Best way to fly Australia to Maldives

[Deleted member 29185]

I'm copying over some posts in an alternate thread, discussing MLE options.

Any advice re:best flight times, carriers, fares that you may have, please feel free to add them.

FYI, I received a reply from Conrad Maldives about updated pricing for the sea plane transfer. "The cost for return seaplane or domestic transfer for this year is US$507.60 per adult , and children below 12 years will get 50% discount." So Swanning_it I thoroughly recommend as I do, to contact Conrad and ask to pre purchase these flights. A) Eliminate currency exchange rate risk (I do reckon AUD is going to go down in value this year), B) Avoid the likely price hike by them. It is likely oil price will head north again and then they will want to flog you on a fuel surcharge!. 3rd visit for me to Conrad Maldives, these tickets started out at $430 back in March 2010. $460 in Dec 2011. So you see which direction it goes . In fairness, they did rise in 2011, then 2012 the GST successively so this is probably a fair chunk of the cost.

Many thanks for the heads up. I haven't booked the stay yet, but most likely will do soon.

Anyone have any info on their transfer times? Not sure how to get there from SIN as MH is my preferred carrier but they don't get in until 10pm...
So should I fly in the following day on Sri Lankan or SQ instead and spend the night somewhere else?

Hi Cynicor, I've done some reading on the matter. Google Conrad Maldives on Flyertalk and you'll find this 300 page thread if you want more info! If you land after 5pm, you'll need to overnight at Male. The airport hotel is an OK place to stay overnight, but its quite expensive ($300+). The following day, you will seaplane it to the Island.

For this very reason, I'll be taking the 10am Singapore flight, even through I'll have to spend a night in Singapore, rather than do the later flight and arrive in Male and overnight it there.

Hi Cynicor, I was studying how to do this better then my last 2 trips and a "cheaper" hotel option when flying via SQ and using their timetables to my advantage before I changed to RTW with QF. I recommend to overnight in Singapore in the airport hotel (no customs exit required). Catch the first morning flight out. The hotels in Male I have stayed in were the Hulule and Traders, both good but very expensive for a short overnight sleep. Also with SQ, I recommend you end your stay on a Sunday, get the afternoon flight out rather than the 22;40. Earlier flight meant direct connection through to Adelaide that night at 23.30. However, we did do the overnight flight arriving 7am, all day sight seeing before late night flight back to Adelaide. As I can't sleep on planes, I was a complete zombie by 1pm in downtown Singapore. So plus and minus with everything.

Thanks guys. I saw some article about night transfers to the Conrad but wasn't sure what the latest was.

MH is out as far as going there is concerned so that leaves Sri Lankan and SQ to get there. Sri Lankan business class is pretty cheap, only around 1500 return for 2 people but I'm not sure what they are like. SQ is around 4.4k so not worth it for 4.5 hours.

Last option is SQ or Sri Lankan there and MH home, as I was going to close my last Sin-Per return and start a Kul-Per return... Too many choices sometimes.

 

[Pushka]

Sorry, I'm reading on an iPhone and those quotes are too small for me to read but we flew SQ to Singapore and Silk to Maldives. Truly beautiful and as blue as the pictures suggest. We then took a small water plane out to our resort which was simply an amazing flight.

See my Avatar!

We couldn't believe the number of tattooed Brits that were there. Not the men, but the women. We would take turns at guessing on which part of their body the big black tatt was when they arrived. Then they'd strip off into a teensy bikini and we'd know.

 

[Alanslegal]

If you're a *A fan then SYD-SIN-MLE with SQ or a OW fan then SYD-KUL-MLE with MH

 

[Deleted member 29185]

If you're a *A fan then SYD-SIN-MLE with SQ or a OW fan then SYD-KUL-MLE with MH

I was toying with Bangkok Air BKK-MLE but then not sure about BNE-BKK. Always a lot to consider!

 

[burmans]

We would take turns at guessing on which part of their body the big black tatt was when they arrived. Then they'd strip off into a teensy bikini and we'd know.

Life is hard sometimes!

 

[Aussie_flyer]

SQ. pretty simple

 

[Alanslegal]

I was toying with Bangkok Air BKK-MLE but then not sure about BNE-BKK. Always a lot to consider!

I think Bangkok Airways flies directly from MLE to HKT or USM .... I was looking at that option too From one beach to another beach

We flew SQ to MLE and MH to KUL on our visit back in 2011, so whatever works best for yourself I guess.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I think Bangkok Airways flies directly from MLE to HKT or USM ....

xBKK I think.

 

[yohy?!]

SQ - Lifemiles

 

[Deleted member 29185]

SQ seems to be coming across strongly, even without taking alliances into consideration.

 

[Pushka]

It has probably changed but the flight to Singapore left around 1am. I have never been involved in such a crush of people boarding a plane as it was on that flight. No queue just a mass of people trying to get through one small gate.

 

[Neeraj]

We did SQ MEL SIN MLE for our honeymoon...good service and connection times. That was a few years ago though.

 

[hummel]

MLE seem's a lot easier to get to than BOB on points!

 

[NM]

Maldives logistics

I am working on a plan for a brief stay in the Maldives using a combination of AAdvantage miles to get the (using MH of course) and various hotel points.

The MH flight to MLE arrives late at night (around 10pm), which I assume is too late to arrange speed-boat transfers to any of the resort islands. So I am assuming we will need to stay in Malé for at least the first night. Does anyone have any experience with such logistics?

I also assume the airport ferry will be operating from the airport island to Malé to match the late night arrival of the MH flight. I am considering booking the first night at the Traders (formerly Holiday Inn) at Malé. Its a shame its not still a HI since I have plenty of Priority Club points. The hotel information states they provide complementary transfers to/from the airport. This hotel appears to be located close to the "jetties" that I assume is where we are likely to get transfer boat to the resort islands. Or do these transfers operate directly from the airport ferry terminal?

The resort hotels all provide speedboat transfers - for a fee. We are considering sharing our time between two different resort islands, partly so we don't get bored with dining and activity options, partly so we are not locking into one place in case it does not live up to the "brochure" and partly to use points from multiple loyalty programs. So we will need to transfer from one resort to another part way through the stay. So will that require a return to Malé and then off to the second resort, or will we be able to arrange a direct transfer from one to another? The fee for transfers seems very high - typically US$120+ per adult. Granted the distance from Malé to some of the islands is considerable (40 mins in some cases) compared with Malé <-> MLE, but a local water taxi service from Malé to MLE costs US$1. So I am wondering if there is a more economical way to arrange transfers to/from/between resort islands.

All hotel/resort costs seem to be quoted in US$, but the official currency is Rufiyaa. I assume that all costs on the resort islands will be charged to a room account and hence settled upon check-out with credit card. What is recommended regarding carrying some Rufiyaa when in Malé and on the resort islands? Or just US$? I normally rely on local ATMs to obtain local currency - is that workable strategy for Malé and/or the resort islands? I don't want to be caught out by rip-off exchange rates offered as a "service" by a hotel reception desk. I expect will be arriving late on a Sunday night, staying in Malé and transferring Monday to a resort island, so could visit a local bank or currency exchange service in Malé before leaving the main island.

Upon departing, again the MH flight is late at night, so we will need to check out from the resort island and transfer back to Malé as late as possible, then fill in some time waiting for the 10:45pm departure. Any suggestions on how to deal with luggage between arriving back on Malé and check-in opening at MLE (I assume no earlier than 8:30pm). It would be nice to find somewhere for dinner at Malé before heading to the airport.

Any other things I need to consider?

 

[Keith009]

Re: Maldives logistics

* Speedboats do operate late at night. We arrived on the same MH flight back in April last year and were taken by speedboat to the Sheraton where we spent the night prior to transferring to the W. The seaplanes used to only operate until 1600 but unconfirmed reports have suggested that they too now operate at night. I'd go straight to the resort rather than doing a needless overnight - and the hotels around MLE are overpriced for what they are and nothing to shout about anyway.

* Traders' seemed to be incredibly popular with people we met at the W who required an overnight like us or a dayroom whilst waiting for late departures out of MLE. I've not stayed there but heard good reports. Despite all the talk about political turmoil in Male none of them experienced anything out of the ordinary.

* It's a bit of a faff transfering between resorts and it is via the airport as you describe especially if they're far apart. We had to transfer between Sheraton and W via the airport even though they're sister properties - but the transfer was handled very seamlessly by staff of both resorts and we didn't have to do any of the 'legwork' by ourselves - all coordinated and organised. The 2 are very far apart - Sheraton is near the airport whereas the W is a 20-30mins flight away by seaplane so we had to go back to the seaplane jetty at MLE. It may be possible to transfer directly under certain circumstances - maybe between 2 resorts which are associated in some way with each other. Alternatively anything seems possible in Maldives for a fee so you could ask your concierge about the possibility of a direct transfer but be prepared to be ripped off (some resorts charged a $5000 fee for guests who wanted to visit 15 Below at the W, then one of the few (or only?) nightclubs in the Maldives, by speedboat - even then the actual nightclub wasn't even that exciting!). We never got bored of the F&B options and scenery at W then again the goal of the trip was to visit the W itself. Maybe pick a resort with lots of F&B options? The Conrad is a popular choice amongst friends and seem to be known for its vast array of F&B choices.

* As far as I'm aware, all the resorts charge in USD. We never needed any local currency. Tipping is also acceptable in USD - we carried around a small amount of USD for tips. Everything else was charged to our room at the W - even our night at the Sheraton. We never needed cash for anything else. Also, ensure that the cost of transfers (whether speedboat or seaplane) can be charged to your room - some hotels do not have a direct billing relationship with the various operators and people have reported that they're required to separately pay the operator in cash.

* You may want to try the airport hotel down the road. Or maybe a dayroom somewhere in Male. The speedboats are more flexible than the seaplanes so you may wish to consider a resort that will permit a speedboat transfer - some hotels will allow you to linger around until your departure for MLE. If the seaplanes are in fact operating longer hours this may cease to be an issue. The W organised seaplane transfers according to individual flight schedules but this is dependent on availability. Some people were left with very long gaps between their seaplane transfer back to MLE and scheduled flight departure. Back when we were there, the seaplanes operated no later than 1600 each day and we managed to get a 1515 departure, leaving us with a 4 hour wait in the terminal - we were too lazy to muck around with Trader's or the airport hotel so simply sat around the airport with a good book or 2 until the MH flight opened for check in (approx 3 hours before from memory). We were also able to utilise late check out and use an alternative villa (as other people were checking into our Ocean Oasis) at no extra charge despite only being SPG Gold. MH uses a rather decent lounge in MLE btw - no booze due to local liquor laws (but rest assured that uninhabited islands where the resorts are located are exempt from this ban).

Also do carefully consider the weight of your luggage (all luggage - both checked and carry on). They can't exceed a specified limit of which I can't remember now (was in the W's res confirmation) or they'll need to arrive separately. No such issues here so assuming you aren't a kitchen sink traveler like me you should be right.

Hope this helps! Pls feel free to ask any questions.

 

[aliens]

We went diving in Maldives after Sri Lanka. It was okay and we stayed on a live aboard but I think staying on those resorts looks very boring and isolated with nothing to do. Booze is tricky to get and expensive.
Sri Lanka on the other hand is wonderful so rich in history and culture and plenty to do as well as wonderful beaches and very few tourists. I would not waste my time going all the way to Maldives when we have better stuff in the South Pacific and much less flying. Just my 2 cents for anyone planning to go there in the future.

 

[NM]

Re: Maldives logistics

Thanks for your inputs, Keith. Much appreciated and enlightening.

* Speedboats do operate late at night. We arrived on the same MH flight back in April last year and were taken by speedboat to the Sheraton where we spent the night prior to transferring to the W. The seaplanes used to only operate until 1600 but unconfirmed reports have suggested that they too now operate at night. I'd go straight to the resort rather than doing a needless overnight - and the hotels around MLE are overpriced for what they are and nothing to shout about anyway.

I assume the night at the Sheraton was because you could get there at night via speedboat, but could not get to W at night due to seaplanes not operating. Both resorts I am considering use speedboat transfers, not seaplane.

* Traders' seemed to be incredibly popular with people we met at the W who required an overnight like us or a dayroom whilst waiting for late departures out of MLE. I've not stayed there but heard good reports. Despite all the talk about political turmoil in Male none of them experienced anything out of the ordinary.

They are asking US$300/night at Traders, which is significantly overpriced, so if we can go straight to the resort island then that is a much better options, especially since we will be using points for the resort stays.

* ... MH uses a rather decent lounge in MLE btw - no booze due to local liquor laws (but rest assured that uninhabited islands where the resorts are located are exempt from this ban).

I was not expecting a lounge at all, so is good to know there is one.

Also do carefully consider the weight of your luggage (all luggage - both checked and carry on). They can't exceed a specified limit of which I can't remember now (was in the W's res confirmation) or they'll need to arrive separately. No such issues here so assuming you aren't a kitchen sink traveler like me you should be right.

I assume this restriction is due to the seaplane transfers and hence will not apply to speedboat transfers???

Hope this helps! Pls feel free to ask any questions.

Very helpful. Thanks. I just wish the W was able to be part of the agenda. But also they have "limited" participation in SPG program and hence not available via points. So the Sheraton Full Moon is where we will be "banished", probably for 3 nights (not bad value at just under 65K points).

 

[NM]

We went diving in Maldives after Sri Lanka. It was okay and we stayed on a live aboard but I think staying on those resorts looks very boring and isolated with nothing to do. Booze is tricky to get and expensive.
Sri Lanka on the other hand is wonderful so rich in history and culture and plenty to do as well as wonderful beaches and very few tourists. I would not waste my time going all the way to Maldives when we have better stuff in the South Pacific and much less flying. Just my 2 cents for anyone planning to go there in the future.

With MH joining OneWorld, getting to MLE using AAdvantage miles is very simple. We are actually looking for somewhere "boring" in the sense that we just want to relax, spend time reading, walking along a nice beach, a little snorkeling, a massage or two, and some nice meals, without the distractions of our usual lifestyle. So while there are many places we could do this, Maldives seemed like an interesting place to celebrate an almost-significant wedding anniversary, including business class flights available using miles (during what I expected to a peak busy time) and accommodation using points.

I was tossing up between Maldives and Langkawi for this trip. Langkawi remains on my "list". But for the "significant number" coming up next year (both in terms of birthdays and anniversaries) we may head to Venice or somewhere else in Europe.

 

[Pushka]

I don't recall alcohol to be difficult to get in The Maldives. On a resort it is readily available. As far as boring goes, it is everything you make it. I would snorkel every day, wind surf, sail, read, canoe, and was never bored.

Many of the islands have a lounge while waiting for a water taxi (plane).

 

[Keith009]

Re: Maldives logistics

Sorry for some unclear wording there... this is what happens when you're trying to type in a hurry at lunch!

I assume the night at the Sheraton was because you could get there at night via speedboat, but could not get to W at night due to seaplanes not operating. Both resorts I am considering use speedboat transfers, not seaplane.

Correct. We had to overnight at the Sheraton due to seaplane not operating. If we could go to the W directly we would have but at the time seaplanes did not operate past 1600. The Sheraton was a decent place for the price (US$300 inclusive of brekky and speedboat transfers - apparently a special price for people overnighting there for the W) - we paid for the cheapest category of rooms as it was just an overnight and so no flash overwater villas or anything but we still had a beachfront room with a small terrace and direct access to the beach albeit with a view of Male.

They are asking US$300/night at Traders, which is significantly overpriced, so if we can go straight to the resort island then that is a much better options, especially since we will be using points for the resort stays.

Yep, though for context this is the Maldives after all. From memory the dreary looking airport hotel was even more expensive and therefore even more of a rip off. So if you could go to the resort directly that's what I would do.

I was not expecting a lounge at all, so is good to know there is one.

Note it's not a oneworld lounge so you'll only get in if departing MH in Business or have the appropriate MH status. OWE won't get you in. Officially anyway.

I assume this restriction is due to the seaplane transfers and hence will not apply to speedboat transfers???

Yes, sorry the weight restrictions only apply to seaplanes. Speedboats don't have to take off.

Also, have you considered the Conrad? Not sure which loyalty programs you're using but it seems a popular choice if you're looking for a more varied F&B scene and can do without the faff of transferring between resorts - I assume having more variety of F&B is a driver for changing resorts as the hassle isn't really worth whatever points optimization you're hoping to achieve..

Another consideration is the MH schedules which were pretty poor for MEL-MLE and caused a suboptimal connection at KUL (either another forced overnight or a 17 hour wait) but we simply booked a side trip to BKK prior to heading to MLE. I've not checked but hopefully they're better ex-BNE where you're based.

Re aliens' point about having nothing to do - that's precisely the objective of going to somewhere like the Maldives. It's a 'relax and do nothing' type place. The Maldives appealed due to its sheer natural beauty, distance, isolation and the overwater accomodation which is something unique to Maldives (and Bora Bora - but we specifically wanted to tick the W Maldives off our evergrowing list of Ws). I had initial reservations about staying there for 7 nights (8 if you include the forced overnight at Sheraton) as it was my first time at an island resort but after our first night there we didn't want to leave. There were a lot of sporting activities but we didn't get into much of them as all we wanted to do was laze around by the pool or lagoon and enjoy doing nothing other than sipping on fabulous coughtails and snorkelling some. In fact, snorkelling took up a lot of our days - never boring at all no matter how many times we did it. I wanted to scuba dive for the first time but it was vetoed by the OH who said it looked dangerous.... :/ If I wanted to shop for instance I'd have gone somewhere like LA. Similarly the OH would drag me elsewhere for culture - not a culture vulture myself. Booze isn't the horrible rip off I thought it would be - prices not dissimilar to other resorts around the world. No desire to go to Fiji for whatever reason but next on the list for us are the W Koh Samui and Bora Bora.