blr1222

Awesome report! Great pictures.

How much do you think you spent on food in total in the Maldives if you don't mind me asking?

ThatJohn

Fantastic TR! I just got back from Abu Dhabi, so it was especially great to see the mosque in all its glory again. And now I really want to see the Empty Quarter!

FlightNurse

I was wondering the same thing... I don't think they have the range..

FlightNurse

Great report, I have wanted to go to the middle east, and this trip report will be shown to my partner...

Yoshi212

I figured it was just a typo since the next flight to YVR was also flown on an ERJ-190. Even the ERJ-195 doesn't have the legs for it. As far as RJs go I am a huge from of the ERJ-190 & ERJ-195.

Forrest Bump

Spectacular TR!
I always wonder how long could take doing this massive job.
Thanks for posting.
If you plan a future hop on Gulf area, don't miss Oman.
Muscat feels now how Dubai have been years ago.

Pingtung

Fabulous report, lots of great detail and accompanying photography. Thanks so much for posting ^

It must have been quite the transition flying in Y and then ending up at somewhere like the Park Hyatt in the Maldives, talk about extremes!

salfcl

Enjoyed the trip report tremendously. The tips for accommodation at the Maldives will be useful for planning my trip there.

Excellent TR. Thanks for sharing.

ma91pmh

What a great trip report! And now that I see your picture I do recall you from our time there too!

Wow you guys are brave going that distance in coach... we were beaten up after doing it with SQ in F

Really nice to see the local island visit. We never did that this time, but when we went in 2010 we did an impromptu island visit during a surface interval and got to visit the family of one of the boat crew. Very fascinating.

I have to agree Park Hyatt Maldives is just an outstanding place.

vecta

wonderful report! Thanks for the write up + pics

akersnl

Besides flying coach, this is epic. I've traveled many places in this little world of ours, but being able to go to the middle east is by far the place I want to see the most. Haven't had a chance to go yet.

worldtraveller73

Thanks YEGflyer.

Thank you Orwaid. I decided go for detail instead of no pictures or no text. It can be complicated to weed through what is of value to you. I usually skim through the hotels but when I find one that I'm staying at, it's helpful to see firsthand reports.

Yoshi212 - congratulations for spotting that. I was using a template and of course, have been travelling on some lighter flights. I'll fix that!

Bir1222, I had concerns about the food cost in the Maldives. In the end I think you just suck it up and go - moderating consumption accordingly.

An important thing to remember is that in reviews, like mine, often the 10% service charge and 6% government tax is not added in. It's similar to Bali, where there are 21% taxes on liquor and you get a "surprise" when the bill is presented.

Sheraton (10 minutes boat from Male)

(2 day stay):
Two buffet breakfasts,
Two bistro "casual" style dinners with one alcoholic drink each
Two visits at the Anchorage Bar with 2 sunset drinks each visit
Total $350 USD taxes in.

Park Hyatt (24hr boat ride from Male)

(4 night stay):
4 Buffet breakfasts (included in rate)
3 Dinners including a main and a glass of wine each (about $170 USD per meal)
2 bottles of sparkling wine for consumption in room ($65 USD)
Total: $502.00 USD taxes in.

ThatJohn - thank you for the comments. The Empty Quarter was pretty neat. It definitely felt like a natural part of the UAE- something that was missing from the somewhat Vegas-y feel of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Thanks FlightNurse. You are right, it likely doesn't have the range. I think the smallest trans-continental flight I have done was on a Boeing 737, and it was painful.

Thanks for your support Forrest Bump.

The report actually didn't take that long to do. I chipped away at it during flights, recording details as I went. Once you get used to hosting images on the web and inserting the links for the photos, it actually goes quite quickly.

Another way of looking at it was that I didn't spend as much time building it, as I do researching on FT looking for great deals!! (Laughing)

Pingtung - and ma91pmh Yes. It was quite the ordeal getting down there. Even if we went the most direct route, it would have been 5 flights just to get the Park Hyatt. I think it was worse on the way back because the anticipation of the trip was over. My tail was seriously sore by the time I got off the plane in LAX. I must be getting older or something.

ma91pmh - I'm sure we'll cross paths again somewhere!!

You are welcome salcl. I found the blogs in general to be the most helpful for planning in the Maldives. If you beleived the hotel website pages, everything would be free until you click the "check out / reserve" page and read the fine print!!

Thanks Vecta - look forward to your next reports.

Arkersnl - it was a similar experience for me as well. I had visited Egypt several times but never made it further east because from Vancouver, it's a long way to go!! In the end, it just got added to the list and of course, having a Sex in the City movie based there and the allure of blue waters in the Maldives tipped the scales for MsWT73 and before we knew it, we were on our way.

isaifan

Absolutely a wonderful report. Very interesting to see that resort in the dessert in the UAE. Definetly got to keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing.

Cohall

Great report! My wife and I are visiting the Park Hyatt Hadahaa next year, and this really gives me a taste for what to expect.

Quick question for you. We are staying part of our time in a pool villa (and the rest in an overwater), we are keen on having a clear view of the ocean from our villa/pool. Is there a specific pool villa you would recommend that has uninterrupted views of the ocean, without significant vegetation in the way?

Thanks again for the trip report.

worldtraveller73

Thanks Isaifan.

I do think that the Qsar al Sarab is a wonderful "find". It's remote enough not to be super busy, but yet it offers accomodation at quite a few different price points. Add the wonderful scenery and you've got a fantastic resort stay.

Cohall - this is a bit of a challenging question.

From my general observations and memory, there isn't one area over another that offers more general views of the ocean over another. Rather, some villas have clearing whereas other do not. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I did notice (but not mentioned in the general trip report) that the Water Villas that were constantly exposed in the sun had some UV damage to the units around the windows. It doesn't take away from this wonderful property, but perhaps some of the more vegetation protected units have their advantages. They are also much cooler as you don't have to have the AC on all the time like you do in the water villas.

The staff will also move your loungers from the park / pool villas to the beach for you. We saw several taking advantage of this !!

To address your request, I'd simply recommend (or insist) to the concierge/reservations agent that you'd like to be in a Villa that has an exposed ocean view. I do have the confidence that they would address this as best as they can, as opposed to the "smiles and apologies without any resolution" scenario that can sometimes be found through Asia.

Villa #1, which faces North eastward and the dusk jetty area is completely exposed. I remember this because it initially looked like a caretaker's villa from the dock and I was slightly horrified looking at the view (or rather, every arriving passengers' view of the villa as they passed by on the landing dock). I wouldn't recommend getting this villa at these prices to be exposed to every arrival or snorkeler from the dock.

There were some additional pool villas with exposed views (#29-31 if I recall correctly) on the south west side of the island. Keep in mind if making specific requests that Villas close to the Water Villa jetties will have golf cart traffic throughout most of the day for housecleaning, turn down service and the like.