Having a long weekend from work, John and I decided to take advantage and book a last-minute trip to the Maldives. This island nation located just off the coast of India in the Indian Ocean is made up of 1190 coral islands, spread over 90,000 square kilometres. It has a reputation of being an expensive place, and expensive it definitely was... but it is truly amazing!
We flew on Sri Lankan Airlines to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Dubai overnight, which was under 5 hours. I had no expectations, but Sri Lankan Airlines were great! The plane was huge, with a great entertainment system and tasty food which you could order off a menu. I was pleasantly surprised! We had to wait a few hours in Colombo before boarding our flight to Male, the capital of the Maldives. Upon arrival at the small airport there, we got free visas on arrival and were greeted by a guy with a sign for our resort who ushered us onto a bus to take a short ride to the resort's private lounge, where we waited for our seaplane transfer.
Since our resort was around 100 miles away from the airport in Male, a 40-minute seaplane ride was necessary. This was the first time we'd ever been in a seaplane. They are quite small and only fit around 20 people I think. The planes take off and land on water, and fly quite low (and only in good weather). You have amazing views of the turquoise blue water and atolls (ring-shaped coral islands) of the Maldives below. I actually hate flying but I wish I could travel everywhere by seaplane, it was so cool!
Upon arrival at Kuredu Island Resort, we were greeted with a refreshing iced tea and taken to our beach bungalow. Kuredu didn't have that exclusive, glamorous feel that many other resorts in the Maldives seem to have. It was pretty chill but still beautiful. We loved it! The staff were great and the island was gorgeous. The white sand beaches were perfect and the water had the most amazing shades of blue.
The beach bungalow we stayed in had an outdoor bathroom (the ceiling is open but there's a wall). I liked it but I don't think it would be for everyone. I definitely saw some lizards scamper away when I opened the door to go in sometimes! Our bungalow had some deck chairs which were perfect for relaxing on, and we were located directly on the beach. There were also other options for accommodation on the island (garden bungalow, beach villa, over water villa). I thought the bungalow was perfect for us! The best thing was stepping outside onto the beach every day and seeing those spectacular views.
On our side of the island there were signs "beware of stingrays," and we definitely saw a bunch in the shallow water near the beach on our first night, along with baby sharks which swam right up to the shore. We didn't swim on that side of the island after that!
The other side of Kuredu Island was perfect for swimming though. The water was so clean and clear. John has been diving in several locations around Asia and said this was the best visibility in the water that he's ever experienced. Kuredu has a "house reef" where we saw lots of colourful fish, some sharks, a shipwreck nearby, and even a HUGE sea turtle.
One of the best things we did was book a tour to go snorkelling with manta rays. Manta rays are very large and a bit creepy looking, but don't pose a threat to humans like stingrays do. The boat captain took us to the middle of nowhere and told us to jump off the boat and just wait. Sure enough, the mantas came over to us and started swimming around. They would swim right by us, and sometimes under us. It was such a cool experience and I was thankful to have the GoPro camera with us to get some good pics.
Besides snorkelling trips, Kuredu Island offers many other activities. Every night some sort of entertainment program was on. John even took part in "pool chipping" contest one night at the pool. The island has a 6-hole golf course (each hole is only about 50 yards). We tried it out and it was a lot of fun, my kind of golf course. No shoes were even required! Actually shoes are optional all over the island. I think I took my shoes off the first day and didn't put them back on until it was time to leave!
We got the "all inclusive plus" package from the resort, which included food and drinks. All the food was buffet style and pretty tasty. Also included in our package was a sunset cruise. We didn't expect much on the cruise but were surprised to see dolphins jumping along the boat and flipping into the water! It was hard to get a good photo of the dolphins, but I was able to get some good pics of the sunset.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend Kuredu to other travellers. I'd love to go again, but the Maldives is quite expensive. We have some friends who did a "live aboard" on a diving ship in the Maldives which cuts down on some of the costs, but if you're prone to motion sickness like me and looking for a relaxing beach holiday I'd recommend staying on one of the islands. Some of the islands are inhabited by locals and offer much cheaper accommodation. However, the Maldives is a Muslim country and wearing tank tops, shorts, and bathing suits is frowned upon on these local islands, although I've heard each island has a designated "bikini beach." If you want to experience total relaxation and freedom to wear whatever you like and eat/drink whatever you like, going to a private resort is the way to go... but be prepared to pay for it.
Kuredu was so beautiful, I was sad to leave! We've been home for nearly two weeks and I'm still obsessed with the Maldives. I hope to visit again some day!!!
We flew on Sri Lankan Airlines to Colombo, Sri Lanka from Dubai overnight, which was under 5 hours. I had no expectations, but Sri Lankan Airlines were great! The plane was huge, with a great entertainment system and tasty food which you could order off a menu. I was pleasantly surprised! We had to wait a few hours in Colombo before boarding our flight to Male, the capital of the Maldives. Upon arrival at the small airport there, we got free visas on arrival and were greeted by a guy with a sign for our resort who ushered us onto a bus to take a short ride to the resort's private lounge, where we waited for our seaplane transfer.
Since our resort was around 100 miles away from the airport in Male, a 40-minute seaplane ride was necessary. This was the first time we'd ever been in a seaplane. They are quite small and only fit around 20 people I think. The planes take off and land on water, and fly quite low (and only in good weather). You have amazing views of the turquoise blue water and atolls (ring-shaped coral islands) of the Maldives below. I actually hate flying but I wish I could travel everywhere by seaplane, it was so cool!
Upon arrival at Kuredu Island Resort, we were greeted with a refreshing iced tea and taken to our beach bungalow. Kuredu didn't have that exclusive, glamorous feel that many other resorts in the Maldives seem to have. It was pretty chill but still beautiful. We loved it! The staff were great and the island was gorgeous. The white sand beaches were perfect and the water had the most amazing shades of blue.
The beach bungalow we stayed in had an outdoor bathroom (the ceiling is open but there's a wall). I liked it but I don't think it would be for everyone. I definitely saw some lizards scamper away when I opened the door to go in sometimes! Our bungalow had some deck chairs which were perfect for relaxing on, and we were located directly on the beach. There were also other options for accommodation on the island (garden bungalow, beach villa, over water villa). I thought the bungalow was perfect for us! The best thing was stepping outside onto the beach every day and seeing those spectacular views.
On our side of the island there were signs "beware of stingrays," and we definitely saw a bunch in the shallow water near the beach on our first night, along with baby sharks which swam right up to the shore. We didn't swim on that side of the island after that!
The other side of Kuredu Island was perfect for swimming though. The water was so clean and clear. John has been diving in several locations around Asia and said this was the best visibility in the water that he's ever experienced. Kuredu has a "house reef" where we saw lots of colourful fish, some sharks, a shipwreck nearby, and even a HUGE sea turtle.
One of the best things we did was book a tour to go snorkelling with manta rays. Manta rays are very large and a bit creepy looking, but don't pose a threat to humans like stingrays do. The boat captain took us to the middle of nowhere and told us to jump off the boat and just wait. Sure enough, the mantas came over to us and started swimming around. They would swim right by us, and sometimes under us. It was such a cool experience and I was thankful to have the GoPro camera with us to get some good pics.
Besides snorkelling trips, Kuredu Island offers many other activities. Every night some sort of entertainment program was on. John even took part in "pool chipping" contest one night at the pool. The island has a 6-hole golf course (each hole is only about 50 yards). We tried it out and it was a lot of fun, my kind of golf course. No shoes were even required! Actually shoes are optional all over the island. I think I took my shoes off the first day and didn't put them back on until it was time to leave!
We got the "all inclusive plus" package from the resort, which included food and drinks. All the food was buffet style and pretty tasty. Also included in our package was a sunset cruise. We didn't expect much on the cruise but were surprised to see dolphins jumping along the boat and flipping into the water! It was hard to get a good photo of the dolphins, but I was able to get some good pics of the sunset.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend Kuredu to other travellers. I'd love to go again, but the Maldives is quite expensive. We have some friends who did a "live aboard" on a diving ship in the Maldives which cuts down on some of the costs, but if you're prone to motion sickness like me and looking for a relaxing beach holiday I'd recommend staying on one of the islands. Some of the islands are inhabited by locals and offer much cheaper accommodation. However, the Maldives is a Muslim country and wearing tank tops, shorts, and bathing suits is frowned upon on these local islands, although I've heard each island has a designated "bikini beach." If you want to experience total relaxation and freedom to wear whatever you like and eat/drink whatever you like, going to a private resort is the way to go... but be prepared to pay for it.
Kuredu was so beautiful, I was sad to leave! We've been home for nearly two weeks and I'm still obsessed with the Maldives. I hope to visit again some day!!!
Our world is truly an AMAZING place with so many treasures to discover and investigate...it is wonderful that you are on this adventure with John!!!
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