Resort Bookings

Seal Superyachts Asia - Maldives can book you into any of the hundreds of resorts and hotels in the Maldives islands. We can assist you in finding the perfect holiday get-away to suit your personal taste and budget.

The choice of islands is vast but all offer tranquility and soft white sandy beaches lapped by waters of delicate hues of blue, ranging from turquoise to the deepest aquamarine.

Airport Tax:

A Passenger Service Charge of US $ 12.00 should be incorporated in the air ticket (including tickets issued outside the Maldives). Alternatively, your airline may absorb the service charge. Passengers in transit for less than 24 hours may leave the airport without having to pay the service charge.

Malé International Airport (Hulhule Island):

Malé's International Airport is situated on its own island which from the air looks like a giant aircraft carrier. The Airport is actually built on two islands connected through reclamation. It is an international airport which can handle the largest of aircraft and fully equipped with all the modern facilities. Located just over a kilometer away from the capital Malé, the airport is connected to the rest of the country and resorts by boat and seaplane.

Facilities available at Hulhule include:

88 transit hotel rooms, Business Centre, Internet Centers, elevators, rest-rooms, telephones, banks, postal and telecommunications offices, over 100 duty-free shops in both terminals, food and beverage outlets, 24-hour medical centre and a children's play area.

Clothing:

The Maldives is hot throughout the year. Light, summer cotton and linen wear is ideal. Pack lots of T-shirts, beachwear, light skirts, cotton shirts, slacks and shorts. At the resorts where you'll have to walk on soft sand most of the time, going barefoot may be ideal for some. However, on visits to inhabited islands, where most of the streets are of compact sand, or in the capital Malé where most of the streets are paved, casual shoes or sandals are easier for walking.

Currency & Banking:

The local currency is the Rufiyaa. The exchange rate is MRf. 12.75 = US$ 1. Always exchange your money at authorized money changers. Travelers Cheques and all major credit cards are accepted at all hotels and resorts. All resorts deal in foreign exchange and will accept payment in any major European currency.

Banking hours are Sunday to Thursday: 8.00 am to 1:30 pm. Visitors should be in possession of at least US $25 per day of stay in the Maldives. There are no restrictions on the amount of currency you can bring in.

ATM & Credit cards:

Most major cards are widely accepted in the Maldives. MasterCard, Visa and American Express are accepted at our offices and ATM machines. HSBC, Bank of Ceylon and State Bank of India Male' Branch accept VISA/MASTER Cards for cash.

Customs & Immigration:

No prior visa arrangements are required. A tourist visa of 30 days will be given to visitors with valid travel documents on arrival. For those coming from yellow fever infected regions, an international certificate of inoculation is required.

Prohibited Items:

Religious materials offensive to Islam

Religious idols

Pornographic material

Narcotics and psychotropic substances

Live pigs

Restricted items:

Arms and ammunition by air and without license by sea

Alcohol and spirits

Pork and its by-products

Dogs

Dangerous animals

Items allowed when accompanied with certificates:

Live plants and animals - a valid phytosanitary / sanitary certificate required

Medicines - doctor's medical prescription required

Language:

Divehi, a Sinhalese dialect of Arabic extraction is the official language. Arabic, English and Hindi are also spoken.

National Holidays:

7 January (National Day), 26 July (Independence Day), 11 November (Republic Day)

Drinking Water:

Mineral water can be purchased from almost any retail shop or supermarket.

Driving:

A valid International Driving License is required for driving in the Maldives.

Drug Abuse:

Trafficking, manufacturing, importing or exporting of any type of narcotics carries a penalty of 25 years in prison.

Electricity:

The electrical supply in Malé is 240V AC using both round and square pin plugs. Resorts operate their own power supply.

Emergency Services:

Here is a list of useful telephone numbers:

102 Ambulance

110 Directory Enquiry

104 Electricity

118 Fire

105 Water

119 Police

313553 ADK Hospital

316647 IGMH Hospital

Geography:

The Maldives Archipelago comprises some 1,190 islands (202 of which are inhabited) in a chain of 20 coral atolls, located in the Indian Ocean 416 miles/670 km south-west of Sri Lanka, covering an area of 116 square miles/300 square kilometres. Protected from monsoon devastation by barrier reefs (faros), none of the islands rises above 1.8 m.

Tropical crops include breadfruit, mango, banana, cassava and screwpine. Ten percent of the total surface is arable and three percent is forested.

History:

The Maldive Islands, settled by its original Dravidian inhabitants from southern India perhaps as early as the 4th century BC, came under the domination of Indo-Aryans mainly from Ceylon who arrived 400 years later.

The king converted in AD 1153 from Buddhism to Islam, ordering the population to do likewise. The islands were ruled as a Muslim sultanate, with a brief interlude under Portuguese control from Goa (1558-73).

The British established a protectorate in Dec. 1887. The powers of the sultans were circumscribed by the provisions of a 1932 constitution, and a short-lived modernizing regime set up a republic (1953-4) before a coup restored the sultanate. Ibrahim Nasir, prime minister to the last of the sultans (from 1957) and effective leader of the country at the time of independence (26 July 1965), became president when a referendum approved a republican constitution (11 Nov. 1968); he strengthened the powers of the presidency (March 1975) but then stood down and left the country (1978), and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected to succeed him. Gayoom was re-elected, unopposed, for his fourth five-year term in a referendum held on 1 Oct. 1993.

The Maldives joined the Commonwealth as a special status member in July 1982 and became a full member on 20 June 1985.