Maldives – Unique

Frank Neumann

Arrival to the Maldives

Approach Male

After the beautiful but also very exhausting round trip through Sri Lanka, we had 9 relaxing days in the Robinson Club Maldives. TUI offers two Robinson Clubs in the Maldives, one for families with children Club Noonu and for adults Club Maldives. The latter is located just 56km north of the equator in Gaafu-Alif Atoll.

With Sri Lankan Airline you can be in Male in 1.5 hours. While in Sri Lanka you have a time difference of +3.5 hours, in the Maldives it is only 3 hours. Despite the fact that you are so far away from Germany, the time difference is still very bearable in contrast to the Caribbean, where you are 6 hours behind. Even the approach to Male is an experience for the eyes. What you normally see on postcards or in documentaries spreads out before you in all its beauty.

At the airport itself, the relaxation really begins. You are personally received by the Robins. They take care of the entry formalities and your luggage. You simply hand them your passports, sit down in the lounge and enjoy the view with a cool, fruity cocktail. With all the luxury and amenities, however, you should not forget that you are in a very strict Muslim country. So don’t forget the good manners!

airportFrom friends we already knew about the idiosyncrasies of the local pilots, who bring the holidaymakers barefoot to their respective holiday islands with their small seaplanes. Unfortunately, this only happens within a certain radius around Male. Our atoll was much too far south of Male and so we had to fly another hour with a turboprop plane to Kaadedhdhoo. From there it was a 40-minute speed boat ride to our island, FUNAMADUA. I’m sure we could have made it in 20-25 minutes, but as soon as we left the harbour, our boat was surrounded by countless curious dolphins. So we took our time admiring and filming this spectacle.

Arriving on the island

When we arrived on the island, we were immediately welcomed by the entire club management. As a welcome gift, each guest received a handmade necklace made of palm weave in the shape of a star.

A Robin took care of the check-in formalities and then we were taken to our bungalow with our luggage by golf cart. On the way there, we were shown the most important places like SPA, sports, restaurants, pool, sundowner beach and so on. The basic “you” and the immediate removal of the shoes let us immediately switch into the relaxation mode. Yes, shoes are as superfluous on the island as an umbrella in the desert.

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The accommodation

beachAccommodation on the island is in beach, garden and water bungalows.
Since we love the beach and don’t need our own pool with such a sea, we decided in advance on the beach bungalow with its own access to the beach. Basically, you got out of bed, opened the big glass door, walked across the terrace and 10m of beach and stood in the warm water of the Indian Ocean. We can only recommend this to everyone and would do it again anytime.

The beach bungalows have a very large sleeping and living area, separate dressing areas and a huge sanitary area. In addition to a covered shower, 2 washing facilities and other important things, there is also a very large rainforest shower and a whirlpool in the outdoor area. This is not covered, but of course not visible from the outside. The fact that there is a full-grown palm tree in the middle of the bathroom is also part of the feeling of the Maldives.

Beach 2

The island has a main restaurant and a speciality restaurant “Das Edel”. While food, soft drinks and wine are included in the main restaurant, you have to pay extra for “Das Edel”. If you are looking for something special, a candlelight dinner on the beach or similar, this is the place to go.

Due to the low occupancy rate on the island, the restaurant was unfortunately closed for us. But I don’t think we would have made use of it otherwise. What the main restaurant had to offer in terms of cuisine was on a par with a very good restaurant in Germany.

Dishes from Asian, Mediterranean and European cuisine were served every day. Plus sashimi made from freshly caught tuna, as much as you like. All this is done via live cooking. The dessert selection also makes you fight every day not to eat more than “necessary”. Already at breakfast, the very large selection of bread and rolls is convincing. Here you don’t have to do without wholemeal.

Once a week, the “Red Carpet Night” takes place. Then it gets really posh and the restaurant serves a first-class 5-course menu. (see pictures) Occasionally, the hotel management drops by unexpectedly on the beach with an iced champagne or invites you to chat at the pool bar.

The catering

The underwater world

From sharks to turtles

The underwater world of the Maldives is also breathtaking. Large stingrays pass less than 3 metres from the beach. Outside the reef you will find numerous fish in all imaginable colours.

You should not be frightened by the reef sharks. These 1.60m to 2.50m sharks swim past or next to you completely unimpressed. The first contact, however, caused me a short fright and some uneasiness.

Turtles are also often found on the reef. You can even swim very close to them. Unlike in Turkey or wherever tours to see turtles are offered, here you find them completely free and unconcerned in the water.

Unfortunately, the reef here was also already pretty battered. The many Chinese tourists here in the Maldives almost never know how to swim and use the corals to stand and rest.

Unfortunately, these people probably completely lack an understanding of nature.

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