Maldives Luxury Resorts

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On the northernmost edge of Pulau Weh, a remote jungle island off Sumatra is surrounded by healthy and vibrant coral reefs, and its waters harbour a diverse mix of Indo-Pacific marine life. These waters attract ocean giants ie., sunfish, mantarays and the largest of all fish, the whale shark and even thresher sharks. Few megamouths also have been seen since - only 42 sightings have been recorded to date worldwide.

In Pulau Weh waters prehistoric-looking creature has been spotted twice by divers in the past four years. One washed ashore on the Gapang Beach house reef in 2004, another swam by a shipwreck at 50m the following year.

Diving , surfing holidays here offers something for all skill levels, with reef walls, deep and shallow shipwrecks, sloping house reefs, underwater hot springs and excellent drift dives. Divers have had thrilling encounters with turtles, curious reef sharks and huge Napoleon wrasse, and from the dive centre and the house reef; ghost pipefish, seahorses and psychedelic nudibranchs (sea slugs).

Most of the dive sites are in marine protected areas, where fishing is forbidden and illegal fishing operations prospect  heavy punishment handed out by the Sharia law.

Banda Aceh was also the closest major city to the epicentre of the earthquake which triggered the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. But the main structure of the dive centre at Lumba Lumba  stood firm. Ton Egbers and Marjan van der Burg, the Dutch owners have set up the centre in 1998 and since then has seen dive tourism pull through difficult times.

Lumba Lumba is very much part of the Pulau Weh community where locals have been trained for free as divemasters and now work for the centre. Beach houses and classrooms were built using generations-old techniques with only natural materials found on the island.

Plus its wealth of underwater attractions, Pulah Weh is sure to attract eco-friendly as well as socially conscious travellers.

Both political and environmental turmoil had deterred the average diver tourist from making the journey from the city of Banda Aceh on the mainland. Tourists who can arrange in advance to collect a visa in Banda Aceh,  could fly there via Kuala Lumpur, instead of flying to Medan and take a ferry to Banda Aceh, as been done in the past.

Guyana, ten times the size of Wales consists a population of one million who live mostly on the coastal strip. The country attracts fewer than 3,000 tourists a year. It is a paradise for the lazy nature lovers.

Diane McTurk is world-famous for looking after orphaned giant otters at Karanambu Ranch ;
it has been in her family for about a century where she returned permanently 30 years ago and began to welcome paying guests at the ranch where the accommodation is basic, there’s no hot water and you could find the roof is open at the sides to the elements.

On a lazy boat trip along the Rupununi river you may watch dragonflies the size of Churchill’s cigars, lily pads bigger than satellite dishes, the scaly backs of arapaima (a colossal freshwater fish) and, of course, the giant otter. There could be more river trips lined up  as you glide along the river you  watch butterflies and all sorts of birds which engulfs your boat. As well as birds, the other big draw in Guyana is the fabled jaguar.

A speedboat could whisk  you through rainforest, taking the bends on the snaking river like a motorbike would go round corners in a street race. The road to Surama Eco Lodge meanders through dense jungle where you could spot a macaw flying snub-nosed overhead without the expert eye of a tour guide to point it out.

It’s easy to imagine you’re in a BBC wildlife documentary while walking through this exotic forest scape. You may hear a shriek of an insect that spends 13 years underground before it emerges screaming into daylight for just 24 hours to find a mate. Then you get on to Clifford’s dug out canoe and drift through hot sticky super-nature on the Bora Bora river  for best bird-spotting, ie. Toucans, guinness; woodpeckers & ciders. If there’s one bird in Guyana that you get surprised about is the cock of the rock.

At dawn you may go for another jungle walk and stumble on a group of black spider monkeys, an aggressive lot who may throw sticks and small branches at you with surprising force. Diane mentioned that although she’d been asked to upgrade the place, she’s keen not to do, as people should come there and enjoy it for what it is and because they want to. She thinks not every tourist experience has to come with hot and cold water, plunge pools and patios.

New York has greened up a lot. It is no longer a concrete jungle, but more like Cambridge or Oxford with very tall buildings. The 32-mile ‘Waterfront Greenway’ now enables you to bike  around the place very easily. The weather in New York is a strange mix; the summer with blue skies and bright sunshine and winter; freezing temperature with biting breeze blow.

At West Side Bicycles on 96th Street you can kit out with the bikes and anyone under 18 is legally required to wear a helmet.

Starting you take off South, cycling away from the leafy, cloistered Upper West Side, heading downtown. The Greenway takes you all the way along the ‘left bank of the great Hudson River, with skyscrapers on the horizon, following the line of Riverside Park. You  cycle away from the leafy, cloistered Upper West Side, heading downtown; the only other people you see around here are joggers and dog walkers and fellow cyclists.

Then you will pedal on passing the Hustler Club on one side and the Intrepid aircraft carrier on the other and  somewhere around 34th Street you will sight the Empire State. At the opposite end is Ground Zero absenting the tall buildings.

On the southern tip of the island is the Battery park; if you look out across the sparkling water is the Statue of Liberty and passing by, the Staten Island ferry. After cycling right under Brooklyn Bridge, you will head due north, going along the East River, with the fairytale Chrysler Building in view and the United Nations on the left, going past the Empire State all over again, but in the opposite direction and on the far side.

Now you run out of Greenway and end up on a thinning ribbon of pavement on the outer edge of some massive freeway, with giant trucks thundering past ; you are amid the concrete canyons and you see the front door of the great slab of the UN building as you cycle along passing many eateries.

Further north, you are forced to go off-piste again and swing in west through Harlem. A long downward couloir  will shovel you  back out on the East River, coming around to the most northerly stretch on  side of the river,  you see a huge outcroppings of Paleolithic rock looming up.

Now you are way up above the good old Hudson River again, around 180th Street, in Washington Heights. Then you  freewheel downhill going past the ‘Little Red Lighthouse’ next to the George Washington Bridge, tracking along the beach.

You are nearly home. Except for one thing - what turns out to be the Alpine section of the Tour de New York, the biggest bloody hill in the world, going up Riverside Drive.

Travel insurance is a kind of insurance which is designed to insure travelers against all possible unforeseen circumstances and mishaps which can happen during their trips, ie. flight cancellations, reservation cancellations, risk of lost luggage, theft and many other situations which may cause anxiety. Buying travel insurance policy will ensure that you are compensated if anything goes wrong on your trip; helps you relax and enjoy your trip without agonizing over things that may or may not go wrong.

There are many forms of travel insurance which will cover you (fully or partially) in the following areas, depending on the insurance plan you choose:

Medical Emergencies - If you become ill or are injured while on vacation, your travel insurance will provide you financial help in both situations.

Cancellations or Delays - If your trip is cancelled or delayed for any reason (beyond your control), or if your airline goes bankrupt or out of service, your travel insurance will either compensate you for the money you lost or provide you with new means of transportation.

Theft - If anything belonging to you is stolen while you are on vacation, your travel insurance will provide you with financial assistance to replace the items which were stolen.

Damage or Loss of Personal Property - If your luggage is lost or damaged while on vacation, your travel insurance will definitely cover at least some percentage of the property that is missing, depending on the insurance plan.

Lost /stolen Passport - Travel insurance will provide you with  means to get a temporary one, ie., they will inform you how to get in contact with your country embassy so that you can arrange to receive a temporary passport.

Choose your policy according to what you think the possibility will be that you will require the assistance on your trip.

Visitors are issued a maximum of 30-day tourist visa on arrival. All visitors who enter or leave the Republic of Maldives shall possess a valid passport or travel document. Visitors who enter should fulfill the following requirements in order to obtain the entry permit into the country:

Should possess a valid international travel document issued by a government of a sovereign state.
Should possess a valid return air ticket to a destination where the visitor has permission to enter, together with necessary visas for the onward journey to his/her next destination.The visitor should also possess a minimum of US$.30.00 per day or confirmed hotel reservation for the intended period of stay in the Maldives.

Following personnel are exempted from this requirement:

• Diplomats
• UN Personnel
• Approved persons for employment
• Technical and other experts attached to the Government
• Those who have confirm bookings in registered tourist Maldives resort /hotels etc.
• Those sponsored by Maldivians

Visitors do not require prior visa to enter the Republic of Maldives. Based on the immigration requirements, entry permit will be granted to visitors on arrival at designated ports of entry.

Visitors are not allowed to take up employment on entry permit, nor can they set up any business or exercise any profession whether paid or unpaid except with the consent and in conformity with the pertinent laws and regulations of the Maldives. However, a visitor or foreign delegation visiting the Maldives to conclude business agreements, contracts or to negotiate business transactions with their counterparts do not require work permits if the stay does not exceed the duration granted on arrival.

An expatriate who seek to engage in employment must obtain a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources Employment and Labour, prior to arrival in Maldives.

Visitors who stay beyond the period for which they have been approved may be deported. Transit passengers must leave Maldives within 24 hours of arrival. If he fails to leave within 24 hours, the passenger shall revise his permit to stay. Passport or valid international travel document is acceptable for temporary admission in to the Maldives.

Disembarkation and Embarkation card shall be filled by every visitor and submitted to the Immigration Officer on entry/departure.The Government of Maldives refuses admission and transit to holder of Merchant Seaman books.

Overview

The Zitahli Kudafunafaru is a five star deluxe hotel located on the Noonu Atoll, which is North of capital Male. 1 km in length & just 300 meters wide, this island resort could be reached in 45 minutes by a seaplane transfer.

This resort is a perfect choice for a romantic getaway especially for couples seeking to enjoy a private and serene honeymoon destination and in fact there are special offers for them arranged by the resort.

Entertainment

Guests will be able to enjoy a gourmet dining experience at Zitahli’s Faru restaurant which serves an enticing menu of fine international cuisine or at Funa restaurant pool side view. They could finally enjoy a relaxing beverage at the Funa bar plus wine cellar.

Visitors are issued a maximum of 30-day tourist visa on arrival. All visitors who enter or leave the Republic of Maldives shall possess a valid passport or travel document. Visitors who enter should fulfill the following requirements in order to obtain the entry permit into the country:

Should possess a valid international travel document issued by a government of a sovereign state.
Should possess a valid return air ticket to a destination where the visitor has permission to enter, together with necessary visas for the onward journey to his/her next destination.
The visitor should also possess a minimum of US$.30.00 per day or confirmed hotel reservation for the intended period of stay in the Maldives.

Following personnel  are exempted from this requirement:

• Diplomats
• UN Personnel
• Approved persons for employment
• Technical and other experts attached to the Government
• Those who have confirm bookings in registered tourist resort/hotels etc.
• Those sponsored by Maldivians

The ‘clean and green environment’ is among the top selling points for the Maldive resorts. Over the last thirty years these islands have made their mark in the world tourism market and set new standards for sustainable tourism development. Besides obtaining world-wide recognition for the sun, sand and sea holidays that it offers, Maldives has also made a special case of its plight in the face of global environmental change.
The seriousness of the threat posed by climate change particular attention is given to coastal protection, freshwater management and coral reef protection. Breakwaters and seawalls have been constructed around the capital Male’. Coral mining from house reefs of inhabited islands and resorts is banned. In 1989 the first National Environmental Action Plan was developed forming a base for future actions to prevent environmental hazards.
The Maldives participated in the Second World Climatic Conference in 1990 and the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In 1994 Maldives participated in the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and in 1997 participated in the Kyoto Conference. Also in 1997 the 13th Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change was held in the Maldives Over exploitation of natural resources are restricted. For example coral mining is banned in certain areas. Killing of turtles, which is under threat of extinction, is banned and visitors are discouraged from buying objects made from turtle shell.
Projects on regeneration of ecosystems are conducted in some areas and a “Million Tree Programme” was initiated by the President of Maldives, His Excellency Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom in 1996. In 1997 many activities were carried out under the theme “Independent Maldives, Clean Maldives,” where cleaning and waste collecting activities were carried out nation wide.
Tourism development in the Maldives continues to set new high standards for the global tourism industry. They are now able to sell a premium tourism product in the environmentally conscious high-end tourist market. Maldivian resorts are renowned for their environmental caring and resorts, frequently win international awards and accolades. The tourists who come to Maldives themselves act as stewards of the environment, and they highly appreciate that.