Originally Posted by
TOMFORD
Nice! Looks like yall had a great time. When are you going to do a TR to the Burj Khalifa?
Many thanks,
TOMFORD
. Been a while since I've been up to Burj Khalifa. Maybe I'll have to see if Rianda wants to go up to the 122nd floor to the new restaurant though
?
Originally Posted by
Madone59
Thank you for another great TR, and such wonderful photos!!
Thank you,
Madone59, yes a very photogenic part of the world, and such a great place to relax and unwind
.
Originally Posted by
mpkz
How dare you suggest there might be more to the Maldives than all-inclusive resorts on private islands with bungalows built over the water?
Ha ha
! Yes, I wouldn't mind going to a island resort, but with the crazy amount of money it costs , I couldn't help but think it could instead fund another adventure in Africa or something
.
Originally Posted by
SanDiego1K
I did wonder how a DanielW report of the Maldives could be done by DanielW. You tend toward the grit of challenging destinations. And yet again, this was a fascinating report. Many of us, myself included, have simply flown in and headed on to our luxury resort. This let me see what more the country has to offer. Thank you.
Many thanks,
SanDiego1K. Yes, it was really great to see how some of the locals live, and away from the very idyllic but very expensive resorts. We managed to do and see quite a bit in our 3 day weekend, and for a very reasonable price too. A 5 star Maldives resort is probably still on my travel 'bucket list' though
.
Originally Posted by
chongl
Love your reports and photos. Thanks for sharing another!
Thank you,
chongl.
Originally Posted by
injian
Love this TR - the picture are awesome. Its great to see a TR of Maldives at a local hotel versus a resort.
Questions:
1. What camera did you use?
2. How did you end up choosing the island of Maafushi and then choosing your guesthouse?
3. Are there other islands to choose from?
4. How did you book the speedboat?
Thank you,
injian.
1. My camera is a Canon 5D3:
http://www.dsw-photo.com/Travel/My-Camera . For the underwater shots I just used a Gopro.
2. I read a good travel blog last year that was really helpful for planning a budget trip to the Maldives. Maafushi is one of the bigger local islands so has better transport options, more guesthouses etc. The writer also recommended the guesthouse, Water Breeze, so thats why we picked it too. This is the blog:
http://www.neverendingfootsteps.com/...s-on-a-budget/
3. The blog writer above also went to smaller islands, Fulidhoo and Guraidhoo. If we had a longer stay we would have liked to visit/stay there too.
4. The speedboat to Villivaru Island was organised through the Water Breeze. The speedboat from the airport to Maafushi was just booked through iCom tours:
[email protected]
This is their daily schedule:
08:00 Maafushi to Male and Airport
09:00 Airport to Male
09:15 Male to Maafushi
12:00 Maafushi to Male and Airport
13:30 Male and Airport to Maafushi
17:00 Maafushi to Male and Airport
18:40 Male to Maafushi
For more info: +9607902069
Originally Posted by
PoincianaKings
Wow! Like many others I was wondering how you could show the 'true' Maldives after all, these boards are more used to reports on the Park Hyatt/Conrad/generic luxury resort. However I need not have wondered- what a fantastic report. In my book your reports are up there amongst the elite of our FT correspondents.
Many thanks for the kind compliments,
PoincianaKings. I always travel in Y and are perfectly happy in 3-star hotels, so the Maldives was kinda off my travel radar until I discovered how you could do it a bit more cheaply. Definitely one of the few places I would love to head back to now
!
Originally Posted by
mike&co
Awesome report once again Daniel. As soon as I see DanielW and sfo777 trip reports I get excited, can't wait to read them.
Thanks,
mike&co. Only ~2 weeks now until my next trip so hopefully another TR later in March.
Originally Posted by
HALA330
Always a pleasure to read another beautiful trip report ^^^
One question: When you price things in your reports using the "$" symbol, is that referring to USD or NZD? I had always assumed USD but I thought I'd better ask to make sure
Thanks,
HALA330. Always in USD. I've lived in the UAE for the last 10 years so haven't used NZD in a while. US$ are also readily accepted in the Maldives, and any bills are often quoted in both USD and local currency, so you can pay with either.
Originally Posted by
hirohito888
Great report, very interesting seeing the local side of things. Something I never got to do when I went to Maldives (being stuck on an island resort).
Thank you,
hirohito888. Yes, was great to interact and talk with the locals etc. Staying at an island like Maafushi was a great way too experience living and growing up on an island for your whole life, from the school, prison and even the local cemetery
.