Maldives

195 Pages·2015·15.456 MB·English

P
D
F
Maldives
PDF ebook
Edition 9th Edition
Release Date Oct 2015
Pages 192
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4 easy-to-use How to Use This Book
sections
Look for these symbols to quickly identify listings:
1 4
Sights Sleeping
1
r 5
Beaches Eating
2 6
PLAN YOUR TRIP Activities Drinking
C 3
Courses Entertainment
Your planning tool kit
T 7
Photos & suggestions to help Tours Shopping
you create the perfect trip.
z Festivals 8 Information
& Events & Transport
All reviews are ordered in our authors’ preference,
starting with their most preferred option. Additionally:
2 Sights are arranged in the geographic order that we
suggest you visit them and, within this order, by author
preference.
ON THE ROAD Eating and Sleeping reviews are ordered by price
range (budget, midrange, top end) and, within these
Your complete guide
ranges, by author preference.
Expert reviews, easy-to-use
maps & insider tips.
These symbols and abbreviations give vital
information for each listing:
Must-visit recommendation
Sustainable or green recommendation
3
No payment required
% Telephone number f Ferry
UNDERSTAND h Opening hours j Tram
p Parking d Train
Get more from your trip n Nonsmoking a pt apartments
Learn about the big picture, to a Air-conditioning d double rooms
make sense of what you see. i Internet access d m dorm beds
W Wi-fi access q quad rooms
s Swimming pool r rooms
v Vegetarian selection s single rooms
E English-language menu ste suites
4
c Family-friendly tr triple rooms
# Pet-friendly tw twin rooms
g Bus
SURVIVAL GUIDE
Your at-a-glance reference For symbols used on maps, see the Map Legend.
Vital practical information
for a smooth trip.
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
Maldives
Northern
Atolls p91
North & South
Male Atolls p64
Ari Male p44
Atoll
p82
Southern
Atolls
p104
THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY
Tom Masters
P LAN
ON THE ROAD
YOUR TRIP
Welcome to MALE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 ARI ATOLL . . . . . . . . . 82
the Maldives . . . . . . . . . . .4
Around Male . . . . . . . . . . 61 Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Maldives Map . . . . . . . . . .6
Hulhumale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Sleeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The Maldives’ Top 9 . . . . .8
Viligili . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Getting There & Away . . . . 90
Need to Know . . . . . . . . . 14
Hulhule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Getting Around . . . . . . . . . . 90
If You Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Other Islands . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Choosing a Resort . . . . . 18
NORTHERN ATOLLS . . . 91
Diving, Snorkelling &
Surfing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 NORTH & SOUTH Haa Alifu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Independent Travel . . . . . 38 MALE ATOLLS . . . . . . 64 Haa Dhaalu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Regions at a Glance . . . . 41 North Male Atoll . . . . . . . . . 65 Shaviyani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Kaashidhoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Noonu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Gaafaru Falhu . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Raa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
South Male Atoll . . . . . . . . . 75 Baa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Lhaviyani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
TOBIAS HELBIG/GETTY IMAGES © MICHELE FALZONE/GETTY IMAGES ©
SHOPFRONTS ON
MAAFUSHI P75
M
ATTEO COLOM
BO/GETTY IM
AGES ©
LAGOON PIER, SOUTH MALE
ATOLL P75
Contents
UNDERSTAND
SOUTHERN Maldives
ATOLLS . . . . . . . . . . 104 Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Vaavu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Maldivian Way
Meemu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Faafu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Marine Life in the
Dhaalu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Maldives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Thaa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Environmental Issues
Laamu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 & Responsible Travel . . . .147
Gaafu Alifu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Arts, Crafts &
Architecture . . . . . . . . .153
Gaafu Dhaalu . . . . . . . . . . 115
Taste of the Maldives . . . 157
Gnaviyani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Addu Atoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
SURVIVAL
GUIDE
Directory A–Z . . . . . . . .162
Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Language . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
SPECIAL
FEATURES
Choosing a Resort . . . . .18
Diving, Snorkelling
& Surfing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Sealife Image Gallery . . . 46
Big Creatures of
the Deep . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
FILITHEYO ISLAND RESORT
P107
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
4
Welcome to the
Maldives
Unrivalled luxury, stunning white-sand
beaches and an amazing underwater
world make the Maldives an obvious
choice for a true holiday of a lifetime.
Unbelievable Beaches Underwater World
The Maldives is home to perhaps the best With some of the best diving and snorkel-
beaches in the world; they’re on almost ling in the world, the clear waters of the
every one of the country’s nearly 1200 Maldives are a magnet for anyone with
islands and are so consistently perfect that an interest in marine life. The richness
it’s hard not to become blasé about them. and variety is astonishing; dazzling coral
While some beaches may boast softer gran- walls, magnificent caves and schools of
ules than others, the basic fact remains: brightly coloured tropical fish await you
you’ll find consistently whiter-than-white when you get down to the reef. In deeper
powder sand and luminous cyan-blue water waters lurk manta rays, turtles, sharks
like this almost nowhere else on earth. This and even the world’s largest fish, the
fact alone is enough to bring over a million whale shark. The best bit? The water is
people a year to this tiny, remote and other- so warm many people don’t even wear a
wise little-known Indian Ocean paradise. wetsuit.
Resorts for All Independent Travel
Every resort in the Maldives is its own pri- In the last few years, these incredible
vate island, and with over 100 to choose from islands have finally started to open to inde-
the only problem is selecting where to stay. pendent travellers, meaning you no longer
At the top end, the world’s most exclusive have to stay in resorts and remain separate
hotel brands compete to attain ever-greater from the local population, something that
heights of luxury, from personal butlers and has kept backpackers away for decades.
private lap pools to in-room massages and Intrepid individuals can now make their
pillow menus. It’s not surprising that honey- own itineraries and travel from island to
mooners and those seeking a glamorous island by public ferry, staying among the
tropical getaway have the country at the top devout but friendly local population. With a
of their wish lists. But there’s choice beyond fast-growing number of privately run guest-
the five- and six-star resorts. Other islands houses on inhabited islands, the Maldives
cater for families, for divers, for those on a and its people are now more accessible than
(relative) budget, and anyone wanting a tran- ever.
quil back-to-nature experience.
5
M
ICHAEL M
OXTER/GETTY IM
AGES ©
Why I Love the Maldives
By Tom Masters, Author
I first came to the Maldives with no idea how different it was to the rest of the world, how frag-
ile or challenging life seems here at the mercy of the sea, with so few resources locally avail-
able. I instantly formed a bond of respect and friendship with the people who make these
inhospitable coral islands home. It’s such a contradiction that this is also where to find some
of the world’s most luxurious hotel properties, and this is a paradox – among many – that I
continue to enjoy every time I return to this astonishing, beautiful country.
For more about our author, see page 192
Above: Swimming with the fish at Soneva Fushi (p101)
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1060
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
8
The Maldives’
Top 9

REINHARD SCHM
ID/4CORNERS ©