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9th July

Packed and all ready to go to the Maldives to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. We checked in at Manchester Airport and then headed off to the escape lounge to get away from the hustle and bustle of the airport.

Checked in at the Escape Lounge and I’m very impressed with the service from the front desk as they explained what was included in the package. The food and drink choice was also very good and the lounge was very peaceful and comfortable. We could now sit back, relax and have a glass of wine with a few snacks before boarding.

I would really recommend a lounge before you travel, it is the right way to start your holiday. My wife is very calm where as she is normally nervous about flying but for once Lisa is totally relaxed and ready for a well deserved holiday, especially putting up with me for all these years. We are flying on the new airbus 380 with Emirates airline! I can’t wait; hope it lives up to expectations.

Very good flight the service was fantastic and the seats were nice and comfortable with a decent amount of legroom. The choice of entertainment was by far the best in flight entertainment we have experienced. The flight from Manchester goes via Dubai and it broke up the flight as you had a couple of hours in Dubai airport which is an experience. Due to the flight going via Dubai it is a great opportunity for a twin centre holiday with the Maldives. Your bags get checked all the way through so there is no need to worry about your luggage.

We arrived at Male and collected our bags. The weather was nice and hot. We were met by our tour operator Kuoni who escorted us to the Maldivan Air Taxi.

We checked our bags in then jumped onto the mini bus which took us around to the back end of the island to the seaplane terminal for our sea plane transfer. We did not have to wait long for the transfer. We were off, the seaplane transfer is a great opportunity. Some islands only offer speedboat or seaplane. If you come across an island which does both I recommend you take the seaplane.

10th July

Diamonds Thudufushi Beach & Water Villas (2 night Stay)

Set on a white sand island within the turquoise waters of a shallow lagoon, Diamonds Thudufushi Beach & Water Villas offers luxurious accommodation and outstanding levels of service. Located on the south-western rim of Ari Atoll, just a 35-minute seaplane flight south of Male’ International Airport, the resort is secluded and tranquil, providing optimum privacy in unspoilt surroundings. There are also daily snorkelling tours with the instructor at 11:00am & 4:00pm plus other activities available on the island.

From the moment you arrive you are met by guest services who are very welcoming with a drink and a cold towel. Check in was very casual and relaxed plus also very efficient and friendly.

We had a beach villa which is spacious and has an outside shower and big wardrobes for clothes and lots of shoes. As per usual my wife filled both wardrobes and I get a few hangers (typical). The funny thing is she hardly wore any shoes on this trip as they say in the Maldives ‘no shoes no news’. We were also located a hop, skip and a jump away from the ocean.

For dining the beach villa guests are allocated the main buffet restaurant on the island.  The water villa guests get the new A La Carte over water  restaurant.

Beach villa guests wanting to eat at the over water restaurant will need to make a reservation plus there is an additional $50pp charge to dine there.

Food was very good with a good choice on a daily basis at the main buffet restaurant.

Evening atmosphere very relaxed with a little music to lighten the mood. Service was excellent, very friendly and charming.

Water Villa guests get A La Carte dining and room service for breakfast which is a unique selling point. continue reading…

The South Ari Atoll from the Seaplane window

Having heard my colleagues talking so passionately about the Maldives and not travelled there before, I was really looking forward to this trip! There was going to be so much to see and do, it wasn’t going to be a relaxing break but one which I knew both me and my clients would benefit from…

Sunday 15^th May

After a very easy train journey down to London, I met up with the rest of the agents at Heathrow Terminal 4 ready for our Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Male. The flight was relatively quiet so as soon as the plane took off we were able to move seats and I had a row of 4 in the middle of the plane to myself. Add the fantastic Sri Lankan food to this and it amounted to a very pleasant overnight flight!

Monday 16^th May

I arrived into Male at just gone midday after an uneventful but very comfortable flight. We were met in the arrivals hall by the rep and shown to the speedboat for our 90 minute transfer to Kuramathi.

What a place! After a look round the various Villas we walked up to the Sand Bar at the top end of the island for sunset.

Sunset on the Sandbank at Kuramathi Island Resort

Definitely a great way to spend the first evening in the Maldives! We walked back from the sandbank (via the jetty to watch the Stingray feeding) back down to the main part of the resort to enjoy a very relaxing meal in the Malaafaiy Restaurant. After dinner there was time to relax on the beach at one of the Islands 6 bars before well and truly breaking the peace and quiet on the Karaoke in the Havana Club.

Tuesday 17^th May

continue reading…

Click here to book Athuruga Island Resort from £1599pp

Athuruga from the Sea Plane

I just wanted to share these beautiful photos with you all of Athuruga Island Resort in the Maldives. Firstly, a special thank you to Jayne Pattison for kindly taking the time to share her gorgeous photos with us and for writing her fabulous review.

You can see more of Jayne’s stunning photos on our Facebook page here.

Or read more about Athuruga here.

Jayne’s review of Athuruga, Maldives:

(Trip date October 2010)

“Athuruga, Maldives – We thought places like this only existed in dreams… but it DID exist, and it was truly amazing.

From the moment the seaplane landed we were in awe.

My partner and I stayed in a beach bungalow – no more than 8 strides from the waters edge. The bungalow was of a high standard, simply furnished (you don’t need lots of mod cons! Who needs TV when you’ve got the Indian Ocean!) having dark wood floors, ceiling and furniture – and a lovely big comfy bed. You also get a verandah with 2 steamer chairs to the front and a semi open bathroom at the rear meaning you can shower under the stars.

The snorkelling on the house reef was excellent – such an abundance of colourful fish and corals. The best section of the house reef was if you go out through the channel by the water villas, turn left and head along the reef edge towards the main jetty. For those who who want to get to know the fish species or are not so confident in the water – you can snorkel the house reef twice a day in small groups with the two resident marine biologists – it’s brilliant and it’s free! There are many organised trips to other reefs and thilas also, we went on two of these trips and also visited a sand bar in the middle of the ocean – now that was awesome! We were taken out on the hobie cat which was really great fun – we were on it within half an hour of asking, so no hanging around there!

I went on a couple of Scuba dives which were really good but did not see as much as when we snorkelled on the house reef. I also did a night snorkel with the marine biologists and saw a large manta ray.

The restaurant was buffet style with different themes each night, and was always good whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner. You have your own table and waiter for the duration of your holiday. There was entertainment most nights of a laid back nature – the casino night (pretend money!) and hubble bubble nights were good fun.

The bar was waiter service, which was very efficient and there was a good selection of premium brand drinks and cocktails to choose from.

It doesn’t get better than this – we were truly spoiled!

Thanks Blue Bay – for getting us such a good deal!”

If you have any holiday snaps that you would like to share with us or if you would like to write a review, please feel free to email them to me at

Rach & Nic on the plane

On October 31st 2010, we checked into London Gatwick for what was to be our first trip to the Maldives. We were greeted by our Kuoni Representatives Martyn, Katharina and Tracy. We were very excited as we were lucky enough to visit 6 islands on our trip. As 7.30pm arrived we boarded our Monarch Airlines flights to Male, which approximately took 11 hours. This was the last flight operated by Monarch Airlines to the Maldives. continue reading…

Friday the 12th Sept 2008

Set of to London Heathrow really excited about my trip to the Maldives. We set out on our long awaited trip. We boarded our Sri Lankan flight at 21:35 and arrived at Male airport the following afternoon at 12:10 pm local time. The flight time was 11 hour.

Saturday 13th September 2008

Arrival of flight UL502 into Male Airport. The airport in the Maldives is very unusual as the airport is literally almost the whole island. All the resorts are reached either by speedboat or sea plane depending on the distance.

Once you have passed through immigration and collected your luggage and made you way through to arrivals you will be met by your Grand Agent who will direct you to the speedboat which transferred us to Kuramthi Village which was an hour and half transfer. This is where we stayed for 2 nights. continue reading…