Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
total enquiries
These full and frank independent Maldives Gap year holidays reviews are from travellers who have booked directly through responsibletravel.com. They are not edited by us or any of the companies we work with. Find the real story, from real travellers below.
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!
The Maldive islands are renowned for their pristine beaches and spectacular diving. But global warming is a dark cloud on their horizon. The four seasons resort at kuda huraa in the Maldives understands well the 'Robinson Crusoe' factor, identified by the Maldivian Ministry for Tourism as key to the Maldives appeal. All Maldivian resorts occupy islands that are otherwise uninhabited, so for the length of your holiday, you really are a castaway on your own desert island. The Four Seasons Resort knows all about castaway comfort, about clean towels for the beach and fresh fruit cocktails on tap. There are several staff for each guest, three restaurants, and fantastic water sports and diving facilities on an island so tiny that you can walk its circumference in ten minutes. Yet amid the luxury, there are signs of concern. Every night in the library, guests gather for the 'Fish Talk', a serious 45-minute lecture given by the resort's marine biologist and aimed at raising awareness of the underwater environment, including the creation of coral and the recent bleaching phenomenon. The Maldives may have become a luxury destination, but these same resorts that pander to the international jetset also have a part to play in preserving these islands if they want the country to survive. With sea levels on the rise (a study undertaken in 2000 suggested that sea levels in the Indian Ocean had risen by as much as 25cm since the start of the 1980s) and global warming showing no signs of slowing down, it may be a matter not of whether – but when – the islands will finally be submerged by the ocean.
Find out more about the Maldives in Kamin Mohammadi's 'Calling Robinson Crusoe' Maldives article.
