Guys, A month or so back I told you that my wife and I were heading off to the Maldives which is a part of my bucket list and here is my traveller report. If any of you are considering to take the lady in your life to a place so decadent and wonderful, then this is it! Sure it's a long way from Oz but this resort is part of the "Small luxury Hotels of the World" resorts and is is incomparable to anything we have ever stayed at. It is Ferrari standard, no doubt about that and it was faultless. Here's are the tips........ take the breakfast package only which allows you to select either of the 3 restaurants at night. Secondly opt for the Deluxe Viilas which are simply beautiful and better value for money. We had the Baros villa which is the next one up but you can't find your wife in it for it is so large and forget the Baros pool Villa as you have the best pool in the world right outside your door being the azure stunning indian Ocean. (Don't even consider the overwater bungalows as the island is tons better despite Penelope Cruze staying there recently in our unit). The island you can walk around in 10 minutes and every bit of it is so beautiful one cannot put words to it. Everything in and on this resort is 1000% perfect and the eye for detail is simply stunning. Of all the Maldivian resort offerings, Baros is the pinnacle without doubt. I reckon I spent about a year researching TripAdvisor all over the globe for the ideal holiday and we were not disappointed and we have been to plentiiii! The problem now is where to go to top that and everything else 5 or 6 star seems so ho hum. This link I'll give you sums it up to a tee and it's not often that an internet site proports it to be exactly as it is but it was. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TskURkVZeuk[/ame] Budget for about $3,000 OZ in airfares and $1,000 a night for the Baros Villa which we had. You must go there before climate change claims the Maldives forever as the island chain of 800kms is only 1m above sea level. Rob.
The diving is amazing especially when reef sharks come up beside you and give you the eyeball....I'm sure the water was brown for a bit. The Maldives have 3/4's of the world's tropical fish and I reckon they were nearly all there on Baros. These atolls are the tops of under water ocean mountains and when it drops off from the edge...oh my is it deep? It is serious dosh but we both agree that it was worth every cent and more. I don't know about WW2 wrecks there BJ? Perhaps in the Pacific like Truk Lagoon in new Guinea....that has famous dive wrecks. Rob.
hahahaha you're running hot tonight unfortunately for you we've heard you dived on a couple of Boer war relics
GREAT to hear Rob! One day when I have money to burn I will take Nicole there for sure. I should have just sold a lung and taken her there for our honeymoon, oh well. In the mean time though, I will stick to holidaying on the Gold Coast while staying at backpacker hostels.
how does the diving there compare to the GBR ? I've dived a lot of the GBR and it can be excelelnt but at the wrong time of the year the vizz is very low. Are the Maldives waters affected seasonally ?
I don't recall any wreck diving in the Maldives but do go in August for the Manta rays - one of the most awesome sights you'll ever see... and the baby ones are cute also; they're kinda diamond shaped and move in big groups all in formation so a group of babies at a distance looks like one big ray.
I've done Lady Elliott which is a great Manta ray site and you're probably thinking of the eagle rays that look kinda cute Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
While house hunting late last year on the GC, we saw a good sized Manta Ray swimming in the water out the back of the property we were looking at. Just makes me wanna jump in the water for a swim.
Only now after a 2nd look. Meh, ill just put up a shark net in a 20m perimeter out the back of my property.
Hi M, The visibility was at least 100m crystal clear in any direction. What blew us away was that once you past out over the edge of the island's house reef, the land went down forever into the blue where you couldn't see the bottom. Remember these islands within these atolls are the tops of under water mountain peaks. Peed all over the GBR because everything is so pristine. Read my international report on "Tripadvisor." http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g298571-d316882-r103256628-Baros_Maldives-Male.html Rob.
Ahhh Manta Rays and diving My story on Manta Rays relates to Lizard Island. In 1984 Julie and I splurged on a 10 day trip to Lizard. I had been up to Cairns for the past few years gamefishing and had been snorkelling off the back of the boat when camped on the inside reef. Julie wanted to see what it was like. L.I. was magnificent, we were taken out into the bay on the first day for some snorkelling .. behind the boat with a rope attached. Whenever I snorkel, 'Jaws' music plays , so I'm a little timid ... Julie was 5000% worse. Off we hop into the water ..., visibility not the best only about 20m. I paddle slowlly along, J gets more brave and let's go of the rope and swims about 20 m or so behind. 10 minutes into the swim, coming straight toward me was the SS Titanic ... well a Manta Ray with wings about 60m across and a mouth wide open (HONEST !!!!) it goes on by quite sedately and my heart rate drops to 200/min Then I remember Julie is behind me !! At almost the exact time I realised this I heard a muffled scream through the water and the sounds of extreme paddling. When I got back to the boat the deckie said it was the funniest thing he had ever seen ... a woman with flippers on almost walking on water Julie has never been snorkelling in the past 27 years. I, off course, was blamed for this.
As Robdownunder mentioned, in the Maldives the water drops off very quickly into very deep water but with huge visibility so what you end up with is these shapes that loom out of the black and get bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER AND BIGGER! I squeeled with delight and couldn't help myself swimming towards them (which is strictly against the rules) - truly one of the best memories of my life. And Moretti I DID mean baby mantas - they're unlike anything else and what makes the Maldives so amazing is it is their breeding ground; hence my "go in August" comment.
Lady Elliott is also a breeding ground and the first time I encountered one was at just on 100' down while taking a photo of the corals and the place went dark as this humungous "thing" glided over me Scared the bejeezus out of me until I realised it was a Manta and not a shark I think we should tee up an fchat Ferrari club scuba dive trip in your neck of the woods, does the fuzzy head one scuba ?
