Maldives

Looking for Maldives packages? Here are some of things you should know before visiting this archipelago country.

A natural sunken garden, the Maldives is a collection of atolls tossed on the Indian Ocean that comprise its tens of hundreds of coral islands. Home to a unique and extremely delicate ecosystem, at the Maldives either you are under the water drinking in its spectacular marine life or on the surface dipping your toes on its powdery white sands and taking in a tropical breeze.

The Maldives’ palm-fringed beaches, the rustic resorts known to be the byword for luxury and crystalline waters make it the stuff picture-postcards are made of. With no dense tropical jungles or volcanic cliffs like a Seychelles, Hawaii, Bora Bora or Fiji, the Maldives is flatter with the highest point not shooting any more than five feet above the sea level.

The world here centers around the atolls within which a thousand odd islands have come up with their share of sandbars, lagoons and reefs that are home to some exotic reef fish and coral gardens.

When selecting Maldives tour packages, you need to assess the various possibilities it offers.

Resorts of bespoke luxury: Your landing at the Velana International Airport in the North Male Atoll flanked by the Indian Ocean on both sides will set you up for the experience that lies ahead. Depending on the location of your atoll, you need to pick between a speedboat or seaplane ride to your resort. Whether it is hovering over the islands and taking in a bird’s eye view of the Maldivian sea, or careering on the azure waters before finally landing with a splash on the white beach where your quaint resort lies tucked, there is no better way of arriving.

When booking Maldives holiday packages, you should know that typically a resort occupies an entire island which has an approximate diameter of 8 kilometer. Most of the construction resembles rustic huts clutched together to include private spice gardens, lap pools to plunge pools, private butler service, in-room to patio massages overlooking a glorious sunset, open-air showers, raft wood decks and sometimes cottages standing on stilts in the sea with their private diving decks and glass flooring to watch the marine life at any time you like.

These resorts bring in the natural environment in a way that you feel like living in the heart of a Robinson Crusoe-esque island with palm groves, gentle sands and cobalt waters merging in the distance with an equally blue horizon.

Experiencing the underwater world: The Maldives is home to some of the world’s foremost diving sites. From snorkeling, scuba diving to wave surfing, the waters of the Indian Ocean offer the right visibility, temperature and currents to spot its wealth of marine life such as the parrot fish, tunas, barracudas, whale sharks, sea turtle, manta rays among others.

Those wishing to go under the currents and watch shoals of exotic reef fish swim by you need to pick the right season for such an outing. Out of the Maldives’ two predominant seasons, the dry monsoon and the wet monsoon, the dry monsoon between December and April is the best affording great visibility and seasonal oceanic currents that are at their peak in November creating favorable conditions for spotting white sharks, sea turtles and rays.

There are 900-odd house reefs out of 2500 and makes your island stay worthwhile. Some fish simply come up the moment you wade into the plankton-rich waters. Though, all islands have experts and trained guides to take you under the currents and expose you to some extremely rewarding reef scenery.

Best time to visit the Maldives: The Maldives receives two monsoons, a dry and a wet one. Typically it is the northeast and the southwest monsoons that govern its tropical weather. The pack of tourists usually arrive in the dry season between December and April which is considered as one of the best time to visit Maldives as when the humidity is under control and the rains have mostly eased out or are limited to light showers in the afternoon and night.

At this time of the year expect the temperature to hover between 27 and 29 degree Celsius. Thankfully unlike other tropical islands, the Maldives are not susceptible to high winds and cyclone, making your time here pleasant and full of stunning scenery.