Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon - Day 3 and 4

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon –Day 3 and Day 4

Two days in paradise had just whizzed by and after the tropical storm had blown its course we were set for 2 bright and sunny days with occasional light rainfall in the evenings. 

Getting up early in the morning to wait for the sunrise , a slow romantic  morning walk around the island enjoying the views , a quick swim and amazing buffet breakfast at Vihamana ( along with special attention from Mr. Fernando ) had become our daily routine. 

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon- Activities on Day 3 and Day 4 :

Water Sports Center :  

Neither hubby nor I have earlier done much of water sports activities prior to the experience in Kurumba Maldives and hence probably cannot compare, but we really did find the watersports centre top notch. There are a variety of activities to suit the novice as well as the experienced and it was an amazing just to try out the various water sports. Kurumba has both motorized and non motorized water sports  ( many Maldives islands do not have motorized water sports and also have special packages for beginners to get a hang of water skiing or wake boarding or knee boarding.

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon - Day 2

I have read in many travel blogs that words cannot describe the beauty of the rising sun when its first rays strike the beautiful waters of Maldives. So we began day 2 in feverish excitement, almost unable to sleep, waiting in anticipation to enjoy our early morning walk.

Sunrise at Kurumba Maldives

When we stepped out of our beach Bungalow the first sights that greeted us was mind-blowing. Not a day has passed by without hubby and me taking a look at those snaps from that morning.  

White sandy beach outside beach bungalow

View outside beach bungalow during morning walk

Though Kurumba Maldives is in one of the larger islands it took us only 1 hr to walk at a leisurely pace around the island. Post our walk we were ready to take a quick dip at the resort’s swimming pool. Kurumba unlike many other Maldives resorts, does not have an infinity pool, but the in house pool is large and good to burn a few calories (before you gorge on the delicious food ).

Kurumba Maldives Swimming Pool- Good place to burn a few calories.

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon Breakfast Buffet @ Vihamana 

We had booked for a B&B package and hence the buffet breakfast was complimentary with the room. The breakfast spread was very satisfactory and had a good selection of food items for both Vegetarian and Non Vegetarians and we never got tired of the food during our stay of 7 days

Tip : It is better to choose the B &B package as this gives you the option of trying out Kurumba’s signature restaurants for dinner.  Half board and full board packages have lunch and dinner included only at Vihamana restaurant which can get a little repetitive.

Kurumba Maldives - Activities on Day 2

Glass Bottom Boat: 

Kurumba Maldives has a lot of inhouse activities/excursions and the details of the same is communicated via a newsletter the previous day, post which you can reserve your participation. Some activities repeat itself 2-3 times per week and you can chose the same based on weather conditions.

The day was bright and sunny and we decided to try the glass bottom boat tour around Kurumba Maldives. This is the best alternative for non divers / snorkelers to get up close with the brilliant aquatic life in the Kurumba reef as the glass bottom boat offers clear views of the varied marine life. The excursion is for 1 hour as the boat slowly takes you around the island and since it was a clear day we really enjoyed the experience. Definitely one to try when the sun is out.  

Kurumba Maldives- Exploring the island

Post our glass bottom boat ride we wanted to explore the island and the various in-house facilities of Kurumba Maldives.

The Sand Bar :  The beach bar is located on the opposite side of the island closer to beach bungalows 160-175 ( 2 min walk ) and they serve a  variety of cocktails and finger food to appease your hunger all through the day . Do not forget to try the cocktail of the day. 

Kurumba Maldives Sand Bar

Enjoying the views from the Beach Bar

Kurumba Maldives -Renewal of Vows :

Been married for long and want to reaffirm your commitment to each other then why not renew your vows in traditional Maldivian style with white sand beneath your feet and the gentle sound of the waves.  The place where the renewal of vows ceremony takes place is really beautiful and probably some day if I return would like to try it out.

Renewal of Vows- Altar

Candlelight dinner after ceremony

More info on packages can be found here

However our outdoor activities and exploration were cut short by the huge tropical storm that hit us all of a sudden in the evening. It rained for nearly 2 hours in the evening it really was a sight to watch the coconut trees swaying dangerously in the winds.

Storm approaching Kurumba Maldives

Dinner on Day 2 @ Kurumba Mahal:

So post our Italian fiasco on day 1 we wanted to play it safe and chose Kurumba Mahal, the signature Indian restaurant, for dinner and it did not disappoint. The ambience was excellent and the dishes that we tried were as tasty as any that we have tried in some of the better north Indian restaurants in India.

Outside Kurumba Mahal- Indian Restaurant

Full menu of Kurumba Mahal  can be found here

A special thanks to Mr. Fernando ( F & B ) who takes care of the Indian restaurant for making the dinner and our stay memorable.

Thus came to an end to a hectic day 2 of our stay and we just could not wait for day 3 to begin. 

Trip to Maldives- Honeymoon Special- Day 1- Landing At Male & Arriving at Kurumba Maldives

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon 

Well I am back with a post in the travel section with my honeymoon experiences at one of the most beautiful countries in the world and one that everyone would love to visit- MALDIVES.

Post our sangeet,wedding and reception we really needed a break to relax and what better place than Maldives with its white sandy beaches and azure light blue waters. We had been planning for the honeymoon well in advance and Maldives was our first choice. However choosing a resort in Maldives was not easy with more than 100 resorts each with its uniqueness and beauty catering to different budgets. I will probably do a post later on – How to choose a resort in Maldives.

Post a lot of research and reading tons of reviews in tripadvisor we finally booked 6 nights and 7 days at Kurumba Maldives. We booked the flights and the hotel through the COX&KINGS in Chennai  who gave us excellent rates ( It was not a package deal ). We had booked 4 nights in an ocean front beach bungalow and 2 nights in a pool villa.

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon -September 1, 2012 : The day of our trip finally arrived and we could hardly wait to reach Male. Our Air India flight was delayed by almost 3 hours at Trivandrum ( By the way never ever book Air India !!! )  and finally we were airborne.. Do try to get a seat by the window as the views that greet you as you fly into Male are just amazing!!!

Views as we approach Male

 Male Airport (Ibrahim Nasir International Airport):

Male airport though small truly captures the spirit of Maldives with its serene beauty.Crystal clear blue waters greeted us as soon as we reached Male airport. Post our checkout and collecting our baggage we headed out and were greeted by our representative from Kurumba Maldives who whisked us off to our private speed boat to take us to the resort.

PS:  It is better to buy a local sim from outside the airport as calling from the resorts are costly. A local sim with a USD 20 recharge would suffice as calling rates are not that costly. 

Clockwise : From L to R: Male Airport, Speed Boat Maldives, Kurumba Maldives' Pier, Entrance to Kurumba Maldives,Front Desk

 Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon - Airport Transfer and First views of Kurumba Maldives:

Male International Airport is on the main island and you are transferred to the resorts either via a speed boat or a sea plane (for resorts far away from the airport ). Kurumba Maldives is just a 10 minute speed boat ride from the airport jetty and our speed boat was waiting for us as soon as we landed. The speed boat was more like a small luxury yacht which we shared with a Japanese couple and in 10 minutes we had our first views of paradise.

Different shades of blue- So beautiful

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon -The Resort and Check in to our beach bungalow ( Room no 175 ):

Kurumba in Dhivehi ( Maldivian language ) means coconut and the resort is dotted with beautiful coconut trees and white sands accentuating the effect of paradise. Kurumba is the oldest of the resorts in Maldives and the resort that introduced Maldives as a tourist Hot spot to the world.

Kurumba Maldives Jetty

We were greeted at the reception with wet towels and coconut icecream by Mr. Hassan who by the way was the perfect host during our entire stay . After a quick checkin  we were transferred to our Deluxe beach front bungalow  via the beach buggy. Our room was just a stone’s throw away from the beach and was very spacious and had all the necessary amenities we were looking for.

Beach Front Deluxe bungalow- Room no 175

Beach Front Deluxe bungalow- Room no 175

Kurumba Maldives Honeymoon -Fun at the Beach and Dinner @La Cucina  Kurumba Maldives:

The first thing post our checkin in was to change into our beach wear and head straight to the water as the clear waters were really tempting. We did not snorkel on day 1 as we did not have the equipment , but post a lot of playing around and swimming  we were really tired and had worked up a big appetite.

Can you see the beach just outside room ?

Just outside our beach bungalow

Since both hubby and me are crazy about Italian food we first tried out the Italian restaurant- La Cucina. The ambience in the restaurant was perfect and food that we ordered was delicious.  Unfortunately we found out that selection for vegetarian was very minimal and the portions served were not value for money. This was probably the only low point during our whole stay.

Kurumba swimming pool @ night

Our day 1 in paradise came to a close with a walk around the resort and off to bed early as we were tired. We just could not wait for day 2 to dawn.