Originally Posted by gnomey

based on my experience in this kind of beach/water-based vacation, it highly depends on what kind of traveler you are, and what activities you plan to pursue

if you are planning to dive/snorkel etc, then i think you probably need 4-5 days. a few reasons - weather may not be favorable to you on some days, you may not be able to see all the marine creatures you want in your first dive/snorkel and hence need to make subsequent attempts, you have other fun activities / day excursions you want to pursue besides dive/snorkel and each of these will take at least 1/2 day, and divers are not advisable to fly <18-24 hrs after their last dive. on top of all these, you may want some time off that you can roam on land to explore nook and cranny, take photos, or eat in a leisure manner without feeling rushed that you need to jump into the water again.

if you are planning to do nothing except reading / lounging / sun bathing, then you probably can stay as long (or as short) as you want until you are bored or run out of money. of course some would question what's the point of going all the way to maldives and do the same thing you could do back home or at a cheaper locale. all i can say is, diff strokes for diff people!

Originally Posted by MaldivesFreak

Well, you're probably not gonna like this but I think anything less than say 2 or 3 weeks is too short. Not that I have done a trip there for that many nights.....not yet anyway.....but there are quite a few FT'ers who stay at this property for 2 weeks at a time, every time they visit.
To put it bluntly, it really sucks going to paradise and having to leave only a week after you arrive, or start thinking about leaving a few days after you arrive. I absolutely love the Maldives, especialy Rangali, and hate that nagging "Damn, we've only got another 4 days left!" thought that enters my head 3 days into a 7-night stay. And the next day it's "Damn, we've only got another 3 days left!" and it gets worse as we get closer to leaving. By the second to last day I am beginning to loathe the sound of seaplanes..... My 30 or 35-night stay at the end of this year will put that to rest, however. I am so looking forward to getting away from the rat race that is Mainland China and just relaxing for a month, solid. Having said that, 99% of the people here can't bear to stay in a place like the Maldives for more than 4 nights because they think it's too quiet, and too boring, ROFLOL. Each to his own I suppose but to be perfectly honest they don't know how to relax and enjoy peace and quiet, let alone enjoy the sun. Be aware that Rangali is just that - peace and quiet (for the most part)! As an interesting point, I once asked the Director of Rooms how long the ideal stay was (based on guests' opinions) and she said 2 weeks. You'll find that those people are all from the US, Europe etc, where people, generally speaking, have different standards and ideas of what it is to relax and what a relaxing stay entails. They do it in a different way and that's one of the reasons why they keep going back to Rangali.

As for CKS, I have stayed there once and 3 nights was enough. On the CKS thread you'll find that is the concensus. They (Koh Samui and the Maldives) are vastly different environments and resorts in a place like Koh Samui are vastly different properties compared to resorts in the Maldives and Rangali in particular, so you should most certainly take that into consideration. If I were to go to a resort like Jumeirah Dhevanafushi - a tiny place with only 2 restaurants - I wouldn't want to stay more than 3 or 4 nights. It would certainly be enough as far as F&B options went. Rangali is another cookie entirely and its size and dining options (largest F&B operation in the Maldives) make a 7-night stay seem far too short. Size will always dictate length of stay to a certain degree for those who like variety. There are more places to explore and more that are private - no-one, I don't care where you're from - doesn't want to have any privacy at all and at quite a few resorts, privacy Rangali style isn't that easy to come by.

My questions to you are: Have you ever been to the Maldives before? Do you like beach resorts? What's the longest you have stayed at one? Do you like a lot of privacy or are you turned on by crowds and crowded, noisy beaches? Do you like to explore a little and do the odd excursion? Do you like to snorkel or scuba dive? Are you a foodie or are you happy with a buffet every night? Last but not least: What's your budget for this holiday? If you answer all those I can hopefully give you a pretty good idea of how long to stay.