To a celebrate a milestone birthday, I treated myself to a trip combining seven days on the Four Seasons Explorer live-aboard with four days at the Four Seasons Kuda Huraa resort July 21 to 31. Now I know how the one percent lives! I was greeted at the Male airport and whisked into an air-conditioned, refreshment-stocked lounge before the Male humidity had a chance to raise the first drop of perspiration. My luggage was retrieved and loaded onto a waiting skiff and after donning the required life vest, I was ferried off to the resort. I had arrived on a morning flight but the Explorer was not yet ready for boarding, so I was provided with a day room free-of-charge to take a nap, adjust to the multiple time zone changes and enjoy the resort facilities, which I'll talk about shortly.
But first, the Explorer. As a solo traveler, live-aboards have been my preference for dive vacations for some 20 years. However, with the passage of time, I've come to terms with the fact that 5 dives/day is a bit much for me, particularly in waters like the Indian Ocean where currents are strong and dive entry and exit can be tougher than the dive itself, so the 3 dives/day offered on the Explorer suited me just fine. Unlike the cramped twin-bed cabins on most live-aboards, the Explorer cabin was more like what you find on a cruise ship: Queen-sized bed, writing table large enough for my laptop and my cameras and underwater housing, a lounge chair, ample draw and closet space, and a bathroom you could actually move around in without bumping into something. Good news, solo travelers: NO SINGLE OCCUPANCY SURCHARGE. The rental gear was in top condition, the Nitrox was free-of-charge and the food was simply out of this world. Needless to say, the Maldives' reputation for excellent diving is well deserved, made all the better by the outstanding service and courtesy of the Explorer crew. For instance, you get little notes in your cabin - handwritten and signed by your "cruise director" - giving you an overview of the local history associated with each atoll and site to be visited the following day, along with some small souvenir. It's the little things that enhance the travel experience, so a special shout out to cruise director Areef Ali Usman and his team for providing that personal touch that made the cruise so enjoyable.
Now for the Kuda Huraa resort. After a week of diving, I headed straight for the spa and scheduled just about every treatment known to man. Fantastic! The all-natural products, the skill and courtesy of the therapists, and watching reef life go by as I lay face down on a massage table in a hut with glass-bottomed floor was just too marvelous for words. Did I mention that the food was out of this world? The 4 days passed all too quickly and I had to say good-bye to the wonderful staff and facility. It's true that the Maldives is rather pricey and the Four Seasons is certainly up there in terms of cost, but what a way to check the Maldives off your Bucket List! A once-in-a-lifetime experience if there ever was one.