Hey folks!
How's your 2023? I'm sure it's better than 2020 for most people. Yeah I know it's been awhile. Hubby and I have been to several local places like Genting, Cameron, Bukit Tinggi and Perlis since the beginning of the year but I prefer to blog about oversea travels.
Maldives has always been in my bucket list. We first booked Thulhagiri in 2019 even before our last minute Bangkok trip on Jan 2020. However the resort requested us to cancel when there was worldwide lockdown. We made a promise to ourselves to be there after the pandemic.
Then we booked the same resort again on 2022 right after we came back from Bhutan because if not now then when? Why we chose Thulhagiri again? It's due to the affordable price for water chalet. Most water chalet within short distance from Malè cost a bomb! We also took the risk to book on a monsoon season which was June2023.
At first it was just the old water bungalow. Then I saw that superior water bungalow has nicer upgraded interior but more expensive. We cancelled the old one instead and booked the most expensive type of room for July 2023.
Initially it was for our wedding anniversary but unexpectedly became babymoon! Thank God I'm in my 2nd trimester now or I would puke 24/7 and won't be able to enjoy food. My first trimester was horrible but that's another story.
Omg I've written way too much. So here's the important part....
ITINERARY
Day 1
7:45pm PEN to KUL
8:50pm Arrive KLIA2
9:15pm Check in Tune Hotel
Day 2
5:00am Wake up
10:00am Arrive Velana Airport (Maldives time)
11:30am Check in Ripple Beach Inn
1:00pm Lunch at hotel
Free & easy for the rest of the day
Day 3
8:00am Wake up
9:00am Breakfast
10:30am Taxi to Male
10:50am Collect ticket at Art Gallery
12:00pm Speedboat to Crossroads
2:00pm Lunch
5:30pm Speedboat back to Hulhumale
7:00pm Dinner
Day 4
8:00am Wake up
9:00am Breakfast
11:30am Taxi to Velana airport
12:00pm Lunch
1:30pm Speedboat to Thulhagiri
2:00pm Check in Thulhagiri island resot
Free & easy for the rest of the day. Dinner is 7:30pm daily
Day 5
Free & easy for the rest of the day. Breakfast starts 7am daily.
Day 6
Free & easy for the rest of the day. Live band on Fridays 9pm.
Day7
8:00am Wake up
9:00am Breakfast
12:00pm Check out
1:00pm Lunch
2:00pm Stroll the island
5:00pm Speedboat to Hulhumale. They arranged later boat for us.
9:15pm MLE to KUL
Day8
4:30am Reached KLIA2 (Malaysia time)
6:35am KUL to PEN
7:40am Reached Penang
______________________________________________________________________
TEMPERATURE
Maldives is hot and humid all year round. It was rainy season when we went in July.
______________________________________________________________________
EXCHANGE RATE
As in July 2023
MVR1 = RM0.30
USD1 = RM4.66
Maldives uses USD most of the time so when you see $ here it means USD.
_____________________________________________________________________
BUDGET
Below are costs for 2 persons (not including food) otherwise stated. I'm not sure about the exact figure this time. We are not broke students anymore so the older we get the more we care less about how much we spend. Do bring about $1000 per person if you are not taking full board and also to spend on excursions, water activities, rentals, transport, souvenir etc.
Flight
Air Asia
PEN - KUL - MLE
Flight + baggage + tax&fuel = about RM4k (2 Pax)
Accomodation
Here's a little background about the resort. Managed by Angiri Resorts Management & Operations pvt ltd. Besides Thulhagiri, they alsso managed Angaga Island Resort & Spa, Dreamland The Unique Sea & Lake Resort Spa and Safari Island Resort. Interior design of the resorts are almost similar.
Sim Card
$40 for 20GB Ooredoo tourist sim card. You can buy at airport.
Transportation
Speedboat to Crossroads = FREE due to special week
On normal days it's $20 per person for return transfers
Speedboat to Thulhagiri = $100 per person
25 minute ride to the private island
Taxi = usually $10 - $12 per trip to Male or Velana airport but we got complimentary transfer from Ripple Inn Beach.
Food
We did not take full board package but we were lucky enough to get an upgrade so we got FREE buffet dinner alongside daily breakfast throughout the entire stay at Thulhagiri! For other meals at Crossroads and Hulhumale it was around $40 - $50 per meal.
Attraction Fees
Got our free tickets to Crossroads. We get to save $20 each.
Click HERE for excursion prices and timing for Thulhagiri resort. It can be quite expensive. There are also other activities such as water sports, spa, scuba diving, fitness etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment
No advertisement and links allowed in comment.