Maldives Paradise Island

Maldives Paradise Island (2/3-6/2013) – We believe we have found Paradise!

Paradise Island - Maldives

Wayne 'Marooned' 
on Paradise Island - Maldives

Maldives! Imagine going to a place so naturally pure and spectacularly beautiful that they have warning signs against public nudity. Imagine something better than a peaceful and beautiful Caribbean island and you will never hear the song Who Let the Dogs Out.

Amazing Turquoise Warm Ocean Water 
 - Paradise Island, Maldives

We spent 3 wonderful days “marooned” on none other than the Maldives’ Paradise Island surrounded by baby powder silky-sand beaches with coconut palms and tropical trees swaying in the breeze. And the water! You can walk out from the beach into the warm water with multiple hues starting with crystal-clear ocean lagoons with sky blue. Just beyond, the ocean water turns to gorgeous turquoise and then deep aquamarine – stunning views everywhere you look! The photos tell the story better than we can.

Sunset - Paradise Island, Maldives

View from Our Beach Bungalow 
Facing Out to Ocean Lagoon 
- Paradise Island, Maldives

It was a joy to enjoy this with all the modern comforts from a luxury resort. The Paradise Island resort opened in 1994 and is located close to Maldives’s capital, Male – a 20-minute boat ride away. Although you can walk across the island in minutes, the mood changes from the ocean-breeze restaurants and open-air bars on a beautiful lagoon to our remote beach bungalow facing out to another quiet peaceful turquoise lagoon (see photos). It was difficult to decide what to do when everything was amazing.

Pat Outside Our Beach Bungalow 
- Paradise Island, Maldives

Amazingly Beautiful Beaches 
- Paradise Island, Maldives

We want to go back! We spent our daytime floating in the crystal-clear warm ocean water, snorkeling watching the fascinating typical fish, wandering the silky sand beaches, and reading by the pool or outside our beach bungalow. While snorkeling in the clear lagoon, we watched a school of about 40 parrotfish munch the coral. At night we enjoyed the wonderful dinners and the romantically lit island and laid outside our beach bungalow watching the stars in the clear skies. We loved our private outdoor shower. Our 3 days on the Maldives’ Paradise Island went by way too fast.

Island Near Maldives' Capital of Male

About the Maldives... The Maldives (officially the Republic of the Maldives) is an island nation located southwest of India in the Indian Ocean. One of the world's most geographically dispersed countries, the Maldives consists of a double chain of twenty-six atolls and 1,192 coral islands spread over roughly 35,000 square miles. With a population about 328,000, with just over 100,000 living in the capital city of Male, the Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area.

Beautiful Paradise Island - Maldives

A very unique feature of the Maldives is that it is the world's lowest country with an average ground level of only 5 feet above sea level - 80% of the total landmass of the islands is only 3 feet above sea level. If they didn’t have the lush tropical trees, on most the islands, you can stand on the beach with your feet in the water and gaze across the island. The concerning prophecies of possible raising oceans are a concern for the Maldivian people.

Rooms Over Ocean - Maldives

Meanwhile, they are content to take advantage of their amazingly beautiful setting. The Maldives' largest industry is tourism accounting for about a third of its GDP. Fishing is the second leading industry. Tourism began in the early 1970’s and the number of resorts increased from 2 to over 100 now.

Maldive Islands

The Maldives has an amazing diversity of sea life, with corals and over 2,000 species of fish, ranging from reef fish to sharks, moray eels, and a wide variety of rays.

Island in the Maldives

The climate of the Maldives is wonderful. The Indian Ocean acts as a heat buffer, absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. Throughout the year, the temperature of Maldives ranges between 75 °F and 91 °F. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes make it an enjoyable climate. It was 88 °F when we were there in February and it was wonderful.

The people are friendly and very mild mannered. They speak softly. Although not overly apparent in the island resorts, Islam is the official religion of the Maldives and open practice of any other religion is forbidden.

Our Beach Bungalow 
- Paradise Island, Maldives

Travel tips... Consider staying in a resort near the Male Airport (like the Paradise Resort) where the boat transfer is included instead of needing an expensive inter-island flight. Put on lots of suntan lotion and reapply regularly, especially after spending time in the water. Wear a shirt when going on snorkeling trips or when in the sun. Everything is the Male Airport is very expensive (2-3 times the price you find in other places).

Map of the Maldives

If you choose to come to the Paradise Island Resort, we found that the food in the main restaurant very good served buffet style with lots of choices, including Indian curry dishes – yum! Most of the people staying here seemed to agree with very low attendance at the other expensive restaurants.

 

 
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