Is Maldives the right location for your next travel?

There are lot of factors that one needs to consider before making an international travel plan. If you have been considering Maldives, let me break this down for you to help you in your planning.

1. VISA

VISA is a critical factor that travelers tend to look at while planning for vacations. Since the VISA process and requirements are overbearing for the first world countries, travelers tend to choose popular tourist destinations which offer Visa on arrival.

If your passport has a validity of six months or more then you would be given a free VISA on arrival for 30 days (which would be 90 days for Indian passport holders).

2. Flight Options

Maldives has an island airport and with good air connectivity to popular airports in Asia and Middle East. So if you are flying from elsewhere, you are likely to have at least a one stop layover in one of these locations.

If you are an Indian traveler, don’t be deceived by the airline ticket budget as this would be a small fraction of your overall travel cost.

3. Attractions

Unlike other tourist destinations, you have less touristy stuff in the form of monuments or places to visit in Maldives. The main attraction are their resorts, most of which are located on an exclusive island surrounded by pristine beach and sand bank. You can look at the images below to get an idea of how beautiful the resorts are. 

   

Also, if you love the beach and scuba diving or snorkeling, this place is a must visit. However, if you are looking only for water sports or sea excursions, Maldives might end up being an expensive option.

Pro tip – Plan you stay in such a way that you stay a few days in regular BNB hotels in Hulhumale or other large islands if you are looking to do water sports or sea activities (scuba diving, dolphin spotting, island hopping, submarine, etc) at lower prices – resorts can be really expensive. 

4. Budget vs Luxury

Now that we have discussed VISA, flight options and attractions it is very important that you factor the most important decision making factor, which is the cost of your vacation.

The best way to enjoy Maldives is to be lavish in choosing your resort and also loosen your wallet when it comes to ancillary spends. This is because there are certain experiences which are unique to Maldives and it’s a one time experience if you were to view it so.

My recommendation would be you reserve a trip to Maldives for later if you are planning to do a budget trip. However, if you are still looking to put your foot on the map then I would suggest you base yourself out of one B&B joints in the populated islands and do day trips to the island resorts.

While this post is an easy decision making tool for choosing to visit Maldives or not, I request you to read my next post to understand better on how to choose the best resort in Maldives to make your experience better.

Trident, Udaipur

We stayed here on the last day of our trip to Udaipur. After having decided not to over spend on palace hotels, this was our attempt to experience a lake-side, yet relatively affordable luxury stay. (I am sure that's a lot of oxymorons together)

Hotel Category - Five Star
Location - Udaipur

Service

The Oberoi Group (of which Trident is a part) is known for endearing hospitality and this was evident not only from the care and affection extended by the front office staff, but also the pleasant surprise they had waiting for us when we entered the room after a small site seeing; they took the cue from our discussion during checkin when we mentioned we were here as part of our honeymoon and had the room decorated with baloons and a heart shaped creating using bath towels, To top that, they had a delectable chocolate cake ready to be sliced. 

Mr. Mahi from the front office, his deputy and the F&B manager require special mention for making our stay a very comfortable one. They also extended their support in suggesting places to visit and restaurants to try in the city during our stay here. 

Room and Facilities

It's a large commercial hotel with over 137 rooms. What this also means is, there are going to be a lot of people buzzing around and this hotel might not be the best option if you are looking for a quaint and private space. 

Our room had a brilliant lake view, but when I look back I tend to think wasn't the lake a distant mile away from the room? Is that worth the premium I paid? Also, the room was compact sized and comparable to a business class hotel you find in Tier I cities. 

For the positives, the room had flawless hygiene and had good quality bathroom essentials. 

Location

The hotel shares its compound with the ultra premium Oberoi Udai Vilas and is easily accessible when in the city limits. 

Food

We had only their buffet breakfast and it was easily the best breakfast we had during the trip. While there may have been a few failed dishes, the lavish spread made up for it. 

On a summary note, the hotel has everything going in it's favor if you are looking for a commercial/quasi business class hotel. While the same may not be the recommendation if you are in the city for a holiday, their outstanding hospitality is BIG enough reason to revisit. 

P.S - used my Citibank premiermiles credit card points to part fund the room booking cost. 

Top 3 Travel Credit Cards

Every aspiring traveler in India is envious of his global counterparts when they talk about cheap airfares and redeeming air-miles for holidays. While this is a growing fad in our country, the system and the credit cards have not fully matured to support the model.

So, while you wait for things to catch heat, here are some of the credit cards that could be handy given the current scenario. 

1. Citbank Premier-Miles Credit Card

Source: Google, Citi

Pro's:

1. You get to redeem your miles for travel and hotels: most of the travel cards have airline tie ups and miss the other essential element - 'stay'. 
2. Miles utilization is linked to the ticket/room pricing: a fair system that benefit travelers who plan their trips in advance
3. Never expiring miles: this is possibly the best feature of this card. Unlike JP miles or gift vouchers these miles have an infinite validity period

Con's

1. Redemption pricing is slightly higher than the pricing in their travel partner's website (GoIbibo is their official travel partner)
2. Low on miles granted: They offers 10 miles for every INR 100 spent for airline bookings and 4 miles for every 100 spent on other expenditure. 
3. Low credit limit for non Citibank customers: Card offers low credit limit for non citibank customers

Best recommended usage strategy: For all your travel bookings (except Jet if you have a JP partner card). For other expenses, depending on benefits available in your other cards. 

Fees: This card comes with an annual fee of INR 3000

2. AMEX Platinum Travel Credit Card

Source: Google images; Amex

While this is not exactly a travel card, it has some excellent rewards which Indian travelers would love to get their hands on. The cards has a milestone based rewards system whereby the customers get Indigo vouchers upon sign up and spending INR. 1.9 lakhs and Indigo and Taj vouchers when cumulative spend reaches INR. 4.0 lakhs. 

So the most cash equivalent of rewards that one can avail in a one year cycle is worth around INR. 33,800. 

Pro's

1. High on rewards: their rewards is easily among the highest you would find among comparable credit cards
2. Lounge access - You get limited free access to select Amex lounges and also a free membership to Priority Pass; however, entry to priority pass lounges would be charged. 
3. Enjoy high credit limit: Amex typically offers a higher credit limit than your other cards

Con's

1. Voucher benefits come with a limited validity and are restricted to their airline and hotel partners
2. No benefits for spends over INR 4 lakhs in a year
3. No accelerated points or miles privileges for frequent travelers except small discounts on travel booking partner Makemytrip. 

Best recommended usage strategy: Use this card for all your non-travel expenses if you use more than one travel card. Limit usage once you have availed maximum rewards (i.e reached the INR. 4.0 lakh milestone). 

Fee: First year fee - INR. 3500 (plus taxes) and renewal fee INR. 5000 (plus taxes)

Hack - You could apply through paisa bazaar and get the first year free. 

3. JetPrivilege HDFC Bank World Credit Card

Source: Google, HDFC

I am wannabe Jet loyalist and have been trying hard to accumulate jetmiles. They are among the few and earliest Indian airline's to launch a loyalty program and is also possibly the best connected in terms air-routes. 

Pro's

1. High on miles (rewards) - You earn 18 miles for every INR. 150 spent on flights booked using Jet airways website and 6 miles for every INR. 150 spent on other bookings. So if you are a frequent traveler on Jet Airways - this card could come handy. 
2. Lounge Access: The card provides access to mastercard lounges and also offers free priority pass membership. Unlike your Amex travel card, the cardholder gets 5 five free entry's to the priority pass restricted lounges. 
3. Receive miles across a host of  non-airline expenditure which include stay, dining, subscriptions, etc
4. 5% discount on Jet airways flight Bookings

Cons

1. Only Jet Airways flights: Miles redemption is restricted to airline ticket bookings only and comes with a prefixed validity period. 
2. Low value for miles: Though the redemption has been linked to airfare, it works on a slab based model; therefore the miles spent per booking might be slightly higher than your bookings with PremierMiles or other cards. (e.g - a round trip from Chennai to Bangalore would cost you INR. 3,500 if booked in advance. The same would however cost you 10,000 miles if one was to redeem miles for this booking. 

Best recommended usage strategy: For all your flight bookings on Jet Airways and hotel bookings through partner websites such as Agoda, Booking.com, Rocketmiles, Kaligo, etc. Some of these sites may be priced slightly premium, especially for bookings with miles as rewards. 

Also, check Jet Privilege website to know what other expenses you can get miles for. 

Fee: First year and renewal fee of INR. 2500 per annum. The renewal fee would be waived based on expenditure milestone being achieved. 

Jet privilege platinum members can get this card for free.  

Note: There are Jet Privilege partner cards, but this had the best return on annual fee. 

About Me

I use all of the above cards and I am currently accumulating miles to see India (if not the world). The above views are based on my personal experiences (positives and struggles) and the views may vary from other users.