6 steps to Maldives

With Mini Mathur TV anchor and travel show host

With Mini Mathur TV anchor and travel show host

Start saving, now!
You need to save up for a couple of years (or months depending on your income), since the concept of an economy hotel doesn't exist here. Even the least expensive places are sure to cost you about $800 a night. So, it makes more sense to go all out and stay in a plush lagoon villa, that stands on the water instead of on the island.

Learn swimming
This is one of the best places to go diving. It defeats the purpose if you are going there just to loll on the beach. Learn swimming if you have to, but stay and get your diving certificate. As beautiful as the beach is, there is no point in being there if you aren't experiencing the 2,830 m of visibility from under.


Mini Mathuru00a0

No nightlife here
You don't go to the Maldives to party and hit nightclubs. The only thing you could try is, perhaps, a night dive. I did a night dive on a full moon night and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It was eerily beautiful. All the brilliantly-coloured fish come out, especially the ones that hide during the day. It's surreal.

Forget shopping
As you might have figured by now, Maldives isn't a great place to shop. Bring everything you need with you and if you're addicted to any special thing, carry it along. You don't want to be flying back to India to buy your favourite cigarettes. It's a place you come to for the sun, sand and sea, not goodies.

Ditch the spas
Stand barefoot on the sand for a pedicure and swim for a mineral bath. The place is beautifully pure, clean and refreshing. Just being there feels like you are at a spa. Do bring friends or a date with you. No singles bars and no nightlife means you are short on social life.