Flight attendant Amanda sums it up as our Virgin Atlantic Dreamliner touches down at Velana International Airport, which takes up most of the tiny Maldives island of Hulhule.
“All I can say is wow. This is somewhere special,” she tells us, as we roll along a runway surrounded by the azure of the sunlit Indian Ocean.
Amanda isn’t wrong. The Maldives are eye-poppingly magical as I’m about to find out. The spell is cast the minute we take off again from neighbouring Noovilu seaplane terminal, soaring over postcard-perfect islands. The ride is exhilarating and the descent on to sea a total thrill while the co-pilot keeps it casual in flip-flops.
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Southwest of Sri Lanka and India, the Maldives is an archipelago of 1,192 coral islands, around 200 of them inhabited, and a well-established haven for honeymooners.
Our first stop on this twin-centre Virgin Holidays adventure is Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, in the Noonu Atoll on the island of Medhufushi, 45 minutes north of capital Male.
The champagne is chilled and the welcome warm as we step off the resort’s own twin-propellor seaplane on to this 52-acre private island paradise, where we are greeted by singers and dancers in traditional dress.
It’s very hot and I’m humbled by their enthusiasm and energy which encapsulates the outstanding hospitality Sun Siyam resorts are renowned for. We take a buggy tour of the island which has a distinct boutique vibe despite being home to 221 villas, 15 restaurants and bars and the well-equipped Koamas Kids Club. Paradise, it transpires, is thankfully not exclusive to loved-up couples.
A sneak peak at a thatched deluxe beach villa, flanked by lofty palms and imposing banyan trees, reveals an outdoor bathroom, private jacuzzi and rain shower.
But the Maldives is renowned for its “overwater bungalows” so I’m beyond excited to open the door to my holiday home on one of the island’s two bridges. Spacious, stylish and perfectly equipped with a vaulted wooden ceiling and a glass floor, there are even panoramic lagoon views from the king-sized bed and bathtub.
In a matter of minutes I’m clambering down the ladder from my private sundeck and swimming in the sea, the grim winter weather back in Britain just a dim and distant memory.
Leaving this little piece of heaven on earth is a wrench but a sunset dolphin cruise beckons and it turns out to be an early holiday highlight. Sipping champagne and lounging on the deck of a dhoni, a traditional Maldivian fishing boat, at sunset, it’s tempting to think life doesn’t get much better. Then the dolphins turn up and it does.
Hundreds surround the boat, the adults so close you can almost touch them, the young further afield still mastering their acrobatics. “They’re putting on a show,” says the captain and it’s a real performance. But dolphins are not the only wild show in town. Back on dry land, nurse sharks by the pier attract quite a crowd. Indian fruit bats dart through the trees and I spot eagle rays in the lagoon that laps my bungalow.
Iru Fushi is home to The Spa by Thalgo, multi-award winning and the largest spa in the Maldives with an impressive menu of more than 140 treatments. A tranquil space, nestled in abundant greenery, it has 20 rooms each named after a flower and scented accordingly.
My Maldivian spa experience starts with a coconut bath and ends with an oil massage – in between I succumb to 90 glorious minutes of stress-busting bliss as petite therapist Ayu magically makes my knots disappear, and I don’t wince once. It’s frankly the best massage I’ve had and my back is so grateful. The temptation to laze away the days on a lounger is overwhelming, but there’s so much to do and it seems a shame to miss out.
Nature walks, cocktail making, cookery classes and snorkelling at Nemo’s coral garden surrounded by shoals of clown fish are just some of the options, meaning guests are never bored. As for dining, it’s hard to go wrong. The grilled octopus at Flavours French restaurant, with Indian Ocean views, is a showstopper while Asian eatery Bamboo serves up a mean tuna tartare.
And so I bid a reluctant farewell to Iru Fushi while looking forward to my next adventure at sister hotel Siyam World which is just a short speedboat ride away on the island of Dhigurah and a much more high-octane, action-packed affair. Within minutes of stepping off the boat I’m on the back of a water scooter bouncing across the sea and clinging on for dear life to a driver determined to show off his moves.
It’s an intoxicating start to a fun-filled stay at this large, luxury family-friendly playground, which is home to the first horse riding centre in the Maldives and its largest floating water park. There are tennis courts, football pitches and seemingly every water sport known to man. Want to seabob, e-surf, flyboard or fun tube? Not a problem.
There’s even a super-slippery slide on my private deck which sends you plunging straight into the tub-warm ocean. It’s the best way to kickstart another idyllic Maldives day. I relax and find my inner Zen at a sunset yoga class on the beach, the colours of the sky kaleidoscopic, our sun salutation spiritual.
Visiting a local island is the ideal way to experience a more traditional Maldivian way of life so I take a 20-minute boat trip to nearby Kudafari, the childhood home of entrepreneur Ahmed Siyam Mohamed who founded Sun Siyam back in 1990. The pace is slow here, the people are welcoming – and it’s a reminder that the Maldives is a Muslim country because the champagne lifestyle I’ve grown accustomed to is confined to resorts.
The village shop is shut, the police station idle, but the beaches are every bit as beautiful as the ones we left behind. We’re also a welcome distraction to excited pupils at the local school currently undergoing an expansion.
Islanders benefit from the Sun Siyam Cares corporate responsibility programme focused on education, health care and environmental conservation. At Siyam World I spend a worthwhile hour helping in some small way to counter the Maldives’ environmental challenges guided by the resort’s own marine biologist Mariyam. We attach salvaged coral fragments to a frame which is then returned to the reef to regenerate.
The best things in life, sadly, are not always free but they are worth all the saving-up you have to do. Because a holiday in the Maldives will leave you with a lifetime of amazing memories and the privilege of meeting some of the most hospitable, friendly and welcoming people on earth. It is a price, most definitely, worth paying.
Book the holiday
Virgin Atlantic flies from Heathrow to Male, Maldives, from £801 return in November. Find out more at virginatlantic.com.
Virgin Atlantic Holidays offers a seven-night twin-centre Maldives getaway from £3,472pp, departing from Heathrow on March 13. Comes with four nights’ B&B at Sun Siyam Iru Fushi in a Deluxe Beach Villa then three nights’ all-inclusive at Siyam World Maldives in a Water Villa and seaplane transfers throughout. Find out more at virginholidays.co.uk.
You can also get more information at visitmaldives.com.
