Honeymoon Part II - Maldives

[AdmiralHanson]

Hi Folks,

As some of you may recall, I posted a couple of months ago about doing our Honeymoon (with some diving thown in) out in Australia.

There's been a bit of a change of circumstances in recent weeks and it looks like the tour of the colonies might be scrubbed in favour of something tropical and naturally, I guided my partner towards The Maldives. She seems keen for this and I've found a resort with a Dive School on site.

Can someone give me an idea on some of the questions we've got :

1) What's the weather like in mid / late July? I've been told it is the 'rainy' season out there, but typically what does this mean ? Are we looking at three weeks of solid stair rods (albeit warm rain) or does it just throw it down for half an hour a day and then come out boiling hot again ?

2) Are there any jabs or medication needed ? Typhiod ? Cholera ? Malaria ? Alcohol ?

3) I assume the water is warm there (well, a darn site warmer than I'm used to in the UK), so what sort of suit would you recommed at that time of year? A 3mm full suit ? A shorty ? Shorts & T-shirt ?

4) Is there anything else to do, apart from diving and just sitting around all day ? I think we're looking at a place that is 'close' to Male, either the same island or a short boat ride away.

5) Is 'All Inclusive' a good idea there ?

4) Is most of the diving done from boats or shore ?

5) Anything 'nasty' floating around in the water I should be aware of ? Jellyfish ? Sharks ? Cone Shells ?

[keith_henson]

aye


1)me and the missus went late june early july 2003 for our honeymoon. The weather was all good - a little rainy now and again but still hot (30C+) and factor 25 for me! Mainly rained for about an hour maybe a little more per day.

2)Only had typhoid and hep A for when I went.

3) i am a skinny runt so i needed a 3mm full suit to last me on a 90min dive. The missus got away with a 3mm shorty - water temp was 30C+ also

4)Being a kayak instructor and sailing instructor - i managed to get good mates with the german bloke that run the sailing school and for 3 weeks blagged a hobby cat ferfree for sailing around the atoll. Kayak surfing was good where we was on the northern atoll (Kuredu)

5)Aye - all inclusive is a damn good idea, eat eat eat, drink drink drink. There was people that came on teh same flight as us, not full inc, and their bill at the end of the 3 weeks was horrific

6)Diving from both the shore and boat on the isle where we was

7) Nothing nasty - i.e. dont touch, look :P


Hope this is helpful

check out my pics on www.oceans23.com/gallery

the maldives are on there

[Scubamad]

Originally Posted by AdmiralHanson

1) What's the weather like in mid / late July? I've been told it is the 'rainy' season out there, but typically what does this mean ? Are we looking at three weeks of solid stair rods (albeit warm rain) or does it just throw it down for half an hour a day and then come out boiling hot again ?

2) Are there any jabs or medication needed ? Typhiod ? Cholera ? Malaria ? Alcohol ?

3) I assume the water is warm there (well, a darn site warmer than I'm used to in the UK), so what sort of suit would you recommed at that time of year? A 3mm full suit ? A shorty ? Shorts & T-shirt ?

4) Is there anything else to do, apart from diving and just sitting around all day ? I think we're looking at a place that is 'close' to Male, either the same island or a short boat ride away.

5) Is 'All Inclusive' a good idea there ?

4) Is most of the diving done from boats or shore ?

5) Anything 'nasty' floating around in the water I should be aware of ? Jellyfish ? Sharks ? Cone Shells ?

1) Sorry don't know as I went in Dec, believe it is around 30c all year
2) I had to have typoid (we did go to Sri Lanka first so I don't know if it was for there??)
3) I would go with a shortie, some people prefer full 3mm for protection, other just wear t-shirts n speedos
4) Only really boat or shopping trips, most resorts have spas so you can pamper yourselves, snorkelling is fantastic
5) Not nasty, plenty of sharks, the baby ones are sooo cute! The sharks are harmless.

I've got a few reviews on my website below which will give you an idea on the dives and what you will see, although I believe this can vary depending on where you go in the Maldives.

Go All Inclusive if you like a drink!

Have fun!!

[Scubamad]

You've got 2 x question 4's and 5's!! Confusing me (isn't difficult!!)

[Lynne]

Didn't get any jabs when I went - typhoid is always up to date anyway
I used a 0.5mm Oceanic diveskin (2mm neoprene thermal equivalent apparently) which was plenty warm enough with sea temps of 30 degrees even down to 30m - used a full suit to avoid jellyfish (didnt really see any in great numbers) and other stings - good idea to avoid abrasions too
I was on a liveaboard so cant comment on shore diving
No nasties as such - a few jellyfish, sharks of course but they dont bother you, stonefish and lionfish and some bad tempered morays (which dont wait for you to antagonise before giving you a nip) ooh yes and some very nippy clownfish but at their size its more amusing than painful

[AdmiralHanson]

Originally Posted by Scubamad

You've got 2 x question 4's and 5's!! Confusing me (isn't difficult!!)

Sorry about that ... Had some additional thoughts !

Any other kit useful out there ? Just read something that says dive computers are 'madatory' ?

What sort of costs should I budget for from a dive school ?

[Scubamad]

Yes, you must have a dive computer, you can hire them once you are there, i think they charge around $3-6 per day. Costs for diving? Depends where you are thinking of going. Best to look at the Dive Centre website before booking.

[AdmiralHanson]

Originally Posted by Scubamad

Yes, you must have a dive computer, you can hire them once you are there, i think they charge around $3-6 per day. Costs for diving? Depends where you are thinking of going. Best to look at the Dive Centre website before booking.

No worries ... We've got our own computers, so no problem there.

Just wanted a rough idea of what to budget for .... £10 a dive ? £20 ? More ?

[Scubamad]

This is who we dived with, you can check out the prices on the website:

http://www.rasdhoodivers.com/index1.htm

As there are two of you they may let you share the package deals (ask first though).

I do know the prices can vary by Island so I would recommend checking before you book up!

[AdmiralHanson]

I've found out the place is called Paradise Island .... With a Dive School on site (don't they all ?).

Anyone got any experience of the place ?

Also, any jabs I need for the trip ?