Maldives – Worth a closer look (5):

Experience the Maldives – Part 5:

 
Up to now we have shared our experience from two extraordinary Maldives resorts to our Dubai stop-over City Experience. In the next blog, we will be looking at our Dubai Dune Dinner Safari Experience in detail.

Later that afternoon, we departed on the excursion which was the highlight of our whole Dubai experience – a Dune Dinner Desert Safari. This experience totally exceeded our expectations.

We were collected from our hotel and driven deep into the Dubai desert. This experience consists out of a few stops. The first stop was a camel stop where everybody could be photographed with the desert camels. This was very exciting as this was our first encounter with the soft desert sand and ambience. From here we were driven to our second stop, which is a refreshment stop. What we did not anticipate was that our ride from here on would be an adrenalin pumping joy ride. The drivers of these 4X4 vehicles really knew how to manoeuvre over these dunes at exhilarating speeds. Everybody in the vehicle was instantly on a high. What an experience!!! Finally we reached the second stop where we could enjoy a refreshing drink and run up and down the dunes, with a beautiful back-drop offering the most extraordinary desert photo opportunities.


Now it was on to our third stop, the sunset stop. Once again, we were taken on the 4X4 joy ride over the dunes at adrenalin rushing speeds and lots of very excited laughs. The sunset in the Dubai desert poses for extremely beautiful photo opportunities. Once the sun set, we were ready to leave for our dune dinner. Upon our arrival at the camp there were a group of camels awaiting us. We now had the opportunity to ride the camels, after which we were guided into our desert dinner camp.


This camp is set up as a typical Arabian Desert camp, with beautiful Arabic carpets stretching over the soft sand, with a selection of dinner tables to choose from and pillows to sit on. We enjoyed a sumptuous 3 course meal and then a belly dancer danced the night away. Guests were also welcome to join in, or just sit and relax while enjoying the experience.


Our night came to an end with a star-gazing experience. All the lights in the camp were shut down and we could all just lie on the pillows in the desert silence while gazing at the diamond sky above. What a beautiful sight.


This experience is really a must if you are a tourist in Dubai. When you book your next Dubai stop-over, do not leave this out of your itinerary.

This was the last night of your very exciting trip to the Maldives. We have experienced so much of the products we sell our clients and were truly happy with the products our clients ultimately experience when booking their trip with Travel Expeditions.
You can also have this dream holiday!! Contact Travel Expeditions for more information on the stunning Maldives.

  

Maldives – Worth a closer look (4):

Experience the Maldives – Part 4:

Every person who is visiting the Maldives who have not been to Dubai and their flight is via Dubai, must do a stop-over in this City. This is what makes your Maldives experience complete – experiencing two destinations in one trip.


Dubai is one of the 7 Emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The City is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.


Today Dubai is a global cosmopolitan city rich in history, heritage and culture, and offers the best beach, city, and desert experiences. Tourism plays a major role and the majority of tourists visit the Dubai for shopping - also known as the "Shopping Capital of the Middle East". Dubai is also very popular to experience other ancient and modern attractions and is well known for its "Souks Districts".


As from 2007, Dubai was the 8th most visited city in the world.

It is a great idea to experience Dubai as a second destination when flying via Dubai to your main destination - i.e. the Maldives.
This is exactly what we have done.


Our flight from the Maldives to Dubai was only 4 hours. Upon our arrival we obtained our visas, went for the eye scan and through customs. We were then transferred to our hotel by a luxurious private car through a concrete jungle of the most modern and interesting skyscraper jungle. Each building looks different, but maintains a modern and sophisticated image.  We have chosen to stay in the new part of Dubai in the Holiday Inn Al Barsha. This gave us easy access to the tourist attractions in the new part of Dubai like the Burj Al Arab, Atlantis - The Palm, The Mall of the Emirates, Burj al Arab etc.

Our hotel was great. This hotel is really a 4* hotel which has a 5* feel to it and we really liked the location. Check-in was quick and efficient. As we only stayed in Dubai for two nights, we had quite a lot to do in this little time span. We decided to rest out a bit and take the city by storm that later afternoon.

We stopped for sundowners at a beach pub-restaurant in the Dubai Marina area, after which we enjoyed a sumptuous meal at a great Lebanese Restaurant! The following day we had booked a city sightseeing tour. The tour was really great to see all the most popular tourist attractions close-up.

Later that afternoon, we had booked the excursion which was the highlight of our whole Dubai experience – a Dune Dinner Desert Safari. This experience totally exceeded our expectations. More on our experience hre in the next blog!

For more information on these spectacular islands in the Maldives, visit Travel Expeditions.

Maldives - Worth a closer look (3):

Experience the Maldives – Part 3:

Arriving at the airport, we had to catch our speedboat transfer to Club Med Kani resort. The reason for taking a speedboat to Kani, is that the resort is not located that far from the airport (25 minutes by speedboat) and therefore it is much more cost effective to travel by speedboat.


Tis is quite a different experience in comparison to the sea plane transfer to our previous resort. On the speedboat, you are able to view all the islands you pass by from the side, giving you a much different image of each island.


Approaching Kani was quite exciting as the water around this stunning island is indescribable beautiful – the brightest turquoise colour I have ever seen in water.  This with the pretty water villas stretched into the ocean is a remarkable sight and got everyone instantly excited.


When we had disembarked onto the jetty, we had to stop to capture this view on camera.


We were then once again accompanied by the GO’s, as they are called here, towards reception where we once again received welcome drinks and a briefing on the island. We were then shown to our room, which was located on one of the prettiest and quieter parts of the island.


We had stayed in a Club Room, which is usually classified as a garden view room, but to our surprise, while the rooms are situated about 50meters from the beachfront and behind the palms, these rooms are mostly sea-facing and you can clearly see the ocean from your room beyond the beautiful palm fringed beach.

Kani is a much smaller island than Sun Island and we therefore could easily walk to any part of the island in a very short amount of time (no bicycles needed). We were again eager to explore and immediately took ourselves on a familiarization tour around the island.


While the Club Rooms are the entry level rooms and generally much more affordable than the Deluxe Rooms (beachfront) and more so, than the water villas, we really felt it was a great choice at the end of the day. The Deluxe Rooms really have a great location, but for the extra amount you pay, the club rooms are just fine. The Deluxe Rooms are located about 20 meters from the beachfront and has a bath extra, but we felt the beach on this side of the island is not as pretty as the other side where we stayed. There are however also some club rooms located on this side, therefore it is important to request the best part of the island upon booking. If you want an experience of a lifetime, you have to go for the water villas. They are truly luxurious and you are just a few steps away from the stairs leading into the crystal clear lagoon.

A rough estimate in size: The Island is about 400 meters in length and about 100 meters in width. The reception area, together with the swimming pool, beach bar, and two restaurants are all within meters from each other, making it very easy to move around between each.

What makes Kani great, is that it is an All Inclusive resort. This means that all meals and unlimited local drinks are free of charge during your stay. It also means that you can make use of all the sports and leisure facilities the resort has on offer, from free snorkelling trips to the reef, to wind-surfing, hobiecat and much more.

We went on a snorkelling trip one afternoon and were lucky enough to view some dolphins about 20 meters from our snorkelling boat. This was amazing to see. Marine life is also in abundance with a vast variety of interesting fish and sea life to see.

The beach is immaculate, powder white sand; palm fringed and offers a clear lagoon to swim in. Relax on a private beach, or just chill out at the beach bar, drinking sundowners’ cocktails while watching the most magnificent sunsets you have ever seen.


We have thoroughly enjoyed lazing around on the stunning beaches of this island all day long, but also tried out different spots for swimming and a few water sport activities. The Lagoon by the water villas is really stunning to have a swim. We enjoyed relaxing drinks at the beach bar and also had a few swims in the pool, which offers great views over the ocean.


While a totally different island than Sun Island and a much different experience, we still felt that for a really exciting time in the Maldives, especially on an all inclusive meal basis at a very affordable price, Kani might just be the best choice for an expensive destination like the Maldives, and won’t leave you disappointed.

On the morning of our departure, we were given an early breakfast just before returning to the airport by speedboat for our onward journey to Dubai! Our experience here will be looked at in detail in the next blog.

For more information on these spectacular islands in the Maldives, visit Travel Expeditions.

 
 

 
 

Maldives – Worth a closer look (2):

Experience the Maldives – Part 2:

Arriving at Sun Island’s jetty in a hot tropical climate, we were just flabbergasted by the amazing beauty that lies before us…This is The Maldives…stunning powder white palm fringed beaches, crystal clear turquoise water and a vast array of sea life could be clearly viewed from the jetty.


We were guided by resort staff to the stylish reception area, where we would be briefed on the island, services and allocated our room keys.


As we were aware, Sun Island is not a small island compared to other much smaller resort islands in the Maldives, but we were surprised to see that its size is used cleverly to make the best of the island. The natural beauty is kept and so well inter-woven into the whole resort, which really makes it a special island experience.
 We were transferred to our room by golf cart, due to the distance of the room from the reception area (About 10 minutes walk).

We immediately explored our room and the area around our room. We booked a Super Deluxe room due to the good value it provides. These rooms are basic, but more than sufficient. The room is located about 20 meters from the water and you do have an obstructed sea view with the vegetation between the rooms and the water, but you basically have direct access to the beach and sea from your room. The vegetation provides a nice shaded area, but if you prefer you can take your sun lounger right onto the beach where you can enjoy a nice tan in the sun.


What also makes this island so stunning apart from the stunning beaches and stunning waters right around the island; is that the size provides for so much space. No matter how full this hotel is, apart from the main beach, the other beaches around the island are always un-crowded and you are surrounded by total peace and paradise!!!

We decided to be “walkers” the fist day – so that we could experience the island’s beauty by foot. We walked right around the island in about 1 hour along the beach. You can also walk through the island on the island pathways surrounded by the lush vegetation, which will save you some amount of time, but we decided to explore the beaches and lagoons on foot and we would hire a bike the next day for the remainder of our stay (which is the most common mode of transport from point to point on the island if you are going to be moving around and experiencing different areas of the island quite a lot).

The bike hire is quite simple – they give you a key for your bike, which you can only unlock while you ride and the key is in place on the bike, which makes it really simple to just leave your bike really anywhere without anybody being able to take it. It is also great to have a bike to drive from your room to the restaurants and bars at meal times.

The resort also has Sting-ray feeding each night at 21:30, where the guests can interact with the stingrays by feeding them and touching them gently. If you are not into feeding the rays, you can also just watch. This is a big attraction and a really unique experience, and therefore many guests flock to this area each night. Once you have fed the rays, there is also some Shark-feeding at the restaurant on the jetty, which is also a great experience. When we were there we saw some sharks in the distance, but right by the deck were some amazingly large manta rays swimming from side to side – a truly stunning view.

The restaurants offered a good selection of foods including starters, main course, and delicious desserts with the most tasty fruit selection. It is most advisable to either go Full Board (all meals included) or All Inclusive (all meals and unlimited local drinks), as food/drinks can be very expensive.

Generally your days will be spent lazing around on the beach (main beach at reception is more vibey and also the resort’s swimming pool is located here), or taking a dip in the stunning ocean lagoon, exploring the island, or just relaxing on your sun-lounger. There are however a lot of sports activities that guests can engage into – from paddle-boats, jet-skiing, kayaks, wind-surfing, tubes, and much more. Diving and snorkelling trips can also be arranged, as well as day trips to other islands in the Maldives.  And don't forget the most astonishing sunsets at Sun Island!!

This island is too amazing to for one moment be bored.

On our day of departure, we were quite sad to leave this piece of paradise behind, but we were also excited to move on to our next resort, which is Club Med Kani. We once again took a sea-plane flight back to the airport, from where we would catch our speedboat transfer to Club Med Kani resort.  Our experience here will be looked at in detail in the next blog.

For more information on these spectacular islands in the Maldives, visit Travel Expeditions.

Maldives – Worth a closer look:

Travel Expeditions management just returned from an amazing trip to the Maldives and Dubai. This experience has just once again confirmed what stunning holidays and honeymoons we are sending our clients on!

A bit of background on the Maldives:

In the warm tropical Indian Ocean lies an archipelago of 1190 islands and 26 atolls, surrounded by clear turquoise water and white sandy beaches -The Maldives islands. Imagine paradise with magical sunsets, an abundance of marine life and perfect natural vegetation. The amazing coral reefs’ surrounding the islands ensures a haven for dive and snorkel enthusiasts. Each resort in the Maldives has its own white beach flowing around the island. These islands are surrounded by coral reefs resulting in a clear calm lagoon between the beach and the deeper waters.

Maldives resort accommodation varies from single to semi-attached bungalows, either facing the sea and beachfront or built over the water. The only inhabitants on each island apart from the tourists, is the resort staff.

Activities in the Maldives varies from diving or snorkelling to island hopping, seaplane excursions, swimming, visiting fishing villages or even doing some underwater sightseeing in a Whale Submarine.

Below follows a description of our very exciting trip to the Maldives and Dubai, which will be divided into five separate blogs.

Experience the Maldives – Part 1:

We departed from OR Tambo International Saturday 2nd May 2010 at about 14:15. Our flight was due to the Maldives via Dubai and we landed in Dubai just after 00:05 where we spent 3 hours prior to the next flight to Maldives. First of all, if you are flying to the Maldives from South-Africa, you will be able to fly either with Emirates or with Qatar Airways. We have chosen Emirates due to a slight better schedule on our preferred dates, but Qatar is also a great and highly reputable airline to fly with. We were once again pleasantly impressed with Emirates airlines. An eight hour flight really feels so much shorter with all the entertainment you have on board, very comfortable seating and enough leg space. We departed Dubai around 03:25 and arrived in the Maldives 08:30. From here we were easily assisted to our seaplane, from where we will be flying to Sun Island Resort on the South Ari Atoll, about 112 kilometres from the airport (about 30 min flight).

Arriving at Sun Island’s jetty in a hot tropical climate, we were just flabbergasted by the amazing beauty that lies before us. We were terribly excited to explore this amazing island, and our experience here will be looked at in detail in the next blog.

For more information on these spectacular islands, visit Travel Expeditions.

Maldives - 2010:

The Maldives – the dream destination…the words “paradise”, “exotic tropical waters”, “crystal clear water” and “white sun-drenched beaches” will never be a cliché to describe this stunning destination – and as a bonus, each resort is located on its own private island.


We are about to visit the Maldives during beginning May 2010, just before the monsoon period arrives in June. We decided to try out a little island hopping experience, in order to experience more than just one of these stunning islands. We have chosen our two favourite islands in the Maldives – that is if you are looking at great value for money, but still have the experience of a lifetime, as obviously there are many exclusive luxury 5* resorts to choose from, but for now, we will focus on the great value-for-money options – the resorts that appeal to most visitors tastes, expectations and of course, their budget. Our choices was naturally 4* Sun Island and 4* Club Med Kani.

Below is a summary of each resort’s information. A detailed update will be published upon our return from the Maldives in a month’s time.

Sun Island is located within the South Ari Atoll, 107kilometers south of Hulhule International Airport and 30 minutes by seaplane.


The resort offers a wide variety of accommodation to cater for different tastes from and the room categories varies from Deluxe rooms to Water Bungalows build on stilts over the water. The resort also offers all the necessary facilities you would expect from a good 4*. Here you will find 5 restaurants, catering for different culinary tastes, from Italian to Thai, Seafood and International cuisines. The bars serve a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, plus a range of exotic cocktails. Sports enthusiasts are not left out as there is a vast selection of sports and leisure activities to choose from. Visitors can be sure to feel revitalised in the delightful spa. This resort can be booked on a half board basis (dinner and breakfast), full board basis (breakfast, lunch and dinner), or all inclusive meal basis (breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus unlimited selected drinks).

Club Med Kani on the other hand is located within the North Male Atoll, 20km from Hulhule International Airport and 30 minutes by speedboat. This resort is a paradise with lots to offer at excellent value. Accommodation is luxurious from Club Rooms which are garden view to Deluxe Beachfront rooms to Lagoon Suite on stilts which are built over the water. The resort offers two restaurants and two bars. This is an All Inclusive meal basis resort, and therefore all meals and unlimited selected drinks are included into all guests’ stays. Also included into the “all inclusive” package, is a wide range of free land and waters sports activities. The resort also offers a rejuvenating Wellness Centre.

Sun Island Maldives:

Club Med Kani Maldives:

For more information on Maldives holidays, visit Travel Expeditions.