Maldives

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IT HAD BEEN A DREAM of mine for many, many years – and when my 60th birthday loomed I decided it was time it came true. I went to the Maldives. A week in this paradise can cost anything from £4,000 a couple to £49,000 and, with 1,200 tiny islands grouped in 26 coral atolls to choose from, deciding exactly where to go can be a dilemma.

Our budget of £2,000 each at least made the choice easier and, breaking our limit by £500, my husband and I decided on an all-inclusive package to Chaaya Lagoon Hakuraa Huraa resort.

We flew with Emirates from Manchester, changing in Dubai. Waiting in the immigration queue at Male airport, the gateway to the Maldives, we seemed to be the only ones still sweating. We stood in our Manchester clothes while the French and Italians looked tastefully cool and chic and were, of course, carrying their own diving gear.

At last we were whisked off in a coach to the seaplane dock to wait for our Maldivian air taxi, and we were able to relax. As we watched seaplanes soaring in and out, with the sun shining above a sparkling blue sea, it felt as if the holiday had begun.

Barefoot uniformed pilots welcomed us aboard a De Havilland Twin Otter, making us feel like extras in an Indiana Jones movie. The plane revved up and another barefooted guy loosened the ropes, tucked them away and climbed in as we started to move, heading for Meemu Atoll, 45 minutes away.

Exactly as Portrayed

It was amazing to look down over crystal-clear blue sea and see all the islands dotted about, the white sand and, most exciting of all, the stilted water bungalows.

We landed on the sea and coasted to a pontoon and the barefoot guy leapt out to tie up the plane.

Escorted along the jetty in the hot sun with a wonderful breeze blowing, and looking at the pale green lagoon, we felt we really had landed in paradise.

Even in paradise, though, there is still that awful ‘new arrival’ feeling: us all pale and uncomfortable, while everyone else was looking brown, settled and established – and wearing the right clothes.

We booked in at reception – no patterned carpet or tiles here, just sand – and checked out the restaurant which was spacious, airy and spotlessly clean.

The short walk to our bungalow took us along a sandy path and across a bridge above exotic marine life. We were thrilled to see a moray eel while other highlights were two stingrays, one more than 6ft across, a baby reef shark and an octopus.

Exactly as portrayed in the brochure, the bungalow was light and spacious with a huge bed, crisp white linen, chunky wooden furniture and a glass floor panel that gave us a view of a big black fish living underneath, whom we named Billy.

Glass doors led on to a deck with wooden sunbeds covered by comfy mattresses. Water lapped at the steps and the view was nothing but sea and faraway islands. Heaven.

Settled into a Blissful Routine

After a delicious lunch we did a tour of our island. Wandering through the lush vegetation on sandy paths, we found the gym, spa, badminton court, hammocks, children’s play area, coffee bar, windsurfing boards, canoes and a single pedalo.

The resort has 80 bungalows, some on the water, some on the beach, and can accommodate up to 200 people. What seemed like hordes of new people would arrive regularly on the jetty but the resort was never crowded.

The bar was built over the sea at the end of the jetty. There would be live music or a DJ there most nights – but the highlight for us was the crab racing.

Hermit crabs with numbers painted on their shells are released to race from the middle to the edge of a circle. Ours, number 19, lost in the final. We saw him walking along the beach the next day.

We settled easily into a blissful routine. We didn’t have to wear shoes or – thanks to our all-inclusive deal – carry money. The package was excellent, with quality drinks and exceptional food. Our chef, Gamini Thambugala, invited guests to tour his spotless kitchens one night each week. He trained in Paris and had worked at hotels across the world, including the Oriental in Bangkok, Sheraton in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Hilton.

Ladies in religious head coverings swept the sandy paths and smiled at the scantily clad tourists as we walked over to breakfast each day. Our mornings were spent mainly on our bungalow deck, swimming off the steps when the tide was high. After lunch we would wade out to the deeper water at the edge of the lagoon for a proper swim.

A boat went out to a reef twice a day for snorkelling, which was like looking down at a huge tank in the doctor’s waiting room. You could also go scuba diving for an extra charge.

Afternoon tea was served in the bar at 4pm, then we would get the last couple of hours of sun on an almost empty beach. Our rooms were cleaned every day, with beds and towels changed and tea and coffee replenished.

Our room boy was a Manchester United supporter who knew all the English teams and played football on the beach every afternoon against the tourists.

I had been worried about insects, but there proved no need to smother yourself in mozzie stuff because the resort is ‘fogged’ regularly, meaning there are no nasty biting bugs around, just big ants minding their own business. We went to sleep with the doors open every night, listening to the sea and the breeze.

The Perfect Holiday Package

There were trips to suit most visitors, including a Robinson Crusoe-type day on ‘Adam and Eve’ island, night fishing and island hopping to witness traditional Maldivian life in villages where the people live in single-storey homes built of coral fragments on streets made of sand.

Another thing at the back of my mind was the tsunami. It caused only one death on this island and we heard how, after the wave struck, the hotel manager bravely went back to the hotel to make sure no one was stranded there.

Some were saved by holding on to the steel wires that secured the roof of the water bungalows. It was reassuring to know that the stilts here are steel, not wood, and are well bedded down.

The Maldives offer the perfect holiday package of sea, sand and sun with friendly, welcoming, happy people who work so hard to ensure your holiday is magical. How heavenly it would be to visit Chaaya Lagoon every January.

Too soon, it was time to get back into our shoes and on to the seaplane to leave this barefoot paradise that was all I imagined it would be.