WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE TRAVELLING TO MALDIVES?

What to Bring with you?
The advice is a place where you don’t require much in order to be comfortable it is tropical, sunny and very relaxed, to you only really need to bring a few essentials.

• Valid passport – with at least 6 months left before expiry.

• Light weight, casual non-synching (cottons and fibers are best) which appropriately cover the body, when in company of the local communities. (please understand local customers and religious requirement relating to dress codes. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it need to be respectfully

• Cool Footwear (sandals are best) if you are interested in exploring the reefs, a pair of reef shoes is recommended to avoid injuries.

• Swimming costumes – Rash/t – shirts are recommended for Snorkeling to avoid sunburn.

• Sunscreens, after sun lotions and personal hygiene Products-Please adhere to 100 ml restrictions for anything you wish to carry on hand – luggage on flights.

• Insect repellent.

• Prescription medications (if required) – Please bring supporting documents.

• Power adapter for phones, laptops etc.- The Maldives use mostly Uk Style sockets.

• Underwater camera – The Maldives below sea level is worth a few photos.

• Sunglasses and Hats.

• Dive Certification card and log book if you intend to participate in SCUBA diving.

• Food and Drink
   

Maldivians, As Muslims, are prohibited   by law from consuming alcohol, hence there is a total restriction on alcohol being available on inhabited local islands this includes the capital Male. Alcohol is available at Hulhule Island Hotel which is located at the airport. All Tourist resorts, Safari, yachts and stock alcohol for guest consumption. Traditional beverages include Toddy – aged coconuts sap and plain coconut sap. Please don’t bring alcohol through the airport as it will be confiscated.

The traditional food of the Maldivians is based around fish, (tuna to be more specific)
Chili and coconuts. White rice and roshi, (a flour based flat- bread) are staple items fish is normally smoked, fired, barbequed or roasted. Pork products are strictly prohibited. When eating on local islands it is worth nothing that Maldivians traditionally eat with their fingers and therefore food is not always served piping hot, tap water is perfectly
safe for brushing teeth however, we advise to drink bottle or boiled water. All food on local island is halal.

Weather
With a tropical climate, plenty of sunshine and temperatures around 30.’Cthrought the year, there is never a bad time to visit the Maldives. Maldives has two distinct seasons, dry season (northeast monsoon) and wet season (southwest monsoon) with the former extending from January to march and the latter from mid-May to November. The rare
Thunderstorm in Maldives (especially around the southeast monsoon months) can be a welcome respite from the sun. Cloudy skies and slate grey seas, and crashing thunder makes for lovely reading weather.

Diving is good all year – round, although a basic rule is that reef life is more varied and visibility is better on the western side of any atoll from May to November and on the eastern side of any atoll from December to April.

Note as the Maldives is situated so close to the equator it is possible to burn even on a cloudy day and sun screen should be applied as a matter of course.

Money
Local currency and Banking the Maldives, Maldives has a non- convertible currency- Maldivian Rufiyaa – this can’t be purchased beforehand. One Rufiyaa is 100 Laaries and is available in1000, 500, 100, 50,20, 10, and 5, Rufiyaa Notes
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One US Dollar is equivalent to 15.42 Rufiyaa. Major international currencies can be change easily at the airport on arrival. It is advising not to exchange currency in Male where bank queues are common and waiting time lengthy. The US Dollar is accepted as legal tender. All major credit cards can be used (and are preferred) at resorts Hotels, shops, etc. However, on local island it is usually only guesthouses that accept credit card and cash is generally preferred.

The National Bank, Bank of Maldives has several branches in Male as well as other major population hubs such as the Male International Airport. Several other regional banks also operate in central city, including the state bank of India, Bank of Ceylon, MCB. There is no bank on resort island or on local island visited in our tours.

ATM. Most banks represented in Male provide automatic teller machine (ATM) services and credit card services at several key points in Male and Hulhumale.. Whilst there is an ATM at the Male branch of the Bank of Maldives Dispensing USD which only dispenses to Bank of Maldives cardholders. There are no ATMs on Resort islands or the local island visited on our tours. All major credit card can be used at resorts. Hotels and many shops in Male. Most

Restaurants and shops in Male and other islands will accept USD in Payment providing change in local currency.

Spending money and budgeting; It is impossible to say exactly what you will need during our local island visit as this varies depending on personal preference, the number of extra option activities and souvenirs you may like to purchase. While on the local islands, approximate prices are as follows:

• Snack Lunch ($5- $10)

• evening meal in guesthouse or local restaurant ($10 – $0 20)

• Tea / coffee- ($0 50)

• Soft drinks ($1Water 1.5 l ($0.50)

PASSPORT & VISAS

Arrival at Male Airport: Customers and Immigration: No prior visa arrangements are required. Tourists are issued a 30-day Visa on arrival. A passport valid for 6 month and travel documents (flight tickets) are necessary. Your will need to present a landing card which should be distributed by the crew of your flight. Alternatively, you can find cards immediately before the immigration booths. To obtain immigration clearance it is a requirement to indicate on the landing card an address or provide proof that you have a booking at a resort, guesthouse or safari boat

Importing goods such as alcohol, port items, pornography (very broadly defined) religious materials offensive to Islam, idols of warship, narcotics and psychotropic substances, explosives and weapons in to the Maldives is strictly forbidden. Alcohol and
Pork products under a special license are available in resort island. On the way out note that exporting sand, turtle shell, seashells and a range of marine products is also forbidden.

All baggage including hand baggage is screened as of the custom’s process before you leave the airport baggage collection area.

Arrival Instructions

As your plane break through clouds revealing the emerald Islands below, prepare for one of the most exciting flying experiences. The runway of hulhule, airport runs parallel to the shore creating a (rather safe of course) adrenalin rush for a second when it makes you think that plane is Landing on water. Male international Airport is just fifteen minutes from Male, the airport is small, but well equipped with souvenir and duty-free shops, restaurants, medical facilities, and provides banking and postal services.

Arrival Procedures: on arrival please proceed through immigration and security and customs before passing through an automatic sliding deer into the main arrival area, here look out for representative who will be positioned on the left have side holding a Markentail Travel, Resort or guesthouse and safari Boat signboard. You will than shortly you will have transfer by sped boat, seaplane or flight to the capital Male for hotel stays there, by transfer vehicle to guesthouses based in Hulhumale, by transfer speedboat or flight to resort or by dhoni to your live boat.

Note: unlike other international airport there is not a public taxi rank where guest’s arrival can hail a vehicle. Transfers to Hulhumale as with resorts need to be booked prior o arrival. There are only a limited number of vehicles authorized to provide transfer service from Male airport to Hulhumale. Very occasionally if some flights have been delayed there may be a knock on delay to transfer to the Hulhumale and make this wait as pleasant as possible for you.

Accommodation for the duration of your stay
 

• Rooming Arrangements:  Accommodation is based on sharing of Twin/Triple room as requested at the time of booking. Couples will always be provided with private double room.

• Family rooms will be available on the sharing basis with bunk beds installed in every cabin

• Private Bookings can be made for 8 pax which will be a private hire of the whole boat for the duration of the stay. The Fees charged shall be the same for private hire even if the pax are lower than 8 pax.

Tipping for exemplary Services

If you are happy with the services provided by your local guides a trip- thought not compulsory – is appropriate. While it may not be customary to you, it is of great signification to the people who will take care of you during your travels and inspires excellent service. The amount to tip is always subject to your satisfaction with the service provided, and your budget. As a rough guide, we recommend you budget $ 50- 80 extra for the duration of the tour which you can use as tipping money at your discretion.

International Flights:

• We do not sell your international flights ourselves, and these are not included in the price of our tours.

• Departure airport and we, ll check availability and send you some price and flight times for a selection of airlines,

• In order for us to ensure we meet you when you arrive in Male, must supply us with your arrival information. If flying in require your arrival date and time and flight number into Male.

• Flight into Male are regular and you should have little difficulty booking one. However, during peak periods, (Christmas/New year, Easter, July/August & October) cheaper flight always sell out quickly, so we advise booking early.

• Flights to Male are served by Sri Lank Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, condor and British Airways, if you are not sure where to start, please contact us for details.
  
  OTHER NECESSARY INFORMATION
   

Recommended vaccinations and other health protection measures very according to the country you are visiting and where you where are travelling from> We recommend you contact your GP or a travel clinic for current information on vacation needed for your destination. If you are arrival from an infected area, then you must have an international certificate of inoculation against yellow fever or cholera. Normal recommendations for the Maldives are; Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B, and Diphtheria.
Personal Heath; Sensible precautions should be taken to avoid sunburn and dehydration. On arrival and when travelling in Maldives, stick to bottled mineral water. please ensure you have appropriate travel insurance, which includes health cover. if you require prescription medicines, please bring them with you, and include the Appropriate documentation
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There are two hospitals on the main island, Male. The indhira Gandhi memorial Hospital (IGMH) id the biggest hospital in the country providing sophisticated medical care. some resorts have in-house doctors. A decompression chamber is with easy reach of most resorts in case of emergency
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Travel insurance: 
Travel insurance is compulsory on all our tours Detail of policies that we can offer you are given on our website or on request. If you plan to arrange any adventure activities during your tour (eg, Scuba diving) you should check the small print in the policy to make sure these are covered. You need to be covered for medical expenses abroad and any emergency repatriation that may be require due to your illness/injury we also recommend you take our cancellation cover and baggage cover.

Email, post &Communication:
The telecommunication service is provided by Ooredoo or Dhiragu a joint-venture International Direct Dialing, telephone, telex telegram, with facsimile and Internet service are available. A mobile phone network is accessible with Male, and atolls. If you are anticipation on keeping in regular contact with friends are family at home it is advisable to purchase a Maldivian SMS card together with re-charge cards available in various denomination of local currency. This can be done very easily at either the airport or in Male/Hulhumale. card phone is set up in most of the island. In addition, Dhiragu provides a paging service maritime radio service and telephone and telex Immersed service to ships and oilrigs. Internet Cafés are set up in Male and in Addu Atoll.

Voltage: 
Most sockets are three pronged (British style) and 220 volts. Adaptors are available in most airport shops if you don’t have one. All electrical devices running on 110/120 V must have power converters / step-up transformers. All Hotel room have electrical sockets where you can re-charge cameras, phone etc
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Trading Hours:

Like everything in Maldives, Government and business is pretty laid back with business hours commencing from 7.30am to 2.30pm. It is important to know that the Maldives follows Business week from Sunday to Thursday. With most pleces closed on a Friday.
The shops in the Maldives open at different times in the morning but usually before 9.00 A, M. The shops close for prayer times for an interval of 15 minutes. The latest time for the shops to close businesses 10.30 P.M.

Time:  Maldives Standard Time is GMT/UTC+5 and during BST+4

Language:  Dhivehi is the main language spoken in Maldives. The language is widely used for conversing with people.since.it involves the use of many English, Hindi and Arabic words. It seems to resemble various languages spoken in Sri lanka, South east Asia and North India. Read on to know more about the common languages of Maldives.
Other languages spoken in Maldives include English, which is also recognised as the second main language.

Conserve energy:  

1 Be careful not to waste valuable resources. Use local resources sparingly. Switch off lights, air-conditioning and fans when you leave the hotel room and don’t waste water.

2. Remove superfluous packaging. May countries have far less efficient waste disposal systems than ours. Remove packaging from newly acquired items before leaving home.

3. Choose environmentally Friendly product: by using environmentally friendly
(bio degradable) sun creams, shampoos and detergents you can help reduce pollution.

4. Respect local customs and traditions: As you are a guest in these countries, you should also comply with the local customs. If you are friendly and well mannered, the locals will reciprocate and it will only enhance your experience. It’s important to follow dress and behaviour guidelines especially when visiting religious or sacred sites (your tour leader will advise you how best to do this)

5. Don't Litter: No matter how untidy or dirty the country you are travelling in may look to you, avoid littering, as there is no need to add to the environment. As island state. The Maldives has a tough challenge dealing with rubbish and waste. Please consider talking home as much plastic waste as you can (eg. Water bottles)

6. Refuse Plastic bags when shopping. Local island is not always as pristine as resort island. Though they’re catching up and are still beautiful, be forewarned that there are still some growing pains and room for improvements.