Maldives - which resort for scuba?
 

Im thinking of spending 5-6 days at a resort in the Maldives and want to do some scuba diving. I could stay at a non-scuba specialist resort and then dive elsewhere, but if possible would like to combine a nice resort with very good overall service and a good scuba program.

I do have a lot of HHonors points to burn (although redemption with Hilton is just about an impossible nightmare) and also tons of Starwood points, so resorts from those chains is an option, but I will also consider others.

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

[This message has been edited by Gaucho100K (edited 06-28-2001).]

My favorite is the Four Seasons on Kuda Huraa (Male Atoll). This time of the year they are entering their low season due to the daily monsoons. A wonderful bungalow can be had for around US$400/night, all inclusive. I'm not a scuba diver, but I've seen a number of fairly upscale-looking divers leaving on day-trips, and can say that the snorkling around some of the nearby reefs is fantastic. In all honesty, it is hard to go too far wrong in the Maldives if scuba is your objective.

I've stayed at two resorts in the Maldives, of which Embudu village was better in terms of accessing good dive sites. However, it is mid class and food wasn't that good.

Full Moon resort is high end, great service and food, also has a good diving programme but not quite as good as Embudu.

Check out www.maldives.com and www.visitmaldives.com - quite good information on resorts etc there.

Like UAL Traveler put it, no matter where you go, you're still very close to some of the best dive sites in the world. Enjoy! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

The dive shop at the Four Seasons boasts of having in the range of 75+ dives within an hour boat trip of the resort. We didn't dive while we were there (only snorkeled), but the resort is very nice with services and amenities typical of the group.

Last year I stayed at the Hilton in Maldives and they had a guy there by the name of Adam who ran our dives. Very good leader and he ran a safe program. No matter where you dive in the Maldives, you are likely to see some of the best underwater sights in the world. The closest I can compare the Maldives to in scuba is Palau but Maldives is better.

Thanks to all for the tips. I guess September is not that great a season then, if it rains a lot then visibility will not be that good or...?

Teeejay, how was your stay at the Hilton? If its not too much hassle, I would appreciate some detail as to the room type you had, the facilities, food & service, etc. Many thanks.

So, what is the best way to get to the Maldives from San Francisco, preferably on United or a Star Alliance carrier?

Gaucho100K, my stay at Hilton was excellent. They have bungalows on the beach. Basically, the hotel is the only facility on the whole island and you will have your own secluded island/beach to yourself (along with the other guests who I rarely saw except at meals and for scuba).

As you probably now know the Maldives is made up of literally hundreds of tiny islands so an island made up of just one hotel is not unusual for this country.

Are you paying in advance or using HHonors points? I used points on my stay although if you can get a good deal inclusive of meals I would recommend paying in advance and accumulating points for later use. This is because we were charged fairly expensive amounts for the breakfast and dinner buffets (approx $60 per meal per person) and you can get get good packages which include meals.

You will have your choice of taking a heliopter or boat to the hotel from Male, the capitol. Because I am a helicopter pilot, we opted to take the huge Russian helicopter flown by 2 Bulgarian pilots. The time difference is 20 minutes vs. 2 hours chopper/boat.

The only downside is that I went with a male friend and there was absolutely no night life of any sort for us two guys. The next time I go (and I will go back) will be on my honeymoon or a particularly romantic vacation once I find a girlfriend! Have fun.

Teejay, what time of the year did you go?

June, 2000

I see that the Maldives must now be some colony of India, which wasn't the case the last time was there. If anything, I would have guessed that Sri Lanka would have picked up the islands. Seriously, the reconfigured travel section seems to be too fractionated now. The FT people who sorted out the previous posts generally did an OK job, but IMHO could have done better in categorizing locales. For example, Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, etc., could simply be classified as 'South Asia.' Anyway, not even worth 2 cents...