 long hours, we saw tiny islands over blue-green crystal clear water. After viewing these, we felt amazing. So, we landed. Immigration after landing. They wanted to know which hotel we’ll stay at. After finishing the immigration, we left the airport and first, we went to purchase a sim. We purchased the Traveler light package for 40 USD. It includes 20 GB of data for 1 month, along with 150 minutes of call time and 150 SMS.
DAY 1
We went to Maafushi Island today. We went to the hotel booth that we booked. Our boat would start an hour later, so we had some time on our hands. After checking out from the airport, it seemed pretty neat and clean. Beside crystal clear water, it was nice to see. Though the weather is a bit cloudy. We had our lunch at the airport. One pizza and French fries. It cost us about 17$ for pizza and fries. Someone from the booth arrived to pick us up. A medium-sized boat. It would take 25 minutes to reach Maafushi Island, costing 25$ per person.It’s raining now. After 20 minutes, we reached Maafushi Island. In the meantime, the rain also stopped.
Moving forward to the hotel, Maafushi is a nice island. It felt good to walk. Within 5-6 minutes, we were near the hotel. We stayed at an amazing hotel named Kaani Palm Beach. Our room was on the 7th floor, and the view from the balcony was amazing. This room cost us 180 USD per night. The balcony is the best feature of this room, I must admit. Bikini beach is the most popular beach of Maafushi Island, and our hotel is in front of Bikini Beach
Meanwhile, it was time for the sunset. Both of us spent a really good time. At the end of the afternoon, we went to the rooftop. And during that time, it felt like fire was burning in the sky. The whole environment felt like a different world. And their Infinity pool was also good. During that time, I was so amazed to see the environment that it left me speechless. Rarely have I seen something like this. It completely felt like a different world. During my stay in Maldives, I only felt this amazing once in the afternoon.
Slowly, the evening arises. We spent the time walking beside the beach. There was enough lighting beside the surrounding of our hotel. And we saw so many cats on Maafushi island. We went to a restaurant named Maladiwa for our dinner. The interesting thing is shoes must be removed to enter here. Dinner cost 30$ USD, so the food was not that much reasonable.
DAY 2
Woke up pretty early in the morning. It felt nice coming to the balcony. Complete crystal-clear scenery, just like how I imagined Maldives. Buffet breakfast was included with our room. So many items were available, and the taste was quite good too. We went to the rooftop after finishing breakfast. Very nice weather. Today we’ll be in the infinity pool. Till now, it’s the most beautiful Infinity pool of Maafushi island. We checked out at 12:00 pm.
Checked in to this simple yet gorgeous hotel named Lagoona Sunset. This hotel was also quite good. Even a balcony was also there. This room cost us 85$ USD per night with tax. Beside the hotel, we saw some Macaws. They’re pretty big in size. We went for our lunch at Dolce Vita. We ordered Nasi Goreng and a whole chicken. It was quite good. Both cost us 17 US dollars. We went to the beach in the afternoon. From the new hotel, Bikini Beach is about a 5-minute walking distance.
Today we’ll do parasailing. After roaming about 2/3 places, we selected Baani water sports. For two persons combined parasailing with the drone shots, the package was 80 USD for 15 minutes. We went some distance away with the boat. Then both of us wore body harnesses. The parasailing started. The weather was so soothing. The sunshine was decreasing. Mild winds were visible, and in front of us, the whole Maafushi island. Altogether, the parasailing experience was amazing.
We spent the afternoon beside the beach. We came to the other side of the island during the night. We found a beautiful park here. Tomorrow we’ll go for the shark bay & shipwreck tour. We saw some tour servicing operators beside Bikini Beach. After searching, we booked a package from iCom tours. From morning till evening, they’ll cover four spots, lunch included, and underwater photo & video complementary. This package was per person 65 USD. And I took separate drone shots in shark bay. This extra cost us 15 USD. Though the price was high compared with other operators, iCom is the highest rated in Maafushi.
DAY 3
Woke up early in the morning. Our reporting is at 8:00 am. Now it’s 7:42 am. First, they provided us snorkeling gear & fins according to our size. Then we went for the boat, a medium-sized boat. Today the sky is a bit cloudy. First, we’re moving ahead to Fulidhoo to see the stingrays. It’s about a 30-40 minute distance. Though the sky was cloudy, that’s why the weather was kind of cold. It felt nice.
After reaching Fulidhoo island, we saw some stingrays. After going down in the water, you can take pictures with them, and you can also touch them. We also saw waves of fishes. Their pattern of movement is very interesting. So you can say I’m impressed after visiting the first spot. After watching these stingrays, you’ll love it. Here, after spending about 30 minutes, we started our journey to see the sharks. We reached the shark bay after 15-20 minutes. While looking at the water, we saw large sharks. I went down beautifully holding the GoPro in my hand. Some of these are larger than me. After I went down, it felt a bit scary watching the size. Though it looks scary, naturally, these shark species are quite friendly. These are Nurse Sharks. Truly speaking, this experience was totally different from what we used to see on National Geographic or Discovery channel. Even the sharks were so close; it was hitting my body. So you can say the whole experience was quite thrilling. Watching Sharks from this close, this experience was totally different.
We both went down, and it was the most exciting experience in our Maldives trip. So, those of you who will visit the Maldives, do not miss the shark bay trip because you’ll remember this experience for your whole life. Then we’re going for the shipwreck. We reached our destination. There you can see some part of a ship is floating. Below that is the rest of the ship. So here, I went down with my GoPro. Most of the ship’s part is below the water. Staying underwater for so long, there are sea corals. After moving forward, I’m completely amazed. Colorful fishes in swarm. During that moment, it was so nice that there’s nothing to say at all. It felt like I’m inside an underwater scene of a National Geographic Documentary. And the swarms of fishes were so close that I could even touch them. So here, I spent about 20 minutes watching fishes. After Shark Bay, this experience was amazing. Don’t miss this one also. And if you’re able to bring a GoPro, then you’ll be able to get the best footage.
Now we’re going to Sand Bank. Sand Bank is like a tiny island, and the surrounding water is so clear that it feels like you’re in a huge swimming pool. Till now, we’ve seen the clearest water in Maldives here. Umbrellas were placed here. Then lunch was provided. Spaghetti, chicken, apple, juice & water. Eating in this environment on this beach felt amazing. I must say some amazing experiences we had today. And today was the best day of this Maldives trip. During the afternoon, they dropped us at Maafushi island.
We’ll go to Gulhi Island tomorrow. That’s why we rented a speed boat at 60 USD from this operator named Salt Beach Tours. They’ll drop us at Gulhi island at our convenient time.
DAY 4
Woke up a little late today. Breakfast was served in our room. We checked out at 12:00 PM. After checking out, we went for JT. Our speed boat was there, a small speed boat, but quite fast. It took us just 15 minutes to reach Gulhi Island.
Someone from the hotel came to receive us. Gulhi is a small island, with pin-drop silence. Not many people around. Here, we planned to spend some quiet and peaceful time. We were in an amazing resort named Premier Beach. The room was quite nice as well. This room cost us 103 dollars.
A short walk from the room, there is the main beach of Gulhi Island. And this room is so close to the beach that it takes just seconds to reach there. This beach is so nice that it felt better while watching. Most of the beaches in Maldives are quite calm, and almost 200-300 meters is shallow water. After going further, you’ll see knee-deep water. This is Gulhi Island’s iconic swing. If someone visits here, you’ll see a picture of them here. All together, less crowd and beautiful beach; if you want something like this, Gulhi Island is the perfect spot. Then we went to roam around Gulhi Island. In a tiny island like this, we saw a beautiful futsal field. Many were playing. We spent the afternoon at the beach. It was a very peaceful environment.
In the evening, heavy rain started to fall. When the storm ended, we went to a restaurant named Lavista. We had seafood pasta, which was delicious. The price was about 10 USD. Then, after roaming a bit on Gulhi Island, we went to another restaurant named Benha. We had coffee and cheesecake there. Though the taste was not that good.
DAY 5
The next morning was cloudy. We had our complimentary breakfast. Today we’ll go to Male. The hotel booked a boat for Male, which is 30 USD per person.
After 30 long minutes, we reached Male. It was quite neat and clean, and it seemed like a systematic city. We booked a taxi for the hotel, which cost us 3 USD. Our hotel is about 1.5 KM away. We stayed at the hotel named Umet Seaview. The hotel was quite beautiful. The rooms looked good to me. A bit of an old building, but all facilities were available. The view from the window was also nice. We went to a rooftop restaurant named Soleil for lunch. From the rooftop, the view was even more beautiful. We had a pizza there, which cost us 11 USD. The taste was good. During the afternoon, we went to roam around Male city.
This is Sinamale Bridge, also known as China-Maldives Friendship Bridge. The roads of Male are clean, and many park-like places caught my eye. We also saw a very beautiful mosque. While walking on foot, we were near the JT. Here, we bought some souvenirs from a souvenir shop, but the prices felt a bit expensive. Then we had coffee inside a cafe and roamed around the streets and lanes of Male. Overall, it felt nice after roaming around the night city of Male. We went for dinner at The Manhattan Fish Market. As it’s the last night in Maldives, we ordered some good stuff. This platter cost us 25 USD. After roaming a bit more, we went back to our hotel.
DAY 6
After waking up in the morning, we discovered it was raining. Though there was a plan for outdoor activities, we had to cancel it because of the rain. Our return flight is at 1:00 PM. We went to the rooftop. The view was amazing during the light rain. Futsal is very popular in Maldives maybe. During the last two days, I’ve never seen these fields empty. After checking out at 11:00 AM, we went for our ride to the airport. Almost 20 minutes later, we reached the airport. We boarded the flight on time. And with this, our amazing Maldives tour comes to an end.
In our 6 days & 5 nights Maldives tour with airfare, our per-person cost was about 990 USD.
If you want to travel to the Maldives in the near future, here are some tips for you. Carrying sunscreen and sunglasses is a must. The sun rays of Maldives are harsh. Carry a good waterproof bag for your mobile for some underwater videos. Mine is from Baesus brand. For the best underwater footage, carrying a GoPro is a must.
So, this was my today’s blog. I hope you got a good idea about the Maldives tour.