Best Holiday Ever – The Travel Diaries

Lauren Anderson – The Travel Guru

The last few weeks in HK have been miserable – grey, rainy and disgustingly humid. Standard lead up to summer in the 852 which can leave us all wanting to escape the concrete jungle for some sun and relaxation…especially on our beloved long weekends. Apart from this, I recently turned 30 and discovered my first WHITE not grey hair (how does that even happen?), so I convinced my partner that it was a perfect opportunity to jetset to paradise – which this time for us happened to be the Maldives.

After 2 international flights, 1 domestic flight and a speedboat in the middle of the night, we arrived to our island home for the next 4 days tired and ready for bed. What a surprise we awoke to the next morning, our villa was right on the perfect white sandy beach and looked out to the stunning turquoise waters from our private infinity pool. Not a sky scraper to be seen.

Paradise! After the obligatory selfie session for the all important Facebook and Instagram updates, the blue sky turned grey and it proceeded to absolutely bucket down. A quick google and it turns out that it was the beginning of the rainy season in the Maldives. The boyfriend was not impressed. #travelagentfail. Lucky for us it was right at the beginning of the season, so the rain was intermittent and when the blue sky did come out to play it was stunning.

We hit the gym, rode bikes, read books, learnt how to play chess, walked endless loops of the island, snorkeled, had lunch under the sea, sunbaked and generally just wound down from our crazy HK lives. It really was bliss.

Without a doubt this was the best holiday I have ever had. We were completely doted upon by every single member of staff that we came across. From Jerry that made our coffee at breakfast and memorized our order after the first morning, to Risan our villa host who didn’t mind when I called him at 6.30am to make a spa reservation for the same day. Nothing was a hassle and everyone wanted to know us and make our stay amazing.

The GM surprised us with a bottle of Moet in our villa, and upgraded us to an over water villa for our final night. Spoilt! We really felt like whole new people when we left the resort to head back to the hustle and bustle of HK.

The Maldives is a spectacular destination which is a must do for anyone wanting to explore their own slice of heaven in style (and with the budget to match!), however I do have a few tips for those eager to give it a go.

Maldives DO’s –

• Don’t be tight! Fork out the extra cash and fly with Cathay direct – there is nothing worse than getting on a flight, to know you have another flight and a boat to go and it is 10pm at night.
• Stay in a resort that has a good house reef – that way you can snorkel off the beach
• Pay for half board – food is expensive and you have no where else to eat, if you enjoy your food like we do you may end up with a massive bill at the end of your stay!

Maldives DON’Ts –

• Don’t just go for the cheapest resort option, often there are hidden taxes and charges which you need to pay upon check out
• Don’t go in rainy season! The best time to travel is December – April
• Book the cheapest room type – the over water villas are expensive for a reason, and really provide a once in a lifetime experience.

Lauren is an Aussie expat who has been in Hong Kong for 3 years working in the travel industry. Apart from travelling the world, Lauren enjoys keeping fit and active and exploring Hong Kongs outdoors, cooking, reading and bad reality TV.