Recommended Hotels / Resorts

The Maldives offers it’s guests a huge range of activities & recreation and depending on the resort that you choose you may get to sample a few or all of them. Here are the main ones:

Diving

The Maldives is a divers paradise, and there are options available to choose any and all levels of experience. Almost all resorts offer diving facilities of some kind and some even have their own diving schools and centres. Some resorts offer a “house reef” to guests – this can be used from the beach itself. The optimum time to go to the Maldives for diving is between January and April as these periods offer the most placid seas, calmest weather and clearest waters for the best visibility. Remember to bring your C-Card (diving certification card) and log book as diving centres will certainly ask to check them. It’s also possible to experience “diving safaris” in the Maldives – a chance to visit various diving sites, resorts, islands and villages. More experienced divers may wish to participate in night-time diving where many different types of marine life can be seen, or consider taking some underwater photography.

Island Hopping

One of the most fascinating trips available in the Maldives. Island hopping allows guests to experience life in an isolated Maldivian island. Most of the resorts offer island half or full day island excursions. Sometimes, the island hopping excursion may be included in your package although this is an optional extra in many resorts. Typically, the visitors are transported to certain uninhabited islands to laze away on the beaches, perhaps enjoy a beach barbeque and do some snorkelling.

Night Fishing

What if you had to catch your dinner? This is exactly what happens in many resorts that offer night fishing. The guests are taken in a dhoni (boat) each with the tools required to catch their own fish – those that do catch something appropriate can have it prepared for dinner by the resort chefs.

Water Sports

Many resorts offer excellent water sports facilities such as surfing, wind-surfing, catamaran sailing, water skiing & parasailing. In many resorts there are additional fees for tuition & use of facilities/equipment so if you plan on doing a lot of these activities check what the prices are as some resorts do offer guests free use of these facilities.

Canoeing

Many resorts offer canoe rentals although this type of boat is more suited for guests who wish to go around their own lagoons. For safety reasons it’s usually not possible to use canoes to travel longer distances (for instance going to another island).

Land Based Sports

Depending on the individual resort there are some sports that guests can indulge in. Many resorts offer badminton, beach volleyball, tennis and even soccer (the quality of facilities vary with many of the upper-end resorts offering floodlit pitches). Some resorts offer squash courts. Most offer some type of games room with Carrom, ping pong, pool and a variety of board games for those wishing to expend less energy.

Here are some of the packages and discounts you can get, when planning to travel Maldives. Feel free to have a look at the choices before you decide on one.

BACKGROUND:

The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Since 1978, President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM - currently in his sixth term in office - has dominated the islands' political scene. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government pledged to embark upon democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Progress has been slow, however, and many promised reforms have been delayed indefinitely. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago.

GEOGRAPHY

Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
Geographic coordinates: 3 15 N, 73 00 E.

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Terrain: flat, with white sandy beaches

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m Natural resources: fish

PEOPLE

Population: 369,031 (July 2007 est.)

Nationality: noun: Maldivian(s) adjective: Maldivian

Languages: Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials

GOVERNMENT

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Maldives conventional
short form: Maldives
local long form: Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa
local short form: Dhivehi Raajje

Government type: republic

Flag description: red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag

Capital:
name: Male
geographic coordinates: 4 10 N, 73 30 E
time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural) and the capital city*; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale* (Male), Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu

Independence: 26 July 1965 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1965)

Constitution: adopted 1 January 1998

Legal system: based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Political parties and leaders: Adhaalath (Justice) Party or AP [Abdul Majeed Abdul BARI]; Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (Maldivian People's Party) or DRP [Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM]; Islamic Democratic Party or IDP [Omar NASEER]; Maldivian Democratic Party or MDP [Mohamed NASHEED]; note - political parties were allowed to register in June 2005

International organization participation: AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

ECONOMY

Economy - overview: Tourism, Maldives' largest industry, accounts for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Fishing is the second leading sector. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts for about 7% of GDP. The Maldivian Government began an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Real GDP growth averaged over 7.5% per year for more than a decade. In late December 2004, a major tsunami left more than 100 dead, 12,000 displaced, and property damage exceeding $300 million. As a result of the tsunami, the GDP contracted by about 3.6% in 2005. A rebound in tourism, post-tsunami reconstruction, and development of new resorts helped boost GDP by about 18 percent in 2006. The trade deficit has expanded sharply as a result of high oil prices and imports of construction material. Diversifying beyond tourism and fishing is the major challenge facing the government. Over the longer term Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80% of the area is one meter or less above sea level.

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones - main lines in use: 32,500 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 262,600 (2006)

Telephone system:
general assessment: telephone services have improved; each island now has at least 1 public telephone, and there are mobile cellular networks with expanding subscribership.
domestic: interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands and resorts are connected with telephone and fax service.
international: country code - 960; satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (2006)

Internet country code: .mv

TRANSPORTATION

Airports: 5 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)

Roadways: total: 88 km
paved roads: 88 km - 60 km in Male; 14 km on Addu Atolis; 14 km on Laamu
note: village roads are mainly compacted coral (2006)

Merchant marine: total: 22
ships (1000 GRT or over) 85,935 GRT/114,054 DWT
by type: cargo 17, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 2
foreign-owned: 1 (Greece 1)
registered in other countries: 2 (Panama 1, Tuvalu 1) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Male