manneca

I don't think the mantas have been cavorting under the bridge for several years now. I didn't see them this year in Feb nor two years ago in Jan-Feb. I did see them the first couple of times I was there.

I have always seen them diving at Manta Point and other places. I've been there Jan-Feb.

MaldivesFreak

We've seen them on our last 3 visits, the most recent being this Feb. And that's all in the last 2 years. You must've just been out of luck.

manneca

I haven't been there in the summer, so I don't know whether the mantas are there. As Maldives Freak suggested, check with the dive staff.

The diving has seriously deteriorated in 2.5 years after an El Nino destroyed all of the branching and plate corals. That said, there are some lovely dive sites with beautiful soft corals remaining. And most of the fish are there. It is generally an easy place to dive: not much in the way of currents and warm water. The dive staff is good and I love the boat staff.

Do you see diving as a one-time bucket list item or are you interested in diving as a hobby? The Rangali is probably as good a place as any for bucket list. And it's a good place to start if you think you might enjoy diving. Do you snorkel? For me, snorkeling is like watching TV; diving is being there.

manneca

Hmmm, that's interesting. We saw eagle rays in the channel between the islands one night, but no mantas.

lhrhappy

Yep, that's it. If I understand correctly, the "5th night free" would let me change it from a 9-night stay to a 10-night stay without any additional points. I just need to find the award space on either of the airlines. I'd much rather move up the CX flights. Getting EY booked took a few hours on the phone with AAustralia.

MaldivesFreak

Right. I thought you may have been doing 380K + 4 weekend certificates to make the 9 nights. Might as well use the second lot of points for an extra night. Not extending to 10 nights would be almost as bad as checking in at 3AM, LOL!

lhrhappy

I'd love to extend it, but I'm leery about messing with anything at this point. The whole trip feels a bit like a house of cards because of AA's problems.

It always seems to take a half dozen calls to get them to ticket an international award that can't be booked online. On this go-round, CX wouldn't ticket at first because the AAgent had forgotten to put my middle name on the booking. Then, EY wouldn't ticket because a different AAgent had forgotten to title me "Mr." in the booking. Then, AA decided not to ticket because I had a domestic layover longer than 4 hours even though it was the only flight available. I eventually convinced them to follow their own rules and go with it.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to at least 9 days in paradise!

SR12

The new/current version of the water sports PDF now lists SUP under the complimentary activities.
So the "policy" changed and no more charge for standup paddleboards (a year ago they still charged a rather hefty rental fee, even though all other non-motorized water sports were free of charge back then, too). ^

MaldivesFreak

Thanks for that. I'll update the wiki.

ducksaucei3

Ah okay, thanks for detail. It's more of a bucket list item, but definitely not a necessity at the moment. I'll mull it over

vnfilm1

I would like to know more about airplane depart schedule from Conrad hotel to Male airport ( MLE) . Can any expert who has visited Conrad hotel, please advise the following:

1) If I must check out at noon, what time is the latest fly depart from Conrad hotel to Male (MLE) airport .

2) How do you request an arrangement with resort personal. At the date of arrival and do the check in .

3) Our flight from MLE to Singapore depart very late ( ~11:30 pm), if I check out at noon, where should I leave our luggage and where should I spend out time . Does conrad has the shower facility to allow gust can take a shower 1-2 hrs before boarding the sea plane to airport

4) Does Conrad lounge as the Airport has shower facility.

Thank you

alanslegal

Sorry for yet another newbie question but just preparing for our visit next month;

We've booked 7 nights but still haven't booked out flights however looking at a CMB-MLE flight that arrives at 0815am in the morning. Now, we hope to have a quick look at Male City from around 900-1400 and then fly to the resort.

What's the best way to store luggage for that period? Can I go to the seaplane / Conrad Lounge and leave my bags there for a few hours?

Thanks, hopefully once I visit CMRI I can come back and stop being a newbie

hyperzulu

The Conrad lounge staff are nice. If you want to arrange it, they can drive you into Male and show you around. I don't know if they charge a fee for this or just do it on donation. I didn't ask.

Though I don't know why you'd wanna use your time in Male when you can fly to paradise.

MaldivesFreak

I hate to quote myself but please, you need to read the wiki and read the posts linked there.



There are lots of posts about this. If you search the thread you will find the answer. Hint: search keywords last seaplane flight

Yes, they do. You can use the gym showers.

MaldivesFreak

+1,000,000 He'll learn.....