Mehrtägige Haldingtour durch die Malediven

This tour was an awesome mix of adventure, cultural insights and loads of fun. Big thanks to Ruth who didn’t tire of our emails back and forth, always super quick to respond to every query and made sure all our requirements were met. The itinerary was nice and varied and incorporated activities like exploring the stunning islands of Hulhumale, Guraidhoo, Maafushi and Gulhi, informative walking tours and generous time for water activities. The beaches and marine life really are a sight to behold, simply breathtaking. Staying in local properties in some of the less-touristy islands and contributing positively to the community and local economy was a highlight for me. Kudos to our guide, Shark who was not only an experienced tour leader but also an amazing human being. Shark is passionate about his country and culture and his enthusiasm for promoting local tourism is inspiring. Through his lens as a local, a traveller and an artist we were able to get some cultural, social and political context of the Maldives, and a sense of appreciation for island life beyond the usual perspective from pretty pictures of fancy resorts. It was also a treat to be in the company of someone who loves being in the water as much as we do. His expertise in navigating the islands and keen sense of safety in the water meant that we found ourselves in some of the nicest locations for our snorkelling adventures. Thank you Shark for the positive vibes, great times and belly laughs, we are truly grateful. As an avid wanderer of our beautiful planet, it is important for me to support local companies who promote Sustainable and Responsible tourism, so it is encouraging to see that Secret Paradise implements community-minded business practices, including providing guests environmental awareness in the protection of the coral reefs and marine ecosystems. I was naturally delighted to have had the opportunity to participate in community-focussed conservation programs such as tree planting and observing the responsible collection and disposal of our plastic wastes throughout the duration of the tour. I am aware that Secret Paradise has other conservation programs and collaboration with NGOs and I just want to say thank you for the great work you guys! It was an absolute joy to deal with the Secret Paradise team and I would not hesitate to use them again for more beautiful island hopping hopefully in the near future.

In 5 amiche ci siamo fidate delle ottime recensioni sul tour da parte di altri turisti e abbiamo prenotato la proposta di viaggio di secretparadise: NON AVREMMO POTUTO FARE SCELTA MIGLIORE! L'accoglienza, l'organizzazione, l'attenzione al turista hanno superato tutte le aspettative. Un ringraziamento speciale va a Camej, la nostra fantastica guida, che ci ha travolto con il suo entusiasmo e professionalità. torneremo presto a trovarvi per fare con voi ancora altre positive esperienze.

We visited for 10 days in December 2022. Our guide was Shark and he is a knowledgeable and very good guide. We got along famously. We arrived at the airport in Male on 24 Dec and our first night we booked at the Sun Siyam Olhuveli resort. This was good because after travelling for about 20 hours we were tired. Shark met us at the airport and although our tour with Secret Paradise only started on the 25th we were met by Shark at the airport on arrival. He assisted with meeting the boat to the resort, getting a sim card for connecting and communication via whatsup as well as changing USD to Maldivian Rufiyaa. We took about USD50 per day that we were there and it was sufficient for our needs. Most places it is possible to pay with creditcards, but we always prefer to have local currency also available. Day 1: On arrival back from the Resort the next afternoon at about 17:00 Shark met us again at the airport and took us to Planktons Beach Hotel in Hlumale. After briefing us we were free to go and have dinner and we made arrangements to meet the next morning. Day 2: We went for a walking tour in Male and Shark showed us some of the local places to do shopping. After lunch we took a 2 hour ferry trip to Guraidhoo were we stayed for 3 nights. We stayed at the Guraidhoo Palm Inn. It is a very basic accomodation. The room had a fridge and aircon. There was no toiletries (soap, shampoo, bodywash). The rooms is not serviced or cleaned daily. Breakfast was served at another guesthouse. In Guraidoo we met Allie. He and Shark showed us around the island and we had dinner with a local family. It was very nice and the food were great. That evening we saw the Plankton on the beach. If you walk on it, it turns metallic blue. Day 3 started with breakfast and then we went snorkeling for the first time at the house reef. This is a way for the guide to check how comfortable you are in the water. Marius and I are used to snorkeling. Shark, I think did not really belief me when I told him I am used to swimming long distances because I am big and just came out of hospital after a major operation. I surprised him when we went snorkeling. We saw a lot of lovely fishes. The rest of the day went to swim at the bikini beach and late afternoon it was time for hedika. What a lovely tradition. Dinner was at a local restaurant. Day 4 was basically snorkeling and the evening was a bbq dinner on the beach. We saw a big school of dolphins on our way back after snorkeling. We also planted 4 trees as part of the saving the environment project that Secret Paradis is involved in. Day 5 we transferred to Mafuusi. On arrival we were advised that our accomodation was upgraded. We were supposed to sleep 2 nights in a Guesthouse and then 2 nights in a Delux Ocean View room at the Triton Prestige Hotel. The guesthouse is part of the Triton group. We were however upgraded to a room with a jacuzzi on the 6th floor of the Triton Prestige Hotel for the full 4 days of our stay there. Thank you so much for this. It was really great. After checking in at the hotel we went snorkeling at 2 different site and had lunch on a sandbank. Day six (Friday which is equivalent to our sunday, we spent swimming at the bikini beach and at the swimming pool on the 8th floor of the hotel just relaxing. Day seven we visited the island of Guhli. We saw some beautifal birds and tasted some tried fish. It tasted like biltong and is different than the dried bokkoms that we get here on the West Coast of South Africa. It is just as salty but hard. Lunch was at a guesthouse. We had red snapper fish to share and they also gave us a white snapper to taste. We did some snorkeling and Marius also tried out the jetski. The water was very shallow but we did manage to snorkel and saw a lobster under a corral. The evening there was a New Years Eve dinner and entertainment on the beach that the hotel arranged. There was also some fireworks. We could see the fireworks also on the nearby islands and resorts. Day eight we had a day off to do as we wish. The evening we had a dinner on the beach to celebrate my birthday. I even got a cake. Day nine we transferred back the afternoon to Male airport to return home. What really impressed us was the following: 1. Every island we have has a school and hospital. I had to get some eyedrops and the facilities at the hospital in Guraidhoo was top class. 2. The streets, although it is dirt road, are clean and there is no beggards. 3. It is peaceful and people seem to mind their own business. 4. We saw nobody misbehave and I think this is due to the strict policies of not allowing any alcohol on the islands. In Guiradhoo and Mafuusi there is plenty of shops to buy souvenirs as well as cooldrinks and other snacks. They take USD and local currency. Change is mainly given in local currency at the shops. The restaurants do give change in USD. Maafuusi is more focused on tourism. I did not like the beach there because it was full of coral in the shallow water. In Guraidhoo and Guhli there was sand on the bottom of water on the beaches. Weather was perfect. The last 2 days there was a bit of wind blowing. There was not much humidity. It was definitely less than the humidity on the North Coast of Kwazulu Natal here in SA. Our favorite drink was the fresh fruit juices that is available at all the restaurants. Marius loved the watermelon juice and my favorite was the pineapple juice. I would really like to thank firstly Ruth for her organising the trip. There was many emails going between us during the planning stages. Secondly for Shark being such a great guide. If possible we would like to return and see more of the Maldive. Especially the more northern islands where Shark comes form and what we heard a lot about. We really enjoyed our trip.