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Posts Tagged ‘Maldives Holidays’

Over a thousand small coral islands make up the Republic of the Maldives and are scattered like glitter in the turquoise Indian Ocean. Beautiful sparkling white sands, coral reefs, and fantastic marine life provide one of planet Earths most beautiful settings for a holiday.

One of these islands is especially beautiful to me, I have been there several times is Bandos. Bandos is located in North Mal Atoll, the closest atoll to the capital island of Mal and which features some of the other most popular island resorts as well as Bandos. Fly to Male and transfer is by boat and takes approximately 20 minutes. North Mal Atoll is secluded and has a relaxed feel.

Bandos has some of the most excellent dive sites in North Mal Atoll and the Maldives in particular. It is within easy reach of shipwrecks to explore, and is renowned in the diving world for its diverse range of marine life that are common and easy to see here, including white tip sharks, barracuda, and colourful reef fish. Bandos is also blessed with some excellent coral reef surf for the sport watersports enthusiasts amongst you.

The resort of Bandos is officially a 4-star and is currently equipped with 84 standard rooms on the beach front and an additional 19 that are slightly set back. The standard rooms alternate between double and twin bed layout to provide for families, some having ajoining doors which can be locked if you are not sharing ajoining rooms with family or friends.They are nicely furnished with tiled floors and balconies, but you might consider the bathrooms to be on the slightly smaller side. Some of these rooms face westwards into the sunset and are also blessed with one of the best sections of beach.

There are 48 Junior suites on the resort which are stylishly decorated with nice color schemes and solid wood four-posters. I was lucky enough to stay in a Junior suite during my stay and in the section in which I stayed in, the beach was almost completely submerged at high tide. I heard a couple of people complain about this but then these rooms do not cost as much as the Water Bungalows so I personally was very happy, but then I love being right next to the water.

The resort has made a huge effort to accommodate families, with purpose-built childcare facilities and friendly female staff on hand to look after the children.

For couples intending on getting married on Bandos, you will be pleased to know that the resort accommodates you with the “Kuda Bandos Sunset Wedding” which features a taste of traditional island ceremony, a sunset boat ride, unique cultural costumes, Maldivian drums and traditional style and ceremony. The wedding ceremony is held on the beach of one of the uninhabited islands in the atoll – Kuda Bandos – and is followed by a private cruise for the newlyweds on a Dhoni (Maldivian boat).

Jonathan is an enthusiastic diver and travels frequently to the Maldives to write articles on diving and about the Maldives in general. You can find more information about the Maldives at the Maldives Holiday Packages guide and about the superb diving island resort of Bandos Island Resort in particular.

Bandos had a major face lift in 2005 which extended its accommodation and other facilities. It is a very family orientated resort and so has become popular with a range of age groups.

The look and feel of Bandos is a natural balance between casual and formal, with thatched roofs but fine tiled floors, for example. Some of the rooms in the standard and junior class have an interconnecting door for families split between several rooms.

The bar area and other amenities are well-placed near the water, and the bar is often busy until the early hours of the morning. The restaurants, while not particularly inspiring in their decor, do serve a range of quality dishes.

The resort has made a huge effort to accommodate families, which is not common on a lot of the other islands, with a purpose-built childcare facility complete with female staff on hand to look after the children and provide babysitting in the evenings. Visitors with young children need to be aware that the lagoon tends to deepen quite quickly so be careful when allowing you kids in or near the lagoon.

There are 84 standard rooms which affront the beach and an additional 19 that are not at the beach side. These alternate between double and twin bed layout to provide for families. There are also 48 circular-shaped luxurious Beach villas and 48 Junior suites.

Bandos is without doubt one of the focal points of diving in the Maldives, not least since it is one of the few resorts to actually have a decompression chamber. The dive center here is both a Platinum Facility of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers and a PADI Gold Palm Resort.

The Bandos resort provides a ?Kuda Bandos Sunset Wedding? for those getting married, which features a taste of traditional island ceremony, a sunset boat ride, unique cultural costumes, Maldivian drums and traditional style and ceremony.