Maldives

dooleysdollymix

Hi All!

Looking at going to the Maldives for my partners 30th birthday this September. We have a cheap place to stay but can't find any decent flights!
All the flights I've found so far have had at least one stop for anything from 3 hours to 20 odd! The cheapest I found was £480 with Turkish airlines HOWEVER... We are going for my partner to surf, and they want to charge £63 each way... This was fine, until they told us they wanted it for each of the 3 boards he wanted to take. We have only ever had to pay one amount for one bag containing 3 boards in the past so we refuse to pay this extortionate amount!

So... does anyone have any tips on how to lower flight costs? Direct flights? Should I be looking at flying to 'X' then booking from 'X' to Male? Or can you recommend an airline you've travelled to male with surfboards that is reasonable?

Any help greatfully received! We don't want to be ripped off and we only have around 12 days so don't want to spend 4 of them in the airports! Thank you x

PeacefulWaters

I don't think you're going to get much better than what's been offered.

Can you hire surf boards at your destination?

What specific dates are you restricted to?

Westin

Well I have learnt something this morning.

I didn't realise that the Maldives was considered a good surfing area. The waters have only ever been calm when I have been. Great for snorkelling and diving but can't recall seeing any surfers.

That TK price also seems good. In directs will often be cheaper and TK are often competitive. Take a look at a comparison site like a Skyscanner.net to search for fares but never book via one of the dodgy links. Best to book either direct with the airline or via a good reputable agent.

glentoran99

Westin wrote: »

Well I have learnt something this morning.

I didn't realise that the Maldives was considered a good surfing area. The waters have only ever been calm when I have been. Great for snorkelling and diving but can't recall seeing any surfers.

That TK price also seems good. In directs will often be cheaper and TK are often competitive. Take a look at a comparison site like a Skyscanner.net to search for fares but never book via one of the dodgy links. Best to book either direct with the airline or via a good reputable agent.

You need to go beyond the lagoons were the waves break

dooleysdollymix

PeacefulWaters wrote: »

I don't think you're going to get much better than what's been offered.

Can you hire surf boards at your destination?

What specific dates are you restricted to?

I know the flight price with TK is good, I'm not expecting to get any better than that... But we refuse to pay ridiculous price for the boards so we won't be flying with them! Was just wondering if anyone had any idea where I could find direct/ faster flights or if anyone knew a trick like flying to ..... Then on to male would make a difference (in time) with an airline that doesn't charge ridiculous prices for boards!

No my other half won't hire a board. (It's a surfer thing!)

We are restricted to 1st September to 13th.
Thank you for your reply

dooleysdollymix

Westin wrote: »

Well I have learnt something this morning.

I didn't realise that the Maldives was considered a good surfing area. The waters have only ever been calm when I have been. Great for snorkelling and diving but can't recall seeing any surfers.

That TK price also seems good. In directs will often be cheaper and TK are often competitive. Take a look at a comparison site like a Skyscanner.net to search for fares but never book via one of the dodgy links. Best to book either direct with the airline or via a good reputable agent.

Hi Westin,

There are many famous surf spots around the Maldives... In the North Male Atoll there is Jailbreaks, Chickens, Ninjas, Cokes, Sultans, Lohis and Honkys! (Don't ask who comes up with the names!) some of these are only restricted to the resorts and like Glentoran99 said you need to catch a boat to get to these breaks past the reefs!

Thanks for the tips I have tried skyscanner and kayak so far!

Caz3121

assuming you want to leave from a London airport probably Etihad, Qatar or Emirates will give one-stop flights
you should be able to find some articles like this one which compares the airlines and how they treat them http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/10305-the-best-airline-companies-for-surfboards-and-surfers
note; for those airlines that take them as part of the baggage allowance, you would need to check out the excess fees as they can be fairly high on a per kg basis (obviously depends on the overall allowance and how much other stuff you have)

SandC

I flew with Sri Lankan airlines, there was a stop of less than two hours in Colombo. Not sure what their prices are like now.

hollie.weimeraner

We flew a couple of years ago with Oman air and had a short stopover at Muscat. Prices were very competitive but they were part of a package with Kuoni.

1trainer1

BA direct from Gatwick if you can catch a sale

mcduff16

I flew with Sri Lankan airlines- would recommend