V-Flyer

Hi all

Looking at booking a holiday in the Maldives for September or October & was hoping for some feedback regarding hotels (minimum 4 star) & airlines (business class) to use, currently thinking of having 2 or 3 nights in Dubai on way out & 7 nights in Maldives.

I had thought of possibly using miles to fly Virgin to & from Dubai to reduce cost & then another airline from Dubai to Maldives & back.

Any information would be much appreciated.


Thank you & best regards

oldboy

Here is a link to our Trip Advisor report to Angsana Velavaru in Haa Dhaalu Atoll http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g298327-d635444-r155704062-Angsana_Velavaru-Haa_Dhaalu_Atoll.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

The beach villas didn't look as nice but were much cheaper. We flew with Emirates via Dubai.

Many thanks Daffodil, I have just realised that I asked the same question some months ago so will be looking at suggestions received. I have just spoken to Emirates Holidays who have given me what seem like good prices on A380 flight from Gatwick to Dubai & then onward to Maldives,

I have travelled on Singapore Airlines A380 in BC which was very good but have to say the Emirates BC offering looks terrific.


oldboy

We've used Emirates from BHX and also BA from LGW and both were good in their own way. BA was great because it's a direct flight. Their Club cabin is large on the 777-200 and we had Matt Smith and Daisy Lowe across the aisle when they were a couple.

Emirates from BHX has difficult timings on the return, so we always do a Dubai stopover on the return leg so we don't have a long layover. Qatar do some really good business class deals too - not tried them to Maldives but flown them to BKK and they were realy good.

We've stayed at Kuramathi, Baros and Veligandu and by far my favourite was Baros. Not sure I'd go back to the other two again and would rather pay for a higher star resort and go B&B or HB rather than a lower grade and go AI.

Take into account luggage allowances when flying business where you are obviously allowed a large allowance because if your island is reached by seaplane, their luggage allowances can be quite small, much easier when it's a boat ride from airport.

As well as Emirates holidays, have a look at Destinology and Purely Maldvies (the latter you arrange you own flights and they can do reasonable deals on the resorts). Richard there was really helpful to us.

Hope this helps a little and look forward to going back again soon, but have too many cruises booked at the moment so will have to wait.

PS. We always go early Sept (for our anniversary) so beware it is their rainy season but can be cheaper. We have only once had 1 solid day of rain whilst there where we couldn't get out into the sun or sea. All days though have rained, but usually it's for about an hour and then it's glorious again.

Hi Lynnewob

Thank you for such a a detailed reply, I hadn't thought about Quatar so will look at them, was a little worried about weather early September so pleased to read your experience has generaly been good.

Enjoy your cruises

oldboy

We flew with Qatar last time (only economy) and they have really short transfer times in Doha which are great (I think on the way back we had something like 45 mins between flights). It sounds scary but the airport works very efficiently - you get bussed off the plane to the terminal, then walk to the gate and get back on another bus to the plane. OK, there are some people who have missed connections and swear they will never do it again, but ours worked like clockwork (despite being delayed on the way out from LHR) ad I would definitely do it again.

We went to Constance Moofushi last time - it is a truly AI island, including the minibar in your villa with bottles of wine of your choosing, bottles of wine with lunch/dinner etc. The only things you had to pay for were spa and diving and some very top drawer spirits (never saw anyone have any). Even cigarettes were on the bar (not that we smoke).

We stayed in a WV and a BV for a week each and both were lovely, felt like two different holidays.

First time we went was to Kuredu, which despite being a large island, was also wonderful. Some Maldives "experts" don't rate it, and yes it does have a bit of a class system (certain cheaper room types can't use certain bars/restaurants) but we had access to everything so it worked perfectly for us.

Personally I would return to either.