Itinerary For Your Luxury Maldives Holiday
Maldives Finest offers extraordinary holidays for luxury travelers and below is a tentative itinerary for a 1 week holiday. If you are staying for 2 weeks we will give you options to extend the itinerary further. Since we are specialists in bespoke holidays we can there is almost no boundary to your experiences and fulfillments you can expect. As long as you are ready to pay for what you order we are here to walk the extra mile to perfect your holiday in paradise.
1 Week Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival with VIP service, rest & relax
- Day 2: Explore the island
- Day 3: Lounging in day time, entertainment in evening
- Day 4: Exploring the activities, snorkeling, Spa treatment
- Day 5: Relaxation, the art of doing nothing
- Day 6: Trip to the sandbank
- Day 7: Tennis or badminton, Special dinner
- Day 8: Departure with VIP service
Details
1. Arrival to the Maldives
For all luxury holidays we highly recommend our
VIP airport service for both arrival and departure. Under this you will be skipping the queues in the terminals. During arrival you will be received at flight stairs and get escorted to the lounge where passport processing happens within minutes as you enjoy food and drinks in comfort of the lounge. Baggage arrival to the lounge takes some time as staff have to collect it from Belt. If you are flying in Business Class or First Class most of the airlines give priority to unload your baggage quickly. That means staff can collect it quickly and present to you in the lounge. When it is time to exit there will be staff from resort or Priority Maldives coming to escort you out for the transfer to the resort. If you are arriving by flight jet Priority Maldives keeps all arrangements done to receive you and escort quickly for awaiting transfer.
2. Arrival to the resort
Upon arrival to the resort you will have to sign the Registration Card as it is mandatory. Most of the resorts keep this prefilled, so you will just sign and there will be short briefing at the reception before being escorted to the villa. Store all valuables in the Safety Deposit Box provided in the villa and remember to wipe off the fingerprints on the keypad. While Maldives is considered safe it is always important to follow golden rules. Never leave your valuables outside the safety box and never forget to wipe off the keypad to remove any fingerprints. After doing that you may have to check the meal time. In some cases you may have few minutes before the meal time closes. Otherwise you can unpack and relax to relieve yourself from jetlag.
3. First day in resort
If you are staying a water villa there will be ladder to down in the water. But, be careful not to plunge immediately. The staff who escorts you to the villa explains facilities and services. Inquire about the sea currents and depths at your villa. In most luxury resorts it is your butler who escorts you, or a Guest Relations Officer from Front Desk. They have excellent knowledge. Many guests visiting Maldives are strong swimmers. They can plunge into crystal clear waters, but that dip is not ideal right away after arriving to the villa. At least you can clear off the jetlag before attempting on any activities within the villa or island. If you arrive in the morning you could relax until lunch time and then you have time enjoy private pool and lagoon. In the late afternoon when it gets closer to sunset you can go out and explore the island when it is not so hot. Visit bars and beach locations, jetties etc. Before sunset you can settle down in one of the nice locations to chill a little with a drink. Many resorts have at least one bar facing sunset. It is time for sun downers. When the night falls it would be time to head back to villa to freshen up for dinner. Smart casual or island chic would be ideal dress codes for evenings and you would never be disapproved or odd looking in the crowd.
4. Evening entertainment
All resorts have some form of entertainment scheduled over the week. On some evenings there may be nothing at all to let guests enjoy the calm and peace of the atmosphere. But, luxury resorts often offer some form of activity in the evening. It may or may not be music, there are some traditional tourism activities such as Crab Race, Treasure Hunt etc. But, on your first evening we don’t advice to take part in evening programme. After the dinner you may visit one of the bars for a drink and come back to the villa early. After a long haul flight you need good sleep for the next day.
Private islands such as Nautilus Maldives, Velaa Private Island, Soneva Jani, Soneva Fushi or Cheval Blanc Randheli are well known for overing private activities. In Nautilus you can order a
Private Cinema By The Beach and you will enjoy with bluetooth headsets that do not interrupt others.
5. Day 2 In Maldives
This is actually the first day of Maldives experiences. Every island has a main restaurant where breakfast is served. If you wanted you could have it order to your villa. But, paying a visit to the main restaurant is enjoyable as you explore the attractive ambiance and variety of dishes and seatings. You can try indoors as well as outdoors in some resorts. Once breakfast is done you can casually walk to different places in the island. All resorts have Watersports Centre, Dive Centre, Spa, Boutique etc. If you did not bring your Sun Cream you can buy it from Boutique. Arrival Jetty is often frequented by different species of fish which you can spot from jetty without getting to the water. When you visit the Watersports Centre you can often see others having activities in the lagoon or at the reef. It is timeless to spend some time watching others doing windsurfing or wake boarding. Since it is your second day in the resort it is not ideal to begin extreme sports jet. You may want to join a snorkeling session to discover the house reef with a Snorkeling Guide. This will teach you sea conditions, starting location, ending point etc. If you are confident you can now do snorkeling with your partner. Some resorts have their house reef located far from the shore, you need to boat to get there. Doing snorkeling on your own with your partner is only possible when house reef is easily accessible, sea currents and waves are ideal. When you are doing on your own do not swim far on the first day, stay in a small area and explore different fish species. If you enjoy and wanted more you could book a snorkeling excursion at the reception. Snorkeling excursions usually take you to other reefs in the atoll. You can also book spa treatment in advance, it would be perfect to have it right after returning. An hour in between would give you some time for shower, you may also want to consider meal times prior to fixing a time.
6. Day 3
This would the day you go out on snorkeling trip. The boat takes you out to explore house reef at other islands and some isolated reefs. There would be at least 1 Guide who gives you a briefing that explains safety measure and sea conditions. When there are multiple Guides each would lead a small group of guests, otherwise the whole group would follow the Guide and do snorkeling. The boat may stay on anchor or follow you slowly from behind. Boats don’t come too close to reef as it might get stranded.
Once you are back in the resort you can take shower and head to the spa for pre-booked spa treatment. Full body massage relieves muscle tension. If you were not used for physical sports right before visiting Maldives it is very likely that the snorkeling session would cause muscle tension which would last for about a week. It makes you uneasy. But, a full body spa treatment relieves it to the most part.
Since snorkeling happens either in morning or afternoon you have time to relax in privacy of the villa, chill by the pool and also take part in evening entertainment.
7. Day 4 For Diving
Did you enjoy your snorkeling trip yesterday? If you did you may want to elevate the experience by trying out scuba diving. Regular diving requires a dive certification. For beginners there is Bubblemaker Course under which a certified Dive Instructor or Dive Master lets you experience underwater in shallow depths. After the first session you would know if you are confident to proceed further and go little deeper. Snorkeling and scuba diving are two different activities. When you are on surface you can barely see coral and fish that lives deep at around 18 metres. When you do scuba diving you get to explore beauty of the underwater world up close. You often come across fish that are not scared of you, swim side by side with you. Beauty of scuba diving is that it becomes an addition and you start appreciating amazing wonders that you might have never seen before. In Maldives there are thousands of reefs and each is somewhat unique, you can keep on exploring and experience for weeks without getting bored.
The spa treatment is as an important element for a soothing experience. It is so soothing that it often makes you fall asleep. Some resorts allow to order spa treatments in privacy of your villa, in such a case you can fall asleep and never wake up until you are fully relaxed and relieved for another experience. If you wish you could order meals to your villa. Many five star resorts offer 24 hours Room Service, more fancy term is called In-Villa Dining. But, ordering all meals to the villa is not recommendable unless you need top privacy. Because, having a short walk under palm trees or riding a buggy to the outlet is another experience. Luxury resorts usually have multiple restaurants and cafes that serve either full lunch or light meals including salads, burgers, pizzas etc. Did you ever try the Maldivian Lobster Burger? Meat of the lobster tail grilled in a soft bun was the best taste a Bollywood celebrity found in the Maldives.
If snorkeling or scuba diving is not your cup of tea you could dry the next best alternative which is Dolphin Watching. This activity usually places place in the morning around 10:00 or afternoon around 16:00. Depending on movement of sea currents and tide level the Dolphins show up in pods at their frequented locations. Experienced local skippers know where to search for them and there is always fairly good or high chance of seeing them. Dolphins often love nice weather when sea is smooth and wind blows gently. Surprising they also love to follow the bow of boat as it cruises. Instead of following boat from behind they take the lead. Dolphin Watching is an activity suitable to all – families, couples, honeymooners, adults. This is one of the best experiences could you have together with your partner. If you are lucky you may even see them jumping up and having fun, this is not rare at all. It mostly depends how nice is the weather.
8. Day 5 – Relaxation
Taking part in an activity everyday is not ideal. Many tourists arrive Maldives to have a break off from work and want to unwind. Relaxing by the beach or pool deserve a spot on your itinerary. So, you can plan to include it some where within the 5 week. Please note that you also have plenty of relaxation hours every single day of your holiday.
But, having a dedicated day for doing nothing but relaxing is also another element of your luxury escape to paradise. You can relax at different spots. Right after breakfast you may start at the beach, until lunch. You can spend the afternoon hours by pool. Ultraluxury resorts usually have a bar next to the main pool, you can order meal or snacks.
9. Day 6 – Sandbank trip
Sandbanks are wonders of nature that deserve a visit when you are in the Maldives. Tiny patches of white sand formed in lagoons and reefs are baby islands that do not have any trees. The sand particles keep moving with the ocean waves and currents. That process makes sandbank move to different locations within the same lagoon, this usually happens when season changes. In Maldives there are 2 seasons – Iruvai and Hulhangu. When sand particles keep moving for hundreds of years they become washed and polished. Perhaps, this may be the reason they look so gorgeous and pleasing to the eyes.
Some sandbanks have an outer where you can snorkel. But, do no attempt it without a Snorkeling Guide. You do not know the conditions and usually there are no people in the vicinity. If you get stuck in a stream of sea currents there may not be anyone around to help you. Snorkeling Guides can identify these areas, also there would boat near by to help you. In any case, it should be attempted alone. Walking about the sandbank and just exploring shells and shallow areas while talking to your partner could be an unforgettable moment that you recall years later.
Just like other physical activities such as snorkeling this would be great to have a spa treatment after returning to the resort. Most resorts offer a variety including Thai and Indian massages. You can experience the difference or just go for you favourite. For the first day of snorkeling you will definitely need a full body massage.
10. Day 7 – Tennis or Badminton
It is said that 99% of the Maldives is water. So,
many of the activities you do in the Maldives are actually sea-based. But, all resorts offer in-land activities such as tennis, badminton, squash, tart, board games. You can also find beach valley in some resorts. Staff often plays football, but it is only available in resorts and tourists can join in most cases. Spending a week or two without any physical activity could put you out of shape, exercise is important for healthy living. In every resort there is a gym and a small segment of guests always go there to stay fit. If you are gym-person you can opt for a resort that offers gym with a view.
In the evening you can have a special dinner to mark conclusion of your trip to the Maldives. This is very important element of your itinerary. All other nights you may have been visiting the main restaurant or ordering from In-Villa Dining menu.
11. Day 8 – Departure
If you are staying for a week it would be your departure and it is not ideal to plan activities other than Rest & Relax. You may have an early morning departure, regular departure at some time during the day or even late departure in the evening. This varies from resort to resort and also based on your international flight time. We always recommend to have VIP service obtained for departure as well. Otherwise you may face a long queue in Velana International Airport. Under the VIP service you can check-in directly to the lounge. There will be people assigned to take your luggage and passport to check-in and later present you the boarding pass in the lounge. There is wireless internet, food and drinks to enjoy while waiting for your flight.
If you are staying longer, for 10 nights or 2 weeks you can either start over the itinerary or try new activities. But, we have included the most important elements on this 1 week plan.