Four Seasons Maldives, land resort and Explorer Liveaboard
October 2013: Maldives Four Seasons (2 land resorts plus the liveabord Explorer). It was a heck of a trek to get there from San Francisco (10-hour nonstop to London Heathrow, then overnight in England, transfer to Gatwick for another 10-hour flight non-stop to Male in the Maldives, all British Air. (By the way, the BA flights to/from Male were not on BA's newest planes, but were comfortable enough in business class.)
When we arrived in Male, we were greeted by Four Seasons personnel who made everything easy. We had to wait about an hour in a (thankfully air conditioned) lounge for our transit from the Male airport by sea plane to the first resort (Four Seasons at Landaa Giraavaru). By the way, don't bring alcohol (to drink), even in your checked baggage. Customs officials in the Maldives will confiscate your beverages on coming in (though you can get them back on the return), so it's a bit of a hassle.
Once at the resort, we were met by lovely folks who made us comfortable right away (well, after consuming a coconut milk drink, right from the coconut). We had one of their lovely Beach Bungalow with a private pool. The bungalow includes a spacious, luxurious bed/living room and bathroom facilities, a private pool and covered open air hut and its just steps to the beach. We used bicycles to get around, driving on hard-packed sand "roads" between our accommodations, the restaurants and spa. The Blu restaurant overlooking the lagoon (see picture) was open air and especially beautiful with the blue ski and water and lovely white sand.
The Four Seasons live aboard Explorer was by far the most luxurious live aboard I've been on. Our friends had the super-special (and expensive) Explorer Suite, which occupies the entire width of the ship at the bow. Our "ordinary" stateroom was certainly spacious enough, and we enjoyed the large window (not some small porthole). The dive deck was terrific, with lots of room for everyone and their cameras. All diving was done from a traditional wooden Maldivian "dhoni", which took us to the dive sites (never usually more than 10-15 minutes away). We spent four nights at sea, diving twice in the morning and once in the afternoon (and, as I recall, an occasional night dive). One evening we went ashore to an uninhabited island where we had a lovely beach BBQ, sitting at a "table" dug into the nice sandy beach.
After too short a cruise (I could have used another couple of days), we arrived at the other Four Seasons in the Maldives, at Kuda Huraa. This resort is also very nice, but not quite as spiffy as the one at Landaa Giraavaru. Our accommodations were quite nice, and we had no need for bicycles to get to meals or the dive center. I definitely recommend the direction we took, starting from Landaa Giraavaru. This way, you spend four nights on the Explorer, not just three, and can enjoy much of the final day in Kuda Huraa before taking a 30-minute boat ride to the Male airport for your flight home.
As you might expect at a Four Seasons, the service, amenities and dining options on land and at sea were excellent. We had reliable WiFi on land, and a little spotty and slower internet connectivity at sea. In addition to the fantastic spa/massage service at the resorts, it was fun to get a massage on the upper deck of the Explorer after a day's diving.
There were several nice restaurants at both land resorts. The meals were all excellent, and the food was varied. One night at the resorts, we enjoyed a Chinese Buffet and another night there was an Indian Buffet with entertainment. On the Explorer, the options were a little more limited, as you'd guess. Dining was definitely a bit pricey on land (no real surprise), but the meals are included on the Explorer, where the dining was either indoors or on an upper deck, and the chef and crew worked to accommodate our every need.
The weather was warm, not really too hot or humid. We had some amazing downpours, but the rain didn't last long. Some days when we were diving, we didn't have the sunshine an u/w photographer would like, but there was only one day where the wind came up and the seas were too high to go to some of the preferred islands/sites. While at times we could have wished for better viz, the conditions were never challenging. Unfortunately on one dive, the boat drifted off the reef by the time we got in the water. The dive master couldn't find the reef, and we had to abort the dive. The same thing happened on a second attempt at the same site, unfortunately. Generally, though, the crew was excellent, especially pre- and post-dive, even if (at times) too helpful. Unfortunately, some of the crew were new to the venues (mostly on the Explorer) and could have done more/better at spotting the small creatures.
We didn't see the hoped-for whale sharks, but that said, the sea life was great. The coral reefs were in very good condition. We saw schools of manta rays near the surface, nearly breaching at times, and pods and pods of dolphins who put on a great show. Underwater we saw lots of morays of a variety of species. The reef was teeming with the usual critters, including (of course) clown fish and a wide variety of nudibranchs, along with many lion fish (at least they are native to the region). There was a lovely spotted eagle ray and a turtle or two as well.
We'll definitely go back to the Maldives, and the Four Seasons can't be beat.
