Paradise is at Laguna Beach

The story · 11 days

We thought about it a lot. It was not an immediate decision. Our trip to the Maldives begins amid a thousand hesitations. We were above all afraid of getting bored, we who are used to organising our trips in complete autonomy. Staying 10 days on an island a few hundred metres long made us a little anxious. We were afraid of spending a pile of money without having fun, without seeing anything particularly interesting. The sea will be beautiful but then what do we do? September arrives and since we haven't booked anything we decide to turn to Caesartour in Rome for a last minute trip. Among the trips offered to us are Zanzibar and the Maldives. At this point we dive into the site and start studying the most interesting islands and resorts. Caesartour proposes Laguna Beach to us at a very advantageous price.

Caught up in the excitement of the increasingly imminent departure we book, and on 19 September we are at Fiumicino ready to board the Qatar Airways flight to Male with a stopover in Doha. A small aside on the Qatar airline. They had told us it offered many services and that above all you travelled in a far more comfortable way than on charter flights. I have no experience of charter flights to the Maldives but I assure you that apart from the food (you eat practically for the whole duration of the trip!) for the rest the promise is not kept. There are no individual monitors on every seat (as stated in the brochures) and the legroom is really small. Anyway we are not here to be hired by Qatar and after a long night stopover we arrive in Male.

As soon as we get off at the airport we find ourselves battling an oppressive heat (we are from Rome and this summer we really suffered but here it's another story). The weather is not great but who cares, we're on holiday! And we head towards the dozens of desks representing the various resorts. You find them just outside customs, you can't go wrong. The guy representing the Laguna immediately confiscates our return tickets!!! And this is the first surprise of the trip! Actually he explains to us that Qatar obliges passengers to confirm their seat within 72 hours of departure (this Caesartour hadn't told us, to be honest) and so they will do the reconfirmation for us. They give us a receipt and, hesitating, we wait a few minutes before boarding our speedboat for Laguna Beach. Another French couple arrives and off we go, already at sea.

The waves are very long and the sea rather rough, so we can say we were lucky to have a resort only 30 minutes from the airport...we didn't envy those who were heading off to Ari atoll with over 90 minutes of tossing about....

Arrived at the resort the welcome was exceptional...Marco from Gateway came to pick us up at the jetty, offered us a drink and had us fill in the registration forms. Within 15 minutes we were assigned our room and our luggage was delivered straight there. Very efficient. We barely have time to unload the suitcases before we are already in the water. The weather is not good (very cloudy with lots of wind) but the water, I must say, is truly fantastic...beautiful, transparent as if it were a swimming pool...and above all guys, as soon as you put your head underwater it is full of fish of every size darting past 10 cm from your mask!!!

We take a shower and go to the welcome briefing that Marco and Andrea prepared for us. Another drink offered and a pleasant half hour in which they explain how to book the excursions, what the small dangers of the sea are, what things you cannot do (nothing is forbidden except topless and nudism. Remember that the Maldives are a Muslim country). But at this point we need to proceed in order.

Day 120 Sep 2003

Excursions

To do the excursions (all paid) you have to sign up in a book at reception. ONLY if the minimum number of participants is reached will the excursion take place, otherwise... you'll be left with a bitter taste in your mouth!! Anyway, the resort's offers are many and so it will be very difficult not to manage to do at least one excursion...moreover you yourselves can propose one and if there will be enough people that you've involved...have fun! We did two: one to Rasdhoo (a small resort near the lagoon) to do some amazing snorkeling and the other to Malé. Prices: the first 20 dollars (lasting from 14.00 to 17.00) and the second 25 dollars (from 13.30 to 17.30). There are also full-day trips to the fisherman islands, to sandbanks, etc., which cost as much as 48 dollars. We recommend doing a few trips: they're expensive but worth it.

Maybe avoid Malé: we went because it was near the resort but honestly you can skip it.

Day 221 Sep 2003

Meals

We had full board excluding drinks. All meals were consumed at the Summerfield Restaurant. At the first meal you'll be assigned a table and a waiter who will serve you for the entire duration of your stay. The meals were buffet-style. A buffet beyond words, truly varied and vast...so many dishes, so much choice and excellent flavor. Not to mention the desserts, to die for. Be prepared because you'll come back with a few extra kilos! The drink prices are rather high as we expected and as we had read on the website. 1.5 liters of mineral water 3.5 dollars, same price for a 33 cl beer. Anyway, if you're not heavy drinkers, in the end you won't spend that much on drinking...remember though that everything you drink will have a 10% service charge added! There are three other restaurants besides the main one: the Italian one, the Chinese one and the Palm Grill on the beach.

The prices are very high. Spending about 50 dollars per person for dinner drinking a terrible wine. Honestly I don't know if it's worth it...also because at your main restaurant you eat really well.

Day 322 Sep 2003

Room

Very large with a big balcony. Air conditioning and ceiling fan, indoor bathroom (not in the Maldivian style). We had the "economy" room which, I tell you, is perfectly fine. The superior ones are a little bigger with a four-poster bed and automatic air conditioning...but in the end it's not worth it. The economy ones are two-storey while the superior ones are single. Then there are the water bungalows but they're very expensive...of course if you want something unforgettable you can make the effort...but we honestly preferred to spend that extra something on excursions and entertainment.

In the room there's also a minibar (it's empty and if you want you can call the bar to fill it, the prices aren't much higher than at the restaurant), a safe with a personalized combination, and a kettle with tea and coffee to your heart's content! Moreover every morning they'll leave clean beach towels and a liter of drinking water in your room. The rooms are made up twice a day and in the evening you'll find the bed ready for the night and a note with the next day's program and the weather forecast! I forgot: you'll also have a radio with a full two channels!

Day 423 Sep 2003

Beach and sea

Each room has two numbered deck chairs. The water bungalows instead have sun loungers and umbrellas. Then along the whole beach there are other sun loungers that are available to guests, and obviously other umbrellas. Don't worry about racing in the morning to get an umbrella.

The vegetation comes almost to the shore and so the beach is quite shady...moreover people don't stay put and so the shaded spots free up quite easily! The beach is very, very large (the waiter told us it's one of the largest in the Maldives) and it's kept perfectly: during the day hordes of gardeners clean the ground of leaves and tend the flowers...it feels like being in a sort of earthly paradise! The sea is crazy, truly beautiful! The best areas for snorkeling are near the water bungalows and near the pier where the arriving boats moor: you'll be able to see lots and lots of fish!! The water is warm and has indescribable colors!!!

Day 524 Sep 2003

Snorkeling

Do it, otherwise you'll miss at least half the value of the Maldives. At Laguna it isn't possible to go outside the reef barrier. They take you with a boat, not because the barrier is far but because the currents are very strong and the sea crashes violently against the barrier. You risk getting very, very hurt. Anyway, inside you'll see lots and lots of fish, more than you've seen in your whole life: we saw blacktip sharks (there really are a lot of them), many varieties of triggerfish (including the infamous.........., then parrotfish, tuna, moray eels and many others. Steer clear of this fish...it's rather large and aggressive since it lays its eggs on the sand and attacks anyone who might be a threat, subs included! To give you an idea of how painful its bite can be, consider that with its teeth it breaks coral.....

If you want, the resort also has a well-equipped diving center, with an instructor who speaks English. Prices for beginners are around 450 dollars, equipment included!

Day 625 Sep 2003

Fun

There's the possibility of renting a canoe (10 dollars an hour), a windsurf (15 dollars) or the catamaran (30 dollars). Moreover you can rent the full snorkeling equipment for 6 dollars a day. Available is a nice gym fully equipped and a ping pong table. Both are free and available to guests. There's a pool for adults and children and a nice whirlpool tub available to all guests. The entertainment is very, very soft. In the evening at the main bar there are musical groups, or you can do karaoke (watch out, always almost in English!). On Tuesday they organized the hermit crab race, to take part in which you have to spend 7.15 dollars!

Day 726 Sep 2003

Spa center

This is a real massage centre. The prices are affordable. We personally didn't manage to try it, but we were told that the two masseuses are really very good (don't get any strange ideas in your head...they're not at all the stereotype of the Oriental masseuse!!!). There are many options: foot massages, neck massages, full-body, couples, etc. Prices start at 20 dollars and go up to 130!!!

Day 827 Sep 2003

BAD

The thing we'll definitely remember about Malé is our guide. A local who spoke excellent English, French, German, Italian and Japanese!!! He took us around to the most important places: the mosque, the president's house, the fish market, the fruit market.The city isn't really anything special, with thousands of scooters racing crazily through the streets, with cars (crazy to think of cars on an island that's 2 km long and 1 wide!!) that are practically everywhere.

It didn't do anything for us, many people go to Malé for shopping but even in that case you'll be disappointed by the prices, which are all in dollars for tourists and reach truly absurd figures!! The problem is that when you're left on your own (because the guided tour lasted just over an hour) you'll be set upon by hordes of vendors who will "drag" you inside their shops to sell you everything.Non riuscirete a scappare ve l'assicuro!L'unico consiglio che vi possiamo dare: trattate sempre sul prezzo perché sono abili venditori e vi proporranno cose a prezzi incredibilmente alti. Bargain, bargain and bargain again! And good luck!

Day 928 Sep 2003

Misc

The resort has a very international feel. If you're looking for an all-Italian village you've picked the wrong island. There are many English, many Japanese and Chinese and, surprise, also several Russians.The Italian community makes up about 20 percent of the guests. Anyway, for those who don't speak English, no worries. Many people speak Italian and there are also the Italian representatives of Gateway (Marco) who, being Italian, will give you all the help you need. There's a doctor on the island. He's Indian and they say he has some very particular alternative treatments...if I were you I'd bring my medicines from home!!!

There's also a small shop where you can buy souvenirs and postcards. If you're planning to make your purchases directly at the airport duty-free shop on your way back, forget it!!! You'll find prices higher than the resort boutique!!

What else can we say...in our opinion (skeptics at the start) it's worth it...it was 10 days of great relaxation, where we lived the sea intensely and enjoyed the service. If you're not looking for a Robinson Crusoe lifestyle then it's the ideal place for you! Have a good trip!

Day 1028 Sep 2003