#70 Maldives – Olhuveli & Malé

Traveling to The Republic of the Maldives is like stepping into the pages of a magazine.  And it begins with a flight that descends over the capital, Malé, which looks like a technicolor lego town built on an artificial island, the buildings clustered right up to the water’s edge.

Getting around anywhere means a ride across water, or seaplane. The world’s lowest lying nation has a high-point of just 2.4 meters, with islands spread over 90,000 square kilometres. Not surprisingly then, much of the gems of the Maldives lie under water, so I took the opportunity to train as an Advanced Open Water Diver at Olhuveli, a gorgeous island and beach resort in the South Malé Atoll, an extended speedboat ride over turquoise waters from the airport.

With so little land and so much water, it’s no wonder that most of the resorts in the Maldives have opted to build rooms for guests over the ocean, rather than on the sands.

It makes for a true waterworld, waking up and being able to jump in the water right from the balcony. Olhuveli even has jacuzzis and swimming pools on the balconies of the Honeymoon and Presidential suites.