Maldives

[dnsfpl]

what is the best way to get waterproof camera?

thinking of getting waterproof case for my hp

 

[oceanicmanta]

what is the best way to get waterproof camera?

thinking of getting waterproof case for my hp

can ask some shops if they rent eg) Fun-In Singapore (at North Bridge), etc or go to ScubaSG forum and ask if anyone renting

go-pro for video in shallow water (10m) is very good

I started with those $20 disposable uw camera using film, in a plastic case. not sure if any still can buy.

I still have the case & camera if u want to try ... just need battery & film.

 

[dnsfpl]

prefer digital lar

thanks for your kind gesture

 

[dnsfpl]

6 more hours and i will be on the plane back to sg

can consider water proof hp case

a lot using here

 

[amigoeva]

6 more hours and i will be on the plane back to sg

can consider water proof hp case

a lot using here

how was ur experience in finolhu? worth the money?

 

[dnsfpl]

its an unforgettable wonderful postive experience
think i would have said the same for any villas, cos its maldives

definitely worth the upgrade from kani to finolhu (app 3k per couple)
imo kani is a lively sentosa, finolhu is for honeymoon

accommodation: kani is very crowded, its unlikely you can check in early and check out late
i check in when i reached, i check out after my dinner around 8pm, thus enjoyed 4 full days
housekeeping twice a day at your preferred timing

activities: again kani is very crowded, snorkeling trip etc etc are full house(20-30 pax?) whereas for finolhu is kinda exclusive, around 2 to max 8 pax, ie 4 couples

f&b: there is only a fine dining restaurant in finolhu
i guess its the only fine dining restaurant you can wear single shorts and slippers lol
breakfast is pretty normal, good thing is you can dine in the villa
8 different dishes for lunch + dessert/ice cream/fruits
3 each to choose from (soup, appetizer, main, dessert) for dinner
their ice cream is on par with haagen dazs
we googled and ordered different popular cocktails and all are available
even the bread basket has more varieties vs kani
we ate 1 of our lunch at kani, i would say swensen standard

f&b in villa: drinks in fridge(milk, coke etc etc), nespresso with 10 capsules, twg tea bags etc etc all refillable and foc

lastly, the butler really makes a difference, indeed gave us a "royal" experience
from the time we step into the island til the last moment
he waited for us with a golf cart, carried our luggage to the villa
gave suggestion to our itinerary (massage, photo shoot, activities, f&b etc etc)

all in all, if you love the sun sand and sea, activities (kayaking, sailing, snorkeling), and love to drink, maldives is definitely the right place

and also pray for good weather

 

[amigoeva]

woooo sounds like really being treated like a royal!

i'm so looking forward to maldives in mar~

 

[dnsfpl]

you can even snorkel right outside your door step
its less than 1m deep thou, vs out in the sea 5-10m

this is why you shouldnt choose resort that is less than a year old
reef and livestock might not be fully "restore"

btw imo $450 upgrade for the massage and dinner is not really worth it
but things are really expensive there, im shocked when i see the price of their add on and service

previously went to a "full board" spa at paragon
around $100 per pax neh, now maybe $150 lar
still have $100+ for a nice dinner

 

[dnsfpl]

sharing the summary of my package

https://www.clubmed.com.sg/r/The-Finolhu-Villas/y

Club Med Finolhu Villas Maldives app $2400 each

airport transfer app $300 each

sq air tic app $550 each + app $300 each for best timing (ie arrive 1130am, depart 1130pm)

membership + tax + etc etc $100 each

total $2400 + $300 + $850 + $100 = $3650 x 2 = $7300 + $450 (honeymoon package) = $7750 after UOB discount and cc promo app $7300

total should be less than $7k if you intend to take my package

https://www.clubmed.com.sg/l/honeymoon?CMCID=PS3896879354260&gclid=CKDX6aGI588CFUQWaAodNjoKRQ

imo the $450 can better spend elsewhere, heng they did gave us early check in, late check out, plus dinner on last day, if not lagi bo hua

 

[Soya_Bean]

sharing the summary of my package

https://www.clubmed.com.sg/r/The-Finolhu-Villas/y

Club Med Finolhu Villas Maldives app $2400 each

airport transfer app $300 each

sq air tic app $550 each + app $300 each for best timing (ie arrive 1130am, depart 1130pm)

membership + tax + etc etc $100 each

total $2400 + $300 + $850 + $100 = $3650 x 2 = $7300 + $450 (honeymoon package) = $7750 after UOB discount and cc promo app $7300

total should be less than $7k if you intend to take my package

https://www.clubmed.com.sg/l/honeymoon?CMCID=PS3896879354260&gclid=CKDX6aGI588CFUQWaAodNjoKRQ

imo the $450 can better spend elsewhere, heng they did gave us early check in, late check out, plus dinner on last day, if not lagi bo hua

thanks for the update!

did you try diving?
if yes so, which dive centre do you recommend?

 

[dnsfpl]

dont think you can "try" diving, you must at least know the basic

its not included in the club med package

think need to pay around usd50-100, eg "standard" or "guarantee whale shark" etc etc

there are a few location for you to choose

 

[Soya_Bean]

dont think you can "try" diving, you must at least know the basic

its not included in the club med package

think need to pay around usd50-100, eg "standard" or "guarantee whale shark" etc etc

there are a few location for you to choose

my bad, i meant did you dive?

already have PADI certs, looking for dive centre reviews.

 

[dnsfpl]

nope idk how to dive

 

[smilingbuddha]

Bookmark to read later. Any tips for solo traveller to maldives?

 

[dance42001]

Just Came back from Maldives

Just wanted to share my trip.

Went to maldives recently in oct on a budget trip. We manage to visit 3 different resort via arranging our own transport.

First in maldives there are actually local island that you can visit. The down side is that the island is not what you think they are from the postal card but this is the real lifestyle that who locals in maldives lives. In certain part of the beach you will see a lot of rubbish and you will notice daily burning of rubbish in remote area in these location island.

As a adventure person myself I do prefer to see how people in maldives really lives but if you are bring your better half there also please lower their expectation.

So how to travel on budget first is all about the resort. Some resort do allow you to arrange your own transport over to the island. The one that i went is as follow (fihalhohi island resort , biyahdoo island and olhuveli island).

Depending on your budget you can check on the resort that you want to go. Do remember to ask do they allow own transport as during my research phrase I did checked some resorts that don't allow own transport and for those who have done some homework the transport from airport to the resort for 2 pax can cost within the range of 500 - 1K this is pretty serious $$.

What we do to save on transport and also resort hopping is that we go to one of local island (maafushi). As recently guest house has been allow in Maldives this is one of the main island which house most of the budget traveler. In this island there are quite a few of dive shop and excursion shop.

These excursion shop do offer transport to these resort on a daily tour based which you pay for the transportation and also a daily tour pass of the resort but if you booked the resort stay you can arrange with them to transport you over at a lower rate compare to the resort transport ( in total the 4 transport that i have from fihalhohi -> biyahdoo -> olhuveli -> maafushi cost me around 290 usd this sound a lot but this is how expensive the transport is).

Another way to save is on the Meal ( BB(Breakfast only) , HB ( Breakfast and Dinner) , FB (Breakfast , lunch and Dinner) ). Some resort charges you close to 200 usd for a dinner. And the food being buffet style please don't expect the quality of the food to be too good. So what we do was on some night we eat instant noodle for dinner and we do order some pizza during the lunch time. On one of the night we order a nasi briyani which cost 30 USD i think this is the most expensive briyani that i had in my life! The good thing about it is that at least it taste really well.

To me the best budget option will be the HB as the breakfast is the good time to have a meal and during the lunch time it is the best time to go for your activity like snorkeling and after your activity you have a hungry stomach to have your dinner.

Also another budget saving is to bring your own snorkeling equipment as they charge you close to 15 usd for the use of their snorkeling equipment.

 

[Delsamor]

Just wanted to share my trip.

Went to maldives recently in oct on a budget trip. We manage to visit 3 different resort via arranging our own transport.

First in maldives there are actually local island that you can visit. The down side is that the island is not what you think they are from the postal card but this is the real lifestyle that who locals in maldives lives. In certain part of the beach you will see a lot of rubbish and you will notice daily burning of rubbish in remote area in these location island.

As a adventure person myself I do prefer to see how people in maldives really lives but if you are bring your better half there also please lower their expectation.

So how to travel on budget first is all about the resort. Some resort do allow you to arrange your own transport over to the island. The one that i went is as follow (fihalhohi island resort , biyahdoo island and olhuveli island).

Depending on your budget you can check on the resort that you want to go. Do remember to ask do they allow own transport as during my research phrase I did checked some resorts that don't allow own transport and for those who have done some homework the transport from airport to the resort for 2 pax can cost within the range of 500 - 1K this is pretty serious $$.

What we do to save on transport and also resort hopping is that we go to one of local island (maafushi). As recently guest house has been allow in Maldives this is one of the main island which house most of the budget traveler. In this island there are quite a few of dive shop and excursion shop.

These excursion shop do offer transport to these resort on a daily tour based which you pay for the transportation and also a daily tour pass of the resort but if you booked the resort stay you can arrange with them to transport you over at a lower rate compare to the resort transport ( in total the 4 transport that i have from fihalhohi -> biyahdoo -> olhuveli -> maafushi cost me around 290 usd this sound a lot but this is how expensive the transport is).

Another way to save is on the Meal ( BB(Breakfast only) , HB ( Breakfast and Dinner) , FB (Breakfast , lunch and Dinner) ). Some resort charges you close to 200 usd for a dinner. And the food being buffet style please don't expect the quality of the food to be too good. So what we do was on some night we eat instant noodle for dinner and we do order some pizza during the lunch time. On one of the night we order a nasi briyani which cost 30 USD i think this is the most expensive briyani that i had in my life! The good thing about it is that at least it taste really well.

To me the best budget option will be the HB as the breakfast is the good time to have a meal and during the lunch time it is the best time to go for your activity like snorkeling and after your activity you have a hungry stomach to have your dinner.

Also another budget saving is to bring your own snorkeling equipment as they charge you close to 15 usd for the use of their snorkeling equipment.

Thanks for the info. Did you stay in maafushi Island? Are all the food options there as expensive as your "premium" briyani? I read that we can do Maldives with under $1k USD including visiting those privately owned resort Island.

 

[smilingbuddha]

Just wanted to share my trip.

Went to maldives recently in oct on a budget trip. We manage to visit 3 different resort via arranging our own transport.

First in maldives there are actually local island that you can visit. The down side is that the island is not what you think they are from the postal card but this is the real lifestyle that who locals in maldives lives. In certain part of the beach you will see a lot of rubbish and you will notice daily burning of rubbish in remote area in these location island.

As a adventure person myself I do prefer to see how people in maldives really lives but if you are bring your better half there also please lower their expectation.

So how to travel on budget first is all about the resort. Some resort do allow you to arrange your own transport over to the island. The one that i went is as follow (fihalhohi island resort , biyahdoo island and olhuveli island).

Depending on your budget you can check on the resort that you want to go. Do remember to ask do they allow own transport as during my research phrase I did checked some resorts that don't allow own transport and for those who have done some homework the transport from airport to the resort for 2 pax can cost within the range of 500 - 1K this is pretty serious $$.

What we do to save on transport and also resort hopping is that we go to one of local island (maafushi). As recently guest house has been allow in Maldives this is one of the main island which house most of the budget traveler. In this island there are quite a few of dive shop and excursion shop.

These excursion shop do offer transport to these resort on a daily tour based which you pay for the transportation and also a daily tour pass of the resort but if you booked the resort stay you can arrange with them to transport you over at a lower rate compare to the resort transport ( in total the 4 transport that i have from fihalhohi -> biyahdoo -> olhuveli -> maafushi cost me around 290 usd this sound a lot but this is how expensive the transport is).

Another way to save is on the Meal ( BB(Breakfast only) , HB ( Breakfast and Dinner) , FB (Breakfast , lunch and Dinner) ). Some resort charges you close to 200 usd for a dinner. And the food being buffet style please don't expect the quality of the food to be too good. So what we do was on some night we eat instant noodle for dinner and we do order some pizza during the lunch time. On one of the night we order a nasi briyani which cost 30 USD i think this is the most expensive briyani that i had in my life! The good thing about it is that at least it taste really well.

To me the best budget option will be the HB as the breakfast is the good time to have a meal and during the lunch time it is the best time to go for your activity like snorkeling and after your activity you have a hungry stomach to have your dinner.

Also another budget saving is to bring your own snorkeling equipment as they charge you close to 15 usd for the use of their snorkeling equipment.

Nice to hear from a budget traveller.

I see that your island hopping are mainly concentrated within the reach of Maafushi. Have you got any advice for the western atolls (Ari Atolls)? I am contemplating between Maafushi or Mahibadhoo, so your input would be greatly appreciated!

Is it true that the beaches of Maafushi are filled with trash? I heard that the waters are rather polluted around local islands.

 

[dance42001]

Thanks for the info. Did you stay in maafushi Island? Are all the food options there as expensive as your "premium" briyani? I read that we can do Maldives with under $1k USD including visiting those privately owned resort Island.

Delsamor ,

Yes we did a two night stay in maafushi. There is a airbnb owner which I would recommend but his guesthouse is quite in the remote place of maafushi but maafushi is really a small island which you can finish touring with 30 min by walking. Faze Inn the owner can arrange a trip for you base on your budget.


No the Food in Maafushi is quite reasonable a meal for 2 should not cost you more then 40 USD.

If you intent to stay in maafushi do try out the kaani princess this is a yacht that is anchor near within a min boat ride from maafushi. As maafushi does not allow consume of alcohol thus you can go to the yacht for a drink. Transport is free and the alcohol is less then 10USD which is much cheaper then SG. The best part of this is you can go there for a sunset trip which you can go for a night fishing(USD 30) and trust me there is plenty of fish below and they will help you bbq the fish for your dinner later. I caught around 10 fish within a hour plus.

 

[dance42001]

Nice to hear from a budget traveller.

I see that your island hopping are mainly concentrated within the reach of Maafushi. Have you got any advice for the western atolls (Ari Atolls)? I am contemplating between Maafushi or Mahibadhoo, so your input would be greatly appreciated!

Is it true that the beaches of Maafushi are filled with trash? I heard that the waters are rather polluted around local islands.

Hi smilingbuddha,

I did research on maafushi only as for Ari Atolls it is quite diff to get any useful information on them but life is always about the unknown so if you did try to Ari Atolls you can write us a report.

Yes in maafushi i would say only the tourist beach is the only place worth going for a swim other then that the water is quite covered with waste.

 

[dnsfpl]

those going can consider this
https://www.groupon.sg/deals/shopping/gg-groupon-001-c000001-p-yqv-hiat-19/98669729