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Goway BDM talks about recent trip to the Maldives

Soran Prasad, one of our Goway Business Development Managers, recently returned from a trip exploring the Adaaran Resorts in the Maldives. Here, Soran shares with you her experiences, tips, and reasons why you should recommend the Maldives to your clients.

Where is the Maldives and how do you get there?

The Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean off the southwest coast of India. The Republic of the Maldives is one of the world’s most beautiful island destinations, like a string of pearls dotting the ocean. It consists of around 1,200 atolls (coral islands) and there over 120 secluded private island resorts to choose from. I flew Cathay Pacific Airways from Vancouver via Hong Kong to get to the Maldives, which was a great option and offered a fantastic connection, with only three hours between flights.

Once in the capital, Male, many properties are reached by seaplane. Take note that the seaplanes only operate in daytime, so it’s important to pay attention to arrival and departure flight times. Alternate modes of transportation would be domestic flights and speedboat transfers. If your clients have limited time, it would be my recommendation to keep them closer to the airport using properties that offer short speedboat transfers.

Where did you stay in the Maldives?

I had the privilege of splitting my time between four properties of Goway’s preferred partner Adaaran Resort Maldives, staying at Adaaran Select Hudhuranfushi, Adaaran Select Meedhupparu, Adaaran Prestige Vadoo, and the all-new super luxurious 5-star all-inclusive Heritance Aarah.

However, for vacationers, I might recommend sticking with one property. Your clients will get better value (the longer you stay, the more you save) and you typically have to transfer via the airport to visit multiple resorts, which can get expensive.

What are some of your favorite highlights?

It was pretty amazing staying in an Overwater Villa as you have a natural aquarium right below you. You’ll see crystal-clear waters with amazing colours of sealife and plants, as well as coral. It’s truly paradise where you can see the sunrise and sunset over the peaceful Indian Ocean. The staff at the resorts were so friendly, humble, and professional. I was pleasantly surprised by how amazing the food was. There are all types of cuisines with great fresh flavours. If you have diet requirements, don’t worry, as they can accommodate all meal requests. Maldives is definitely a diver’s and snorkeller’s paradise, offering a lot of water adventures and activities.

Any favourite accommodations and how do they differ from other tropical destinations you’ve travelled to?

All four resorts were my favourites for different reasons!

Adaaran Prestige Ocean Villas Hudhuran Fushi – This resort sits on 83 lush tropical islands. I love the organic banana farm. While eating coconut curry prawns at the Sunset Restaurant by candlelight, you are able to see a half dozen reef sharks. This is one of the larger resorts in the Maldives that also has surfing on one side of the island. This is great for surf enthusiasts, as not all islands in the Maldives have surfing from their resorts.

Adaaran Prestige Water Villas Meedhupparu – The bonuses here are your transfers in a seaplane, during which you will see the most amazing sights of the Maldives. I loved the wood interiors, which had spacious sun decks with a large glass viewing panel. My favourite thing to do was to sit in my Jacuzzi on the deck with a glass of champagne watching the sunset in the middle of the Indian Ocean. There’s nothing quite like it. The newly-renovated Beach Villas are also amazing. I loved the outdoor waterfall shower. It’s common for guests to stay a few nights in both the Beach Villas and the Water Villas, so I would suggest you experience both types of accommodation during a stay.

Adaaran Prestige Vadoo – This resort was a short 20-min speed boat transfer from Male International Airport, making it very accessible. I loved the smaller resort and all accommodations were Water Villas with a small pool on your private deck. I was in the Sunrise Water Villas overlooking the resort island. The bathroom was one of my favorites, as we had a large glass viewing panel allowing you to see the ocean below and a large private Jacuzzi tub just outside your bathroom. Every evening at 5pm you can feed the reef sharks just before you have your high tea at the Dhoni Bar.

Heritance Aarah – This is a brand-new 5-star resort. It offers pure luxury in the Maldives. I stayed in the two-story Ocean Suite, where we had our own large deck with a huge pool. We practically didn’t leave our suite. The resort has one of the best diving centers I have ever seen. I did view the Beach Villas, which were amazing as well. The bathroom in each Beach Villas is large, with a huge soaker tub and two showers, one inside and the other outdoors. The food was amazing. This modern resort paid attention to all the details and did not miss a thing. It’s also the first to offer a Medi-Spa for those looking to get a bit more than just some sun.

What tips would you recommend to travel agents recommending this destination to their clients?

The best piece of advice I can offer to you is to always upgrade to an all-inclusive package when booking any resort in Maldives. With everything being imported it can get expensive paying for meals and both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks in the destination.

Additionally, flying from North America can seem like a long distance, so I would recommend a stopover in a gateway city your clients are flying through. We offer some great stopover packages in Dubai, Paris, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka, just to name a few destinations.
The last thing I would suggest is to advise your clients to splurge and stay in an Overwater Villa. If they don’t have the budget to stay the whole time in an Overwater Villa, you can always suggest a split stay with 3 nights in a Beach Villa and 4 nights in an Overwater Villa.

Goway’s Idyllic Islands Experts specialize in tailor–made itineraries that include accommodations, day excursions, meal packages, spa services, inter-island flights, transfers, and international airfares. They are also available to do conference calls to help you close the booking. For more information and sample vacation ideas, visit Goway.com.

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Mike Bertoia

IslandsEscapes Product Manager - At a young age, Mike's family departed on an adventure of a lifetime, moving to Saudi Arabia and travelling throughout the world. When living in Europe as a young adult, Mike decided to create travel memories of his own, which ignited a passion for the industry. He has since travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji, Cook Islands, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Maldives with Goway.
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