North Male Atoll, Vilamendhoo Island Resort

General Comments

I've just dug out some invoices from our last visit to Vilamendhoo in November 2005, and having deducted the fifty dollar doctors bill for lancing my wifes big toe which I'm convinced she bashed purposely on the coral to gain sympathy from the diving instructor, I can't believe we drank that much in three weeks, the final bill was $1800--- ouch.

But when you break it down that's only £43 per day which is not so bad when you consider I was drinking Del-boy cocktails most of the time. That was two years ago and I still get funny looks from the wife even now when the subject comes up, well at least one of us had a good time.

One thing I must warn you about, if the island you choose has a sea plane transfer then remember to take ear plugs with you because the noise in these contraptions is really quite painful

Another thing we learnt from previous visits is the shortage of sun beds so put Li-lo's on your list otherwise you'll be guarding your lounger 24 / 7.

Of course you can always give your room boy a couple of dollars and you'll have more sun beds than you'll know what to do with.

Being a comparatively small island it's easy to make new friends especially during happy hour in the main bar, but if you prefer you can always find peace and quiet at the Sunset bar which has a large seating area on the beach, very relaxing, except on Saturday nights when the band strikes up.

They had an excellent group when we were there and they played real music, the sort that made you want to get up and dance, even guys like me with two left feet could be seen on the floor strutting their stuff. During the week the entertainment is pretty much down to you, I can recommend a brilliant game called "Sequence", we gave it to all our friends last Christmas and they loved it. Crab racing is good fun, even though someone,(no names mentioned) stopped my crab dead in its tracks by casting a shadow over it, a trick she learnt from the bar tender.

The two main reasons why we keep returning to the Maldives, well, three if you count my wife's persistent nagging, is the exquisite marine life, and of course the magnificent beaches, better than any postcards.

Take a couple of cameras with you just in case one goes on the blink, my wife bless her bought me a flexible underwater casing for my video camera, which looked the part, but actually put up quite a fight when I first entered the water. It performed like a buoyancy aid that I could well have done without, I'm sure people on the beach thought I was being attacked by a sea monster, it was like wrestling with a set of transparent bagpipes under your arm.

I did manage to get some great still shots though using the camera just above the surface, but that was on an exceptional day when the sea was flat calm, not even a ripple.

I had the idea of fixing a sheet of clear perspex into the bottom of a plastic bowl, the object being to take photo's through it like a glass bottom boat, and it may well have been a success had I not forgotten to take it.

To sum up, Vilamendhoo certainly ticked all the right boxes for us, but we were lucky to have one of the best positioned bungalows in the resort. So pick the right island and I guarantee you'll be blown away, you won't want to go anywhere else,-- well maybe Fiji or the Galapagos islands, but certainly not the Costa's.

I'm afraid Sangria and the bucket and spade brigade don't do it for me anymore.

Finally wherever you decide to go check the reviews and the Internet rates, I saved a small fortune on the brochure prices by booking on line.

I'm off to Fihalhohi for twenty eight nights soon, its another one of those no news, no shoes islands,-- I can't wait.

P.S. Some extra notes from my trip.

Take the bulk of your spending money in $100 dollar travel cheques

You will need a few $1 & $5 dollar bills for bits and pieces at Male airport (drinks at this airport are expensive) and tipping the boys who carry your cases from the jetty to your room, the usual is $1 dollar a case.

At the end of your holiday its customary to tip your room boy, restaurant waiter, and bar waiter, its up to you what you give them, but the usual is $10 dollars each per week, plus a couple for the beach boy, and don't forget to put aside enough for the airport tax when you return to Male, (it used to be $10 dollars per person but its probably more now)

Leave expensive watches and jewellery at home, and ladies, you won't need half the clothes you think you will, you will however need to take both halves of your bikini/s, topless is not allowed in the Maldives, unfortunately.

Pack a small bag with essentials to take on the seaplane as your main luggage will probably follow by boat and could be delayed, and remember to keep earplugs handy for the seaplane crossing, as its really quite deafening.

Make use of the safe deposit box at reception for securing passports, travel checks, etc. and keep check of your spending, ask to see your balance every couple of days.

If you like a cuppa in the mornings take a travel kettle, teabags, coffee, sweeteners, etc and some plastic cutlery is handy too.

Taking alcohol into the Maldives is prohibited, but we do like to take decent size wine glasses, the high impact unbreakable ones that ' s used for camping are good, but glass ones should survive okay if packed well, and don't forget a bottle opener.

To sit on the beach watching the sun go down in the Maldives is a great experience, but while you're happily sipping your wine watching this natural setting (sorry about the pun) this is the time when the larger crabs crawl out of their burrows, they're quite harmless and fascinating to watch as they clear the sand that collapses into their homes.

If youre accident prone like my wife then you should take at least a basic medical kit, include some anti septic cream as some of the smaller fish do bite, and surgeon fish (aptly named) have razor sharp blades that can inflict minor wounds on your legs especially if you feed them in the shallows, you probably wont feel a thing until these little cuts turn nasty.

While were on the subject of what can eat you while youre splashing around in paradise, the Titan Triggerfish is not a fish to be messed with, he may well attack you when he's guarding his eggs or young, he's been known to take chunks out of divers fins, so I advise you to stay well clear, it may pay you to visit the gift shop where they have a fish guide and check out what this fellow looks like, you can also find him and other dangerous fish on line.

The type of sharks you are likely to encounter inshore and around the reef will not bother you, they are fascinating to watch, we saw five or six Blacktips working as a team rounding up schools of small fish, they spend ages getting themselves into position, then all of a sudden they strike with lightening speed, chasing their prey right out of the water onto the beach, when this happens its best to keep back as they could mistake your toes for a meal.

Morays usually keep hidden and wont use their teeth unless they feel threatened, so if you do come face to face with one don't make any sudden moves towards them.

We had regular visits from a large moray that had the unusual habit of circling the island at the waters edge, at first it was quite intimidating but as we became friends it would take chipolata sausages (don't ask where they came from) from my hand, now on reflection, that really was a stupid thing to do.

I would say snorkelling is one of the main activities on any island that has a house reef and if youve never tried it then you should definitely give it a go.

Its best to take your own equipment with you, it works out cheaper, but what's more important you know the mask and fins will fit properly.

If you have a scuba shop in your area then they will help you make the right choice, and if you wear prescription glasses you could remove the arms from an old pair of distance glasses and fit the lenses into the mask, it may be necessary to pack the sides with rubber or foam to keep them in position but I found it works fine.

Apparently there are masks on the market with lenses of various magnifications but I have not come across them.

So once you get the hang of keeping your face below the water line and breathing through a tube you'll experience an amazing new underwater world.

The usual method to prevent your mask from fogging up is spitting on the inside of the lens but I found using an anti fogging liquid (sold at scuba shops) much better and lasted longer.

Another tip that I was reluctant to try at first is cleaning lenses by rubbing them with a little toothpaste on your finger, rinse under the tap and they come up sparkling.

For the first few days use high factor sun creams and protect your back from the sun by wearing a t-shirt when snorkelling, and when you stop swimming for any length of time its advisable to wash your ears under the shower to prevent infections caused by tiny microbes that inhabit the sea.

Now I haven't tried this, but if mosquitoes bother you, then you could make their life unbearable as apparently they hate Marmite, no, you don't have to cover yourself in it, you take a teaspoonful a day and this releases an odour through your pores which they can't stand.

All the islands we have stayed on in the Maldives carry a library of paperbacks on an exchange basis, so you only need to take just the one book with you.

If you have some of those little cylinders that house 35mm film then they make good containers for all sorts of things, a little washing powder for instance is handy for doing your smalls

Another word of warning, if you are out on the reef snorkelling and you see heavy black clouds coming your way its possible a storm could break, don't be misled by the warm rain, as soon as the wind picks up head for the shore, you don't want to get caught in a downpour when youre too far out.

If you lose sight of land for any length of time you will become completely disorientated, and believe me thats not funny.

The sun drops below the horizon early in the evening so inevitably when you leave the bar it will be pitch black, so a torch could help you from breaking your neck falling over everything trying to remember where you left your bungalow.