Maldives

Has anyone been to the Maldives in July or Aug? I know that it's not the best time to go but just wondered if anyone had any first-hand experience of the weather during this time (Emirates are offering some great business class deals). Also any resort recommendations would be much appreciated.

Yes I went to the Maldives in August 1997 - was certainly hot and I don't remember any rain!

We went the last week in Aug/first in Sept in 2004.

We were there for 7 nights and 1 solid day of torrential rain. It didn't bother us as we just read, played board games in the bar area and it was still very warm. There was also some sporadic rainfall early evening too but not too much to upset the hol.

We're back again this year the first week in Sept (anniversary hols) and are using Emirates Tours which I'm think maybe the offer you are looking at due the great business class deals. We're trying Baros this time in a Baros Villa as we've tried the water villas and are really not too bothered about them. The Beach House looks nice too.

I'd say take the risk it's worth it. 1 day out of 7 isn't too bad. It can be little cooler, but you're still lookin at about 26-28 degrees.

[Darren Wheeler]

Apparently the Maldives is somewhere that if you want to go there, best doing it sooner rather than later. If sea levels rise more than a few inches the island may disappear.

Thanks for all the replies.

Lynnewob, Baros was one of the islands we were looking at. The Emirates Tours offers are very tempting. Sorry just one other question - were you bothered by mosquitos at all when you went?

Mossies in the Maldives don't appear to be a problem, it's the sandflies that can cause the problem

I always use the jungle formula tropical use from knees downwards if wearing linen trousers and also take the Avon (green) skin so soft dry oil spray (which isn't so dry but incredibly greasy) for early evening and this seems to hold them down a little. No need for malaria tablets in the Maldives.

Also, if you're not keen on the earlier dates, I received a mailout from E Tours stating that the offer was open until December '09 so you may want to contact them to check in case later dates would be more suitable.

Check out the Angsana Ihuru resort on Trip Advisor. Great snorkelling, classy clientele and only 30 mins from airport.

[mitchja]

I went to the Maldives in Nov 2004. I stayed at the Veligandu resort, which was fantastic and has been completely renovated since I visited.

You don't need more than 1 week in the Maldives as there's very little to do. The only thing I spent money on whilst there was for diving, the odd souvenir and internet access. Everything else was included.

Even with all the water sports etc, I was getting a little bored towards the end of the week, mind you I'm not really a beach holiday person.

Don't take alcohol with you or buy it duty free on the way there as it will get confiscated on arrival (although you can get it back again on your departure). You can only buy or drink alcohol once you are on your resort island.

I was actually a little disappointed with the diving there as it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. I've had far better dives in the Caribbean. It didn't help that there had been a storm the week before I was there so everything was churned up giving poor visibility whilst diving.

If you can afford it, go for a water bungalow (the rooms are on stilts as you have you own patio area with steps leading down into the sea). The one I had was simply stunning. Some even have their own plunge pool now too. The part-open air bathroom mine had was cool. Lying in the bath under the stars at night. Don't panic, it's all enclosed so no-one else can see you and you can close the roof should it rain.

Every night, the staff would turn on the lights under the bungalows for a few hours so you can see all the sea life in the shallow water. I spent hours just sat on the bottom step leading into the sea just watching the fish, rays and other sea life.

Would I go back to the Maldives - most definitely [y]

Regards