Maldives – November 2023 (part two) (by Luke, May 2024)

This is the second part of our Maldives trip from 2023, part one is available here

day four

Gill got a special treat on day four as I booked a floating breakfast for us!! The downside for her was that it was after the sunrise fishing trip so we were up early again! This time we had pain au chocolat instead of croissants but the rest of the trip was pretty similar. The fishing was harder work but we caught a decent amount overall. Gill caught a monster trigger fish on a handline which always strains the arm muscles!

Once we arrived back our breakfast was delivered to our pool. Saying there was a lot doesn’t mean too much. The best way to describe how much food and drink was on the tray is to say that it took two members of staff to carry it through our room and place into the pool!

It was really nice to take our time over breakfast. For a short time we did the sort of relaxing thing that normal people would do while away!

Some of the morning was spent exploring the island, as the sun was out we made the most of being out in it! We swam in a couple of places, spotted herons and fruit bats and watched the sand being pumped from the sea to replace what was being lost by erosion. We stopped at ‘Freshwater’ bar for cocktails then carried on round to Chemistry bar for more.

The rest of the morning was spent on/around the beach. Gill was sunbathing and I was doing my best to interrupt! First by diving off the jetty a few times and then by getting her involved in finding the really bright coloured coral that had washed up onto the beach. This got us through to lunchtime and to eating the fish we’d caught earlier!

The afternoon was mainly spent relaxing but we did get out for a snorkel on the reef outside our room.

We met at the dive centre at 1900 to go night snorkelling. This was something new to both of us and there were definitely a few nerves involved! We got all kitted up and were given our torches – it was pitch black by this point! After a short walk across the staff island we tip toed our way through the crabs on the beach. We had to wait until we were underwater to use our torches as needlefish can launch themselves towards the light. It’s safe to say that advice did the opposite of settle the nerves!!

Being underwater in torchlight is bizarre. The only area that has any light is where your torch is shining. Everywhere else is absolutely pitch black and it took a minute or two to get used to it. As we made our way out to the drop off it started to feel more natural – right up until the moment the torchlight reflected off a shark’s eye!! We saw reef sharks and nurse sharks, at one point there were 3 nurse sharks in view but I can’t screen grab that off the Go Pro video as it gets too fuzzy. We also saw lion fish and moray eels! Moray eels are quite scary out of the water during the day (we’ve caught them while fishing before…taste amazing but look nasty!) so being in their domain while in the dark was more intimidating than the sharks that were swimming around us.

After swimming along the drop off we turned back and headed out and to the dive centre to clean our gear and hand back the torches. Night snorkelling was really good and I’m glad we did it. I don’t know if I’d rush to do it again but never say never I suppose!

The final part of today was a seafood BBQ on the beach by the Grouper Grill restaurant. In hindsight it probably would have been better to have done the night snorkelling another night. We arrived quite late to the BBQ and as most other people were finishing. This led to it being a bit more of a personal experience for us, but probably not great for the staff!

The food was great – tuna steaks, octopus, crab as well as chicken and beef, plus a selection of starters and accompaniments, all washed down with prosecco! It was a fab way to spend an evening with the sand between our toes and the sound of the lapping waves.

day five

I tried scuba diving in Egypt a few years back and hated it. After struggling to equalize my ears correctly, I pushed myself to keep on going and then really struggled with ear pain afterwards. I told myself I’d never do it again because it was stupid! Anyway, while surrounded by sea in the Maldives and having really enjoyed the underwater world snorkelling, I thought it would be a good time to try again. Gill really wanted to give it a go too. As she’d been so good constantly coming out fishing with me it seemed fair to do something she wanted to (as long as it wasn’t relax, or chill!).

We’d arranged a Discover Scuba Diving session with the resort dive shop, and after breakfast we headed out. The trip started well because we had the chance to pause our journey out to watch a school of dolphins! This always felt like a treat, even when it was an almost daily occurrence.

The dive itself was great! Our instructor, Samoo, was very professional and put us at ease straight away during the pre-dive briefing which then led to the dive being relaxed and easy. We saw so many fish and were even lucky enough to see a dolphin whilst we were underwater. This was very unusual according to Samoo as the dolphins usually avoid divers.

There was a bit of a gap between dives. We were only snorkeling next, but there are rules to follow about time between dives for the scuba divers who were on the boat in order to let the nitrogen in the body dissolve. We were given a tour of Bandidhoo island during this gap. This was the island where most of the crew lived, and we got to see their houses and meet some of their family. We also saw more of normal island life. We visited a shop and then saw kids making their way back to school after a break. When you think of tropical island life it’s sometimes hard to remember that there are people there doing ‘normal, day-to-day’ stuff rather than just holidaymakers so it was really nice to see this.

We headed back to the boat where the crew prepared some coconut water for us to drink before heading out to the next reef for a snorkel. Snorkelling along the edge of the reef was great, the hour or so that we were there flew by.

We had some lunch and a relaxed couple of hours, including getting in the pool at our room. We spotted dolphins swimming past as we looked out to sea from our pool – what a treat! I sorted the fishing stuff and we headed off to the jetty – the place where all fun activities start from!

We set out on the sunset fishing and sandbank BBQ trip. Essentially we had paid extra to catch our own dinner despite being all inclusive!! There’s always a bit more pressure when you have to catch in order to have food to eat, but as we set off on our normal boat with our usual crew we were relatively confident! After the obligatory stop to see dolphins we found that the fishing was much harder in the evening. In the end though we had caught plenty for us and the crew. The sunset was amazing and there were so many stars to see because we were surrounded by darkness.

Our big boat approached a smaller boat that we had to board in order to get to the sandbank safely. The new crew navigated the reef so slowly in this shallow draft speedboat with one at the front directing the captain whilst looking for submerged dangers by torchlight. After what felt like ages picking our way through the reef we made it to the sandbank where Shakeeb and some others were all set up ready for us. The sandbank was tiny, maybe 30m by 10m at low tide but almost completely submerged at high tide. Funnily enough we could see it, and the movement of the birds on it, from our room at low tide.

The guys BBQed our fish while we drank prosecco and ate nibbles with only the sound of the waves and scurrying crabs for company. After a while Shakeeb came over on the first of many trips with our feast. We had the fish that we’d caught, chicken, beef and a huge bowl of rice. All the food was seasoned with Maldivian spices and was tasted exceptional – we both ate so much! The rest of our time on the sandbar was spent spotting stars and planets. There was also a lot of dodging the crabs that called the sandbar home. After a while our boat arrived and we started the painstaking journey through the reef and back to the hotel.

day six

We had a really early start for big game fishing on day six. The fishing wasn’t great but I was happy all the same which is something new for me, just being out on the water was enjoyable. While out we saw a huge school of dolphins and spotted a jumping marlin which made up for the lack of action on the fishing rods, and the sunrise over the ocean was stunning!

We got back to the island in time for a late breakfast then spent some time enjoying the island and its facilities. I kayaked and Gill paddle boarded. It was nice to be on the water without the noise of a boat, and there were stunning views everywhere you looked. Despite being at 70% occupancy nowhere felt busy, in fact it was unusual to see anyone else apart from staff. There was so much thought put into privacy and it worked brilliantly.

Before lunch we snorkelled the drop off outside our room and saw a huge variety of fish. It felt like every time we went out we saw something different (which was definitely true this time as we went to the left of our room rather than to the right!). We both got so excited every time we saw a shark below us, and it was great to see such a healthy ecosystem. There were both blacktip and whitetip reef sharks. I’d never seen a whitetip before but do now know that they are unfortunately listed as ‘near threatened’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

We did a lap of the island again in the afternoon, stopping at both bars for cocktails to keep our strength up whilst exercising! Each time we had been walking somewhere we noticed how pretty the flowers and trees were but this was always when we had somewhere else to be. The point of this afternoon was to just amble along and take pictures which worked a treat. Because we didn’t have a plan (very unusual for me) we ended up in the sea a couple of times, playing on the swing & hammock that were suspended over the sea and even relaxing on sunbeds a couple of times! It was a really nice way to spend an afternoon, especially after the holiday had been so full on.

Earlier today Shakeeb had sent an invite for a cocktail party. This was done each Thursday evening and it gave guests a chance to meet some of the management team who coordinated the island and worked so hard to give us the amazing experience we had enjoyed so far. Never the type to turn down cocktails we went along to the beach by ‘Fresh Water’ bar and got involved. There were 3 special cocktails for the evening and snacks being brought around. It was a really nice way to spend an hour!

We had an interesting conversation with the Director of Engineering for the island – what a fascinating chap! His role included managing the teams who were responsible for topping the island up with sand to replace what was being washed away by the sea, producing electricity through generators & solar panels (from memory I think he said the island uses 100,000l of fuel a quarter to do this), filtering sea water to produce drinking water and much more. There was also a focus on sustainability wherever possible – protecting the wider environment that the island was so closely linked to. We could have chatted and listened for the rest of the evening but by now it was the end of the cocktail party and time for dinner.

day seven

This was a relatively chilled morning as we had a bit planned for the afternoon. We needed to get some packing done in preparation for the journey home tomorrow. Despite other priorities we still found time to get in the pool for a while which is made so much easier when you just have to step onto your balcony to do it!

Before lunch we had a stroll (including the required cocktail) and got into one of the pools to cool down. At one point we shared the pool with a white breasted waterhen that perched on the side drinking the water!

After lunch we went out deep sea fishing again. On the way to the first fishing spot we stopped at another local island, Meedhoo, to drop some bits off. This was just a case of stopping at the harbour wall to hand over what was needed but it was really nice to see local life again up close while there.

The fishing was initially tricky, it was a bit windier so we had to try a selection of different techniques. We ended up travelling quite a way and fished in a few different spots but caught a decent selection of fish – Gill caught the biggest one! On the way back the lads asked if we wanted some of our catch preparing for dinner…we did, but didn’t think it would be possible with such a short turnaround between arriving back and dinnertime but they assured us it would!

Upon arriving at the restaurant we were met by Siba for the last time but instead of being taken through to the adults only section we were taken to the beach. For our last night they had pulled out all the stops and we had a specially decorated table surrounded by lights on the beach.

We weren’t able to chat as much as we had done to Siba, Saman and Bandula as it was Maldivian night in the restaurant and at Chemistry bar so a lot of the staff were tied up with that. This left the people who were in the restaurant to work even harder than usual. The massive fish that Gill caught tasted amazing. The chefs always served the fish with a mousseline sauce and a garlic soy dip…both tasted so good! We enjoyed some traditional Maldivian food too before popping round the corner to Chemistry bar.

There hadn’t been so many people in one place as there were at the bar tonight. Maldivian night drew everyone in! We managed to get a table inside which turned out to be quite lucky as the heavens opened not long after and everyone outside got soaked!! Gill has one of those welcoming faces that make her an easy target when people are looking for ‘volunteers’ for activities and this happened again tonight. I don’t think we’d even got halfway through our first cocktail before she was whisked away to do some Maldivian dancing which she enjoyed, despite her sore feet!

The staff went all out to make Maldivian night really good fun. Everyone that we had spoken to across the week was so proud of the amazing place that they called home and this really showed with the effort that was made playing music, singing and dancing during Maldivian night.

day eight

Today was the first early start that wasn’t my fault! It was a sad day as it was time to check out (and settle our bill!).

Someone came and collected our cases so we could have a final walk down the island and grab an early breakfast. The seaplanes only fly during daylight hours so we were sat eating breakfast in the same area as the flight crew who had stayed on our island the night before (I believe this is either free or subsidised and is a perk of flying for Trans Maldivian Airways).

After checking out we walked down the jetty for the last time and onto the boat that took us to the floating ‘Iru Veli International Airport’. As the boat left, a selection of the staff waved us goodbye which was a really nice touch. Most arrivals had a welcome from the staff but as we arrived in the middle of a downpour the focus was more on getting us off the boat, dried and under cover!

It felt like the pre-flight checks went on for ages on the seaplane – much longer than on the way out which could have either been due to how we felt (sad to be leaving rather than happy to be setting off to the resort) or because it was the first flight of the day but after a while we were airborne. The flight was much smoother and it still felt like we were living in a postcard seeing the islands from above.

I was a little nervous as we approached the seaplane terminal to land after the previous experience but there was no need to be. The landing was so gentle that at first we didn’t even know we’d touched down!

I’d developed a bit of a cold towards the end of the holiday. I’m certain this was due to the more relaxed days that we had on day six and seven. It always seems to be the way that as soon as I relax I end up poorly, this is part of the reason why our holidays are always so full on! Due to me feeling a bit rough we decided to upgrade to Upper Class for the flight home. This was nowhere near as rock and roll as it should have been from my ‘feeling like death’ perspective but it did mean I was able to sleep for pretty much the whole journey!

final thoughts

I feel that I really changed my outlook on this holiday. I’ve always loved being on/in/by the sea but this holiday really showed that it’s more than just the fishing. I absolutely loved how close we were to the sea for the whole week, how much we saw while in the sea and how amazing it was to share space with some remarkable fish. The fishing was good, and we did plenty of it, but it was the ‘being at one with the sea’ that made the holiday so special.

Respecting the ocean, the beaches and our surroundings in general is something that is extremely important to both of us. Usually we have little competitions to see who can gather and bin the most rubbish from beaches while we are walking. This was pretty much impossible on resort as the staff were so attentive that there wasn’t anything to find. Annoyingly Gill did actually manage to win by spotting floating plastic bottles before me while we were on our balcony one day, and by being much more competent at swimming she retrieved them from the sea. It’s not much but if we all could pick up and correctly dispose of even one bottle each time when near the sea it would make a huge difference!

Something that never got old were the views. I’ve said it before but we all know what the Maldives look like, we’ve seen it a million times in pictures and on the tv but it really was like living in a postcard. I’ve never said wow about views so many times as I did here! Actually being there, waking up to the view, leaving the suite and seeing the view, walking down the middle of the island and seeing the view, sitting in the restaurant seeing the view…wow!

We did have a couple of rainy days which is to be expected and is worth it for the vibrant green vegetation. We were very lucky though as the rain barely interfered with what we had planned and was mainly overnight. Having the clouds roll in early evening made for spectacular sunsets as well so was not a bad thing.

The food was so good, even the packed lunch that we had on the whale shark trip was delicious. Mashuni was a great way to start most days and the fresh cooked fish that we ate was amazing. It was nice to try spicy food similar to what the locals would eat while on the sandbank with Shakeeb. Overall the variety was brilliant and everything tasted so fresh!

I’m really glad that we stayed in the overwater suite, it’s a once in a lifetime experience so you might as well fully go for it! If I’m honest I did doubt the ‘spot dolphins swimming from your room’ claim. This sounded like the sort of marketing ploy to use to get people like me to upgrade the room but it definitely was possible! We managed to get a video of the dolphins which we showed to a couple of members of staff who seemed as surprised as us to have seen them so I guess they aren’t an everyday occurrence!

By this point you’ve probably already guessed that we love getting out and doing stuff, discovering as much as possible – we had comments from various members of staff about how it was so nice to interact with us while on trips and that they were really happy that we were making the most of being there. I firmly believe that one should make the most of the opportunity to discover a destination. I always like to leave no stone unturned so there are no regrets!

The Maldivian hospitality and attention to detail is something that will stick with me forever. Everyone that we met seemed genuinely pleased to meet us and eager to help us enjoy their beautiful country. I’m really glad that we had the opportunity to visit and would recommend the Maldives, and Sun Siyam Iru Veli, to anyone!