insideKENT Magazine Issue 89 - August 2019 | Page 151

TRAVEL
THE MALDIVES
LEARNING HER HOUSE REEF FROM HER ATOLLS, EXPERIENCING A RESORT
TRANSFER LIKE NO OTHER AND HAVING STOOD QUITE LITERALLY ON THE
EDGE OF THE WORLD, SAMANTHA READY AIMS TO ENLIGHTEN YOU ON
A VISION OF PARADISE.
Close your eyes and imagine paradise... Think
secluded romantic honeymoon… How about luxury
family destination? If I close my eyes and picture
paradise, the Maldives pretty much ticks every box
of the tropical escape in my mind with its tiny white-
sand-fringed islands, swaying palm trees and gentle
crystal clear waters in a dazzling display of turquoise
and blue, which was why it was indeed the destination
we chose for our honeymoon and why I was so keen
to return, but this time to explore as a family.
So, how hard can it be to choose a holiday in
paradise? Surely you just ‘go to the Maldives’? Well
actually that decision could be harder than you
might imagine; with over 100 resorts and hotels
across 26 atolls on just some of the near 1,200 islands
that stretch for 35,000 square miles, the Maldives
make up one of the most geographically dispersed
countries in the world.
Surely a tropical island paradise is a tropical island
paradise? Well, evidently not! Location, size,
ambience and choice of activities mean that each
island is actually its own mini destination, but
worry not – we have discovered two must-go resorts
that certainly tick every box, as well as the best
way to arrive.
It is hard to find a sight more breathtaking than
your first glimpse of the Maldives’ atolls from
the windows of the Trans Maldivian Airways
(www.transmaldivian.com) seaplanes available
to whisk you, from the terminal adjacent to the
international airport in Malé, to your island resort.
Taking off and landing on water is an experience in
itself and the views across the Indian Ocean from
these tiny jets head straight into travel bucket-list
territory. The tiny islands jut like gems from the
glistening ocean below and it isn’t often you get a
bird's eye view of your holiday abode, as water villas
give way to beach, gardens and buildings, as
you circle above before descending to land on the
waves below. And the best bit is due to how TMA
operates, you can open up even more of this multi-
island paradise by island hopping during your
Maldivian escape.
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