We started our honeymoon planning by looking for resorts that offered overwater bungalows, it was something on the top of my must-have list. We started booking late so there were not very many options left when we started to look. The Maldives happened to be one of the last places with overwater bungalows available. If you are planning a trip and have certain must-haves, start early so you don’t run into this same issue. Luckily, we were not disappointed with our honeymoon destination choice.
The Maldives is separated into over 20 different atolls and almost 1,200 islands. Roughly 200 of the islands are actually inhabited by locals. Most islands in the Maldives rise only 6.5 feet from sea level. This is a great time to visit these islands. As water levels start to rise, experts believe these low-lying islands will disappear by the year 2100.
Siyam World Resort
We stayed at a resort called Siyam World located in the Noonu Atoll area of the Maldives. The Siyam World resort is a 45-minute seaplane ride away from the Velana International Airport in Malé. When booking a resort, try to find ones that offer free transfer services or discounts from Malé.
Siyam World offered a 20% discount on the seaplane transfer when staying more than five nights. If your resort does not offer these discounts, be aware that it’s going to be another fee. The seaplane can be somewhere between $500-$1,000 round trip per person depending on where you are going.
My husband happened to book our travel as a surprise, I didn’t know what resort we were staying at or what it looked like before landing at the resort. I was pleasantly surprised when we got there. Siyam World is incredibly clean, has beautiful white sand beaches, and looks exactly like the gorgeous pictures you see when you research overwater bungalows.
The resort assigns you an ambassador for your stay who will assist you in learning your way around the island, booking restaurant reservations, booking excursions, or to answer any of your questions during your stay. Once our ambassador helped us check-in, he took us to the bridge where our bungalow was located. We were lucky enough to be on the side of the island where the sun sets, which for us was perfect since we are more night owls than morning people.
Food and Drinks
The resort has five bars and nine restaurants where you can find food and drinks from all over the world. The first restaurant we had to try was Andalucia, named after the southern region in Spain. This happens to be the same region of Spain that Andrea got married in. I had gambas al ajillo and paella de marisco, they were both absolutely to die for and took me back in time to our trips to southern Spain.
We have never been big Thai people as we usually don’t know what to order but we decided to try Takrai, we were not disappointed. I had their delicious spring rolls and a curry chicken dish. Since trying Thai food, anything featuring rice, noodles, curry, and stir-fry – count me in!
One of our favorite restaurants on the resort was The Wahoo Grill that serves amazingly fresh fish, meats and seafood. Their food was so good we went multiple times during our stay. My favorite part, the crab cake. I know a good crab cake when I taste one, however they have a unique take on one of my favorite foods. Instead of the traditional lump crab cake I’m used to, they served a crispy fried cake with a sweet mango salsa and a creamy saffron aioli.
Special Dinners
We booked two very special dinners during our stay; it was our honeymoon after all. Our first special dinner was a private Teppanyaki experience. Their crab salad and miso soup were the most excellent starts that had perfectly blended flavors. For our meal we enjoyed the most tender wagyu beef, fried rice and vegetables. We were stuffed to the brim but couldn’t pass up the flambé banana and ice cream for dessert.
Our second special dinner was a private dinner on the beach. This was an additional fee, but we had to splurge on our special occasion and our last night on the island. As we walked up to our private dinner I was blown away by the beautiful atmosphere. They had a heart dug into the sand surrounding our dinner table and lights all around. Our food was cooked on a grill right on the beach and our waiter stopped to take beautiful sunset pictures with us. Our menu for the night included a mix of surf and turf. The best part was the amazing grilled fish and lobster. We ate so much food we wound up going back to our room and falling asleep.
Attention to Detail
Like I said earlier the resort was immaculately clean. You could tell that the people working there took great pride in the look and feel of the resort. Everyone was friendly and always super helpful whether we got turned around on the island or needed a drink recommendation.
There was incredible attention to detail at this resort, something I haven’t seen to this extreme on any other resort. Down to the ashtrays on top of trash cans. Every morning they would stamp a song lyric into the sand in the ashtray. I was always looking forward to seeing what the ashtray said.
Recommendations
If you are looking for a relaxing vacation, the Maldives is definitely for you. You will spend almost all of your time at the resort. This makes researching your resort very important. Find a Maldives resort that has enough variety for your taste.
If you don’t already have snorkel gear, this is the place you’ll want some for. We spent more time relaxing on this vacation than snorkeling but I’m still glad I brought mine. From our overwater bungalow, we were able to see eagle rays, dolphins, and plenty of fish.
I highly recommend bringing only flat shoes to the Maldives. The islands are sand, and I would not have gotten around very well in heels, so I opted to leave mine at home. I had one pair of nice sandals for dinner and a pair to play around on the beach with.
It is also pretty windy, especially at night. Be aware of what material your dresses are in case a gust of wind catches your clothing. I spent one night during a cocktail hour on the beach holding my dress down the entire time.
You are very close to the equator in the Maldives so it’s important to take a lot of sunscreen with you. They do have sunscreen in their resort store, but it is going to be much more expensive to buy it there. I like Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Sunscreen for my face as it’s very lightweight and less oily.
I would highly recommend the Maldives as a honeymoon destination. It is the perfect place to relax after the stress of planning a wedding. It’s also a great mix of fun adventure and privacy for a newlywed couple.
If you are looking for more options for your honeymoon or warm-weather vacation, check out my guide to my favorite all-inclusive resorts!