The Maldives - Paradise...Literally!

So as you know, traveling is everything to me! Every year I try to visit a place I’ve never been. I recently got married and was like, if I’m going to do something big, my honeymoon is the perfect excuse. I originally planned to visit Thailand - Bangkok & Phuket for my honeymoon. The culture and food was something I was so excited about experiencing, but of course corona had to ruin that! After checking for several months to see if its borders would open, I eventually decided I wanted to wait until corona was long gone. There’s no way I could go visit this amazing country and be restricted on the things I wanted to do there because let’s be real, I’ll probably only visit the country once since I always want to visit new places each year. I started researching other places I wanted to visit, and that would even allow US citizens in the country, and I ended up choosing the Maldives - the ideal spot for a honeymoon. The Maldives has always been on my list of places to visit and they were letting travelers in, so it ended up being the perfect opportunity to go.

We got married at the end of October 2020 and went on our honeymoon right after. The Maldives rainy season is between May and October, so we were taking a chance going at the time we did. It ended up being perfect weather though, besides the rain the first night there. First off let me just tell you right now, the traveling time is RIDICULOUS! We flew out of Chicago (FYI - always fly out of Chicago for international trips, soooo much cheaper) and had a layover in Doha, Qatar. The travel time from Chicago to Doha was about 13 hours, our layover was about 9 hours, and from Doha to Male (capital of Maldives) was around 4 hours. Yes, over 24 hours of travel time but ALL SO WORTH IT! I can’t even put into words how amazing this country is! Everyone should experience the Maldives at least once in their life.

We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and hands down a 5 star experience. From the resort, to the food, to the many activities they offered, it was simply perfect. Now I’m not going to lie, the Maldives ain’t no cheap trip! We spent over $5000 just for the flight and hotel (that was for both of us, not per person), but you could definitely do this trip for a lot less; We had to be extra and have an overwater bungalow with a private pool.

We didn’t do many activities while there because we truly wanted to use this time to relax (planning a wedding ain’t no joke), but there’s plenty to do - kayaking (we did do this), snorkeling, deep sea fishing, parasailing, and so much more. If you’ve been thinking about visiting, GO! Although it’s the perfect trip for couples, it would be an amazing trip with friends as well.