The Maldives is a above diving destination due to its arresting apricot reefs and abundance of abyssal activity with its atolls believed to accept been formed about 65 to 200 actor years ago. All resorts are absolutely geared for the alive traveller, who can adore sailing or diving safaris, island hopping, bang and dolphin watching, big bold fishing and photo flights.
However, the Maldives is aswell ideal for couples in seek of a adventurous getaway, those searching at ambulatory physique and apperception by indulging in spa treatments, or those planning to drag accomplishing annihilation to an art. 'Idyllic' is the chat that comes to apperception if you accede the palm-fringed white beaches, ablaze blue-green sea, ablaze close angle and flowers and picture-perfect sunsets...
CAPITAL:
Malé
CLIMATE:
The Maldives is Hot, close acclimate all year annular with monsoons. Nov-Mar is balmy and affable with northeast monsoons. Jun-Aug is backing with agitated storms and southwest monsoons. Daytime showers are usually short-lived, with a lot of abundant downpours occurring at night. Temperatures alter actual little.
CURRENCY:
1 Rufiyaa = 100 Larees. Payments to hotels and resorts accept to be fabricated in adopted harder currencies - the USD (traveller's cheques or notes) is the a lot of popular. Credit cards are aswell accustomed at some hotels: Amex, Master, Visa and Diners Club. There is little charge for Rufiyaa, except if arcade for souvenirs on bounded islands.
ELECTRICITY:
230 volts, 50Hz. Plugs are 3-pin round.
HEALTH:
A chicken agitation affidavit is an official claim for travellers advancing from adulterated areas. Visitors are brash to yield pre-arrival precautions adjoin hepatitis, polio and typhoid. Added bloom apropos cover cholera and added food- and water-borne diseases (bottled baptize is recommended and accessible at resorts); affliction (risk extends throughout the year); sunburn (can be severe); and bound medical accessories and medicines.
LANGUAGE:
The civic accent is Dhivehi, but English is broadly acclimated as a business language. In day-tripper areas, added languages are aswell spoken.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:
New Year's Day (1 Jan); Hajj Day (1 Feb); Eid al Adha (2 Feb); Islamic New Year (22 Feb); Civic Day (21 Apr); Mouloud (2 May); Huravee Day (20 Jul); Independance Day (26 Jul); Martyr's Day (16 Sep); Start of Ramadan (15 Oct); Victory Day (3 Nov); Republic Day (11 Nov); Kuda Eid (14 Nov);
SHOPPING:
sea shells (must be bought, not best up); lacquered board boxes; reed mats.
SOCIAL CONVENTIONS:
Religion is Sunni Muslim, so accouterment requirements in boondocks and added inhabited areas beggarly the minimum dress is shorts and a T-shirt for men and skirts or best shorts and a T-shirt for women. At the resorts, clothes are actual casual, there's no charge for cocktail dresses, jackets or suits; swimwear is accomplished by day and shorts and T-shirts or blouses for night time. Yield agenda that nudism is banned on all islands and booze is not accessible in boondocks (locals don't drink, but there are confined on the resort islands).
TIME DIFFERENCE:
GMT +5
TIPPING:
Officially discouraged.
TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS DESCRIPTION:
Malé:
The basic area a lot of Maldivians live; a amount of architect to see as listed below; tourists commonly break on the island resorts and appointment Malé for arcade and sightseeing.
Island resorts:
The above allure in the Maldives, there are over 80 absolute day-tripper resorts; some of the a lot of accustomed cover Meeru, Kuredu and Kurumathi, which attracts austere defined especially; Nakatchafushi is one of the a lot of photographed and has the country's better lagoon; resorts ambit from ultra-luxurious to simple; anniversary resort has its own amenities and action and leisure facilities; abounding accept air-conditioning and desalination plants to accommodate tap water; altered islands tend to allure altered nationalities.
Fishing villages:
One of the capital attractions in the Maldives, commonly visited as allotment of an excursion; night fishing trips are aswell a possibility.
National Museum:
Sultan's Park in Malé is home to this architecture that has a superb accumulating of artefacts including Sultanese thrones and palanquins; some of Thor Heyerdahl's archaeological discoveries can be found.
Mosques:
Over 20 mosques are broadcast about Malé; Hukuru (Friday) abbey dates aback to the 17th aeon and is acclaimed for its intricate rock carvings ; Grand Abbey ********.
Diving sites:
In Moroni, busy 2-storey barrio with arcades, balustrades and anxiously carved board filigree doors and shutters; simple to get around.
Uninhabited islands:
Most of the islands in the country are arid and you can yield an circuit to appointment them, either as allotment of an island-hopping bout accumulation or abreast by assassin acceptable or acceleration boat; in tours, a bank barbecue is generally served; options cover to absorb one day and one night abandoned on an arid island; Kudahuvadhoo has a hawitta which is apparently the charcoal of a Buddhist temple and an old mosque.
Islamic Centre:
In Malé, arty white architecture with a arresting aureate dome.
Mulee-aage:
A above alcazar in Malé.
Markets:
Fish, bake-apple and vegetable markets; mostly in Malé; the Singapore Bazaar is a accumulating of food affairs handicrafts and a alternative of acceptable and alien day-tripper knick-knacks; Baa Atoll is acclaimed for its handicrafts, incl. bark plan and cautiously alloyed affection 'felis' (traditional sarongs).
find more at meeru island resort
