Going to maldives and have a few questions

llol_slim

Hello
My partner and I have just booked a holiday to the Maldives (Dhonveli) for 2 weeks 10th to 24th December, I know its a long way off, but we are planning everything now so we have lots of time to buy everything and make sure we have everything we need.

So the questions

1. We are going all inclusive (this may sound stupid..) does it apply on the plane? Or do we have to buy drinks as I have heard that they dont offer you drinks until after around 4 hours? Or can we buy drinks in the departure lounge over 100ml to take on the plane?

2. What is the best currency for Maldives?

3. Who and how much should we be tipping?

4. The european health insurance cards .. I got mine sent through to my old address, do I need to get a new one or does address not matter? (also I had two sent through, should i take both, they have different ID numbers and expiry dates)

5. Do we need jabs and tablets for the maldives? The lady in First Choice said no and she didnt have any when she went, but i have read in this forum advise we should, I will ring my surgery but any advice?

6. Anybody have any tips about things to take that we might not have thought of?

7. We live in Devon and are flying from gatwick, so far I've been looking at driving up and booking our car into a car park for around £50 (plus around £40/50 for petrol round trip) if booked in advance, anybody got any other suggestions?

I think thats it for now
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for reading

jacand

Oh your so lucky, I would love to go back there. We had our honeymoon there Aug 03. Its absoulute paradise. I will try and answer some of your questions.
1. Depends on what class you are flying. If it's first or business then you will get everything. Otherwise they do offer drinks after a while, but you will have to buy them, make sure you take plenty of change for this. You can buy drinks at the airport and take them on board in a special sealed bag that they had out. (or at least they allowed us to)

2. American dollars are the best currency, although if you all all inclusive you won't need much. We also took travellers cheqs to pay for trips etc. If you are booking any trips through tour operators they will take card. You will find it difficult to locate any cash machines!!

3. Some resorts do not allow you to tip, the one where we stayed, were pretty good. The staff will appriecate anything. They usually send all their tips home, so whatever they get is a bonus. I would say just tip what you feel, but remember it's a "low income" country anyway.

4. Wouldn't worry about european health cards, I wouldn't think it would be much good out there anyway.

5. You do need jabs and lots of them, if your not in date. Best bet is to book in to see nurse/doc, do this early as some require two.

6. Things to take, any healthcare items, as they are very limited on the island and you will not know what they are anyway.
If your into snorkelling, your own mask etc, this is great fun.
Plenty of suncream it's very hot.
Lots of swimwear.
Some kind of footwear to wear in the water, as the coral can be quite sharp.
Could probably think of loads of things but these are the main ones.

7.We booked into a hotel for the night, which included parking. We had no hassle as we drove down the day before, and travelled the next day, the hotel put on a courtesy bus to take us to the airport. You will find lots of hotels around Gatwick do this. This worked out cheaper than just paying for parking.

Anything else you want to know just pm me.
Hope this helps and have a wonderful time

davidlizard

Agree with all jacand says. For tipping, recommend taking a pile of 1 dollar US bills.

Whats included on the flight will depend on who you are flying with.

Something to take - take a decent mask/tube for snorkelling, and wear a T-shirt when doing so to avoid sunburn backs. A decent mask can be held on your face out of water by breathing in through the nose. Worth taking a set of flippers as well.

If you are really into undersea stuff, a few diving lessons beforehand eg in the local pool can be done, meaning you can do more adventourous stuff there. But TBH you see tons of marine life simply by snorkelling on most islands.

llol_slim

thank you both, thats really helpful
We do feel very lucky (and VERY excited) I am only 23 and Hayley is 21 so we feel extremely lucky to be going ""just"" as a holiday at our age (not a honeymoon etc)

We wont be diving, as I had a friend who drowned whilst diving when we were younger, enough to put me off. But snorkelling yes deffinately, can you recommend a make to look for or a rough price range? as I dont have any knowledge in that area.

Thank you again

jacand

But snorkelling yes deffinately, can you recommend a make to look for or a rough price range? as I dont have any knowledge in that area.

Thank you again [/QUOTE]

I think we just picked ours up from Sport and Soccer, it was the full package, snorkel, mask, flippers, carry case (useful for excess sand you pick up) Think it was about £10-£15 but worth it.

nickyc_2

You'll have a lovely time, Maldives are fantastic.

If you have room in your hand luggage (if not pack near top of suitcase) pack some shorts, t-shirt & flip flops. It's incredibly hot when you get off the plane, so I tend to sneak into the toilets in the airport and quickly get changed.

Not sure how far your island is from Male, but if it’s long boat journey you may want to consider getting a sea plane to your island. You can either book these in advance or when you get there

llol_slim

nickyc wrote: »

You'll have a lovely time, Maldives are fantastic.

If you have room in your hand luggage (if not pack near top of suitcase) pack some shorts, t-shirt & flip flops. It's incredibly hot when you get off the plane, so I tend to sneak into the toilets in the airport and quickly get changed.

Not sure how far your island is from Male, but if it’s long boat journey you may want to consider getting a sea plane to your island. You can either book these in advance or when you get there

thanks.
We actually planned to buy some white cotton trousers and white long sleeved tops and then some flip flops, to save worrying about sunburn on the boat
Our island is about a 20 minute boat trip from Male.

llol_slim

sorry .. i have another question.
I've never been all inclusive before.. How does it work? Do I get a pass or something that I show so I dont get charged for drinks etc.? Or is it different at every hotel?
Just wondering as I was thinking other people not A/I could just charge it to me?

choccyface2006

Usually its a wrist band that shows you are AI.

dmg24

llol_slim,

Who are you flying with? x

llol_slim

sorry .. just realised i'm not subscribed to the thread !
A wristband, cool wont loost that then!
We're flying from Gatwick and booked with First Choice .. I think First Choice operates the flights dont they?