Maldives...Anyone?

[MusicalMan]

Hi Everyone
So myself and my wife have decided that next year we will take a nice holiday. We decided on the Maldives
We found an all-inclusive package for about R26k - Without the all inclusive, it's around R15k.
Is the all-inclusive add on really worth it?

Does anyone have experience with this?
I don't want to leave out the all-inclusive only to find that drinks are extremely expensive



Thanks

 

[SYNERGY]

It's really worth it for any Island getaway.

 

[MaisonP]

Depends at which resort you go to. Also, don't expect a water villa for that price.

you will probably also not have a full Seaview for that price. Maldives is the most expensive of all 3 islands.

Maldives is amazing, but some resorts are better than others. It totally depends what your after.

 

[Dubai]

Hi Everyone
So myself and my wife have decided that next year we will take a nice holiday. We decided on the Maldives
We found an all-inclusive package for about R26k - Without the all inclusive, it's around R15k.
Is the all-inclusive add on really worth it?

Does anyone have experience with this?
I don't want to leave out the all-inclusive only to find that drinks are extremely expensive



Thanks

How many star hotel?
And which period you travelling?

 

[Naks]

The difference is 9K - it's very easy to run up that kind of bill in the Maldives, booze is not cheap at the resorts. E.g., a bottle of Veuve is anywhere between $150-200.

Also, have a look at the fine print of the AI, and be mindful of the exclusions.

 

[MusicalMan]

Thanks everyone
This is the package:

The best hotel deals & holiday packages | Holiday Factory

Holiday Factory provides quality service to our customers by recruiting a professional team and providing custom-designed hotel deals and holiday packages.

www.holidayfactory.co.za

Are you allowed to do things like bringing a drink back to your room?
Can you safely have a cocktail on the beach?

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

so if you were going to do it on the cheap, is it better to buy everything separately, or go for one of the package holidays?
is there a way to Win with one of those Holidays? AirBNB maybe?

 

[duckgray]

Hi Everyone
So myself and my wife have decided that next year we will take a nice holiday. We decided on the Maldives
We found an all-inclusive package for about R26k - Without the all inclusive, it's around R15k.
Is the all-inclusive add on really worth it?

Does anyone have experience with this?
I don't want to leave out the all-inclusive only to find that drinks are extremely expensive



Thanks

yes, you must get all inclusive. you're stuck on an island resort for 7 days and when i say an island i mean an island which takes about 7 minutes to walk across the full diameter. you have no other option but to eat and drink at their restaurants and bars. since it's theirs, they have full control of all of the prices and charge a fortune for everything.

i was there in 2018 and went for the all inclusive. no regrets. had a look at the bar menu, cocktails were about $25 on average and at the restaurant the average menu item price was about $50.

 

[Sepeng]

Yeah only you can decide if it's worth it based on how much you guys drink and all that. I think it also includes lunch, while typically half board excludes this.
We do it normally, especially with kids.
Many good deals to be had these days, so good luck.

 

[duckgray]

Thanks everyone
This is the package:

The best hotel deals & holiday packages | Holiday Factory

Holiday Factory provides quality service to our customers by recruiting a professional team and providing custom-designed hotel deals and holiday packages.

www.holidayfactory.co.za

Are you allowed to do things like bringing a drink back to your room?
Can you safely have a cocktail on the beach?

this is the resort that i stayed at. make sure you get a beach room if you aren't getting a water villa.

there are about 4/5 bars scattered around the island and we would walk around with our drinks, float in the pool or sea with the drinks and take it back to the bar. they had no issues with that.

 

["D"]

It's really worth it for any Island getaway.

Depends on the person, really. Some people just want a volleyball during their staycation/visit.

 

[Crayons]

That's cheap, I'll pay for our trip if we get to have a threesome @46Female @EMAM .

 

[EMAM]

That's cheap, I'll pay for our trip if we get to have a threesome @46Female @EMAM .

Please stop using me and him in the same sentence
Ktx

 

[grok]

As it so happens, my brother & his wife are there right now. They are ex-South African naturalized Swiss now, decided they needed a break so they flew in over the weekend. I don't have details about what it cost or where they staying I just know they absolutely love the place and try & go there once a year as they are avid divers, sunbathers, cocktail drinkers, relaxers and whatnot

Pity Facebook is down else I could post photos lol

 

[Pegasus]

Hi Everyone
So myself and my wife have decided that next year we will take a nice holiday. We decided on the Maldives
We found an all-inclusive package for about R26k - Without the all inclusive, it's around R15k.
Is the all-inclusive add on really worth it?

Does anyone have experience with this?
I don't want to leave out the all-inclusive only to find that drinks are extremely expensive



Thanks

It's per person. so that would be starting at R52000...

I'd suggest Phuket if you want an Island holiday.

Phuket opens to all vaccinated travellers | Business

Fully vaccinated travellers from any country can now book holidays to tourism haven Phuket, the Thai government has announced.

www.news24.com

There's plenty to do and see, plus most things are half price for us.

I paid R30 000 a few years ago for 8 days, and 2 people.
Used Flight centre.

Phuket Holidays | Packages | Deals | Flight Centre

Explore the island of Phuket with our wide-range of Holiday Packages. Book with Flight Centre's Travel Experts today.

www.flightcentre.co.za

The prices are still good.

For my next trip, I'd add a couple of days in Singapore, Vietnam of Phi Phi Island.


Bed and breakfast is good enough there, because most of the time you'll be out and about. Street food is affordable and good.

 

[MusicalMan]

It's per person. so that would be starting at R52000...

I'd suggest Phuket if you want an Island holiday.

Phuket opens to all vaccinated travellers | Business

Fully vaccinated travellers from any country can now book holidays to tourism haven Phuket, the Thai government has announced.

www.news24.com

There's plenty to do and see, plus most things are half price for us.

I paid R30 000 a few years ago for 8 days, and 2 people.
Used Flight centre.

Phuket Holidays | Packages | Deals | Flight Centre

Explore the island of Phuket with our wide-range of Holiday Packages. Book with Flight Centre's Travel Experts today.

www.flightcentre.co.za

The prices are still good.

For my next trip, I'd add a couple of days in Singapore, Vietnam of Phi Phi Island.


Bed and breakfast is good enough there, because most of the time you'll be out and about. Street food is affordable and good.

Thanks
Would you recommend an all-inclusive add-on for Phuket?
We have been known to knock back quite a few while on holiday if that helps answer the question...

 

[MaisonP]

Thanks
Would you recommend an all-inclusive add-on for Phuket?
We have been known to knock back quite a few while on holiday if that helps answer the question...

Phuket or any other island in thailand full board over Maldives.

You will get so much more value for your money there vs Maldives.

 

[HumanShield]

All-inclusive would typically include three meals a day, water activities and drinks which includes alcohol. If you and the wife are big drinkers and adventure people then all-inclusive is the way to go. Keep in mind to keep costs down, they use the cheapest vodka and gins to mix the cocktails for the all-inclusive packages. If you're not big drinkers and you just like to chill on the beach and partake in the occasional water activity then go full board. You get the meals and water is usually included, but you can order drinks/cocktails with the better gin/vodka. Some resorts include snorkelling as part of the full board package. Also, even if it's all-inclusive you will still have to pay the cost to hire the equipment.

 

[Voicy]

All inclusive sounds like the way to go.

I've been to the Maldives 3 times so far on dive trips - always on liveaboard boats, so I can't comment much on what the resorts offer, but we do travel between a bunch of them to different dive sites and the quality differs A LOT!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Scooby_Doo]

How likely are you to eat/drink outside of the resort?