Dream holiday Maldives with small children

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• The real Maldives, Thulusdhoo surfers island Nr. 1 - 28 December 2016

Did you know that the Maldives are not only a honeymoon destination, but also suitable for families with small children? Which resorts in the Maldives are child friendly, how is the trip and what do you have to think about when travelling to the Maldives? Through Instagram I’ve been following @travel_jeff for a few years now and in this interview he gives all his tips on Stylish Travel Tips for a dream holiday with children to the Maldives.

“We’re Jeffrey (35), Vicky (31), Lexi (3) and Zayn (1) and love to travel. As a family we try to inspire other families to discover the world through our Instagram account. We love to discover beautiful places and getting to know other cultures the most fun of travelling. We can’t wait until our kids are old enough to take them to Africa’s wildlife parks”.

1. Have you been to the Maldives before and was it a deliberate choice to go with the whole family?

Last summer was our first visit to the Maldives. It was high on our bucket list because we had already heard so much about it and really wanted to visit this beautiful archipelago ourselves. Would it really be as beautiful as in all the movies and books?

2. The Maldives aren’t cheap, do you have any tips for booking tickets and/or affordable resorts?

You shouldn’t do the Maldives if you want to do a low-budget trip. This is really a once in a lifetime trip and enjoy all the luxury and splendour of the resorts.

You could go to the Maldives on a smaller budget, but then you will stay on the islands more close to the main island. Especially a resort where you can go by boat (instead of seaplane) is a lot more affordable.

3. What do you pay attention to when booking a trip with small children?

We always try to pay attention to the time difference during short holidays. For one or two weeks we like not having to deal with a jet lag. Maldives is perfect then, it’s 4 hours later.

On long flights we often try to leave at the end of the afternoon. Then the children can acclimatise and hopefully sleep well. To the Maldives our youngest (less than 1 year old at the time) fitted into a so-called bassinet of Qatar Airlines and slept well the whole flight.

Childcare Maldives

In both resorts (Kihaa and Mövenpick) on the Maldives there was a child care. That was very nice so we could go on the water together and snorkel with the manta rays. Something we both really wanted to do, but to do this with the children was almost unpractical.

4. Is it a long trip to the Maldives with small children?

We left from Brussels, about a 2 hours drive from our house. With a flight of 6,5 hours we flew to Doha. At Doha we had a short stop after which we flew in 4.5 hours to Male. From the main island you can then leave for the resort. For Kihaa resort we had to take a domestic flight to Dharavandhoo.

With a van we left to the harbour for the boat and from there we moored at the pier of the island of Kihaa Resort in 15 minutes. The second week we stayed at another resort, Mövenpick Resort.

Once back on the main island of Male we went to another terminal to wait there for the departure of the seaplane. With the seaplane we flew in 45 minutes to the island of Mövenpick Resort. That was a very special arrival!

5. What was it like arriving at your resort and how did your kids react?

Arriving with a seaplane was very special. It was so cool to travel this way. Lexi was allowed to sit on her own seat and Zayn sat on our lap. Lexi felt very cool to sit alone, but soon fell asleep.

On both resorts we were warmly welcomed with a welcome drink and we immediately got a nice impression of the resort. The sea was really as blue and the beach as white as you hope. We could stay here for a couple of weeks!

6. You stayed on Kihaa and in the Mövenpick resort on the Maldives. Which one did you like the most?

We liked to be in different places in 3 weeks. We were afraid that otherwise we would get a bit bored. It was a good move. Both resorts had a different atmosphere and different surroundings.

Kihaa resort was smaller, but there was more contact with the other holidaymakers. You bumped into each other at the buffet and had a little chat about what you had been seen while diving.

At Mövenpick Resort everyone is more on their own since each villa has its own swimming pool. At the Little Birds Club you could talk to other parents when the kids were playing.

7. What did your days look like at the Maldives and what did the kids like the best?

At Kihaa we had developed our own routine. After a quiet start we first had breakfast and immediately went on to the ‘big’ pool. At Zayn’s first sleep we lay down on the beach in front of our villa, that’s exactly what the baby monitor could reach!

After lunch in the restaurant we often went to the other pool and at 17.30 I often went with Lexi to the pier to see the feeding of the rays. It was very nice to see the stingrays from so close up!

Kids club Malediven

At Mövenpick our routine was slightly different. After breakfast, which we also got once in our pool(!), we went to the Little Birds Club.

Lexi loved this pool, a real paradise for kids. Sometimes Lexi wanted to play at the child care or participate in an activity. Then we had a moment for ourselves when Zayn was in bed. That was extreme luxury! Also the moment I got a lovely massage.

5* star service Maldives

At the end of the afternoon there was always a “Chocolate hour“. Zayn was often taking a nap and when Lexi was eating chocolate we had a nice wine.

The best part of the evening at Mövenpick was for Lexi coming back to the villa. The villa was completely prepared for the night with a chocolate on the cushions.

8. Did you enjoy yourself and what did you do in the evening when the children were lying in bed?

Dinner with the kids was good to do. There was plenty of good food for Lexi, and Zayn enjoyed himself for hours with a piece of baguette. Once finished, Lexi could play in the sand again.

Little Birds Club

On both resorts there was a child care service. These were well-equipped classrooms where there was plenty to do for the children. At Mövenpick the Little Birds Club was open all day, at Kihaa this was on request however.

Baby monitor for travel

The bar of the resorts was a nice place to enjoy a little bit without children. When the kids had gone to bed we turned on the baby monitor through the 3G baby monitor app. An alternative to the regular baby monitor.

Through 3G or wifi you always have a view on your children. You place one device (e.g. iPad) with the children and take another device (e.g. iPhone) with you and they connect with each other.

9. Can you recommend the Maldives with small children or just only for honeymooners?

It’s a long journey to the final destination with a lot of stop overs, but everything was more than worth it when you finally arrive on the beach.

The beautiful accommodation, the friendly people, the white beaches and blue sea make you immediately forget the trip. For the children it was also a very nice holiday, swimming all day and playing with the sand. What more could a child want?

10. Where are you going next and what’s on your bucket list?

In a few weeks we fly to Zanzibar. There the holiday will also consist mainly of beach and sea. In May we will make another city trip to visit Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Madagascar and Uganda are still very high on our bucket list. However, we do want our children to be just a little bit older for that.

Do you want to know where their next trip is going? Follow Jeffrey and his family through his beautiful Instagram account  full of beautiful holiday snapshots of their amazing travels.

 

Finally, my top 3 resorts in the Maldives

I am also a big fan of the Maldives and I can recommend it to anyone to put it on the bucket list, because it is such a unique piece of paradise in the middle of the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka.

The Maldives consist of 1200 different islands of which 200 are inhabited. So enough to discover from low budget to 5 star resorts. Hereby my absolute top 3 (click on the pink link) if you like luxury:

 

• 1) Gili Lankanfushi with the biggest open water resort in the world

 

• 2) LUX* South Ari Atoll, the place where manta rays swim

 

• 3) Kanuhura Maldives, if you like the ultimate Ibiza gypsy vibe

 

Do you have any tips for child-friendly resorts in the Maldives? Leave a comment below, but you can also e-mail me 🙂