Originally Posted by
calvinoeh
Bali and Maldives are VERY different. Depends on what you are looking for and/or preference. The beaches are way better in Maldives than in Bali. Imagine white sands and crystal clear water. However, you are stuck on an island with nothing much to do which is ideal for honeymoons or those who just want to relax and get away from it all. Since you're stuck on some island too, it can get pretty expensive with the food, drinks and transfer from Male.
Bali on the hand has much more to do - food, shopping, culture, etc. You can stay at the beach for a couple of days and move inland to Ubud for a totally different experience.
Let me know if you need more specifics and/ore recommendations. Lucky has a blog on this
exact topic too.
This helps - thanks. We would tend to be less temple people and more beach people. Happy to sit, read, snorkel, drink, nap, etc. This said, so far our favorite place to go is Cambodia. Great resort, quiet, bit of culture, lot's of pool and massage time. The people were really nice. And it was dirt cheap.
And thanks for the link to Lucky's blog. Good reading - especially the comments after. Saw one comment that compared Bali to Cancun. That may have done Bali in for me - we prefer more quiet, secluded places. I asked an Aussie girl that worked for me if she liked Bali - she said "Yes, it's great. But it's still Indo....".
The one thing that may sway me away from Maldives is the cost. I need to sit and think about paying $15 for an orange juice - and if that would ruin the experience for me. I have done a little looking and pricing - but I think now that I found this website I may have access to some pretty good information and opinions.
On specifics, and while everyone is different, what would you say it will cost a couple for 7 days in the Maldives, decent resort, meals, wine, etc - all in from arrival in Male to getting back to Male?