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Imagine yourself on a wooden jetty towards a tropical island in the Maldives. (Photo Getty Images)
Imagine yourself on a wooden jetty towards a tropical island in the Maldives. (Photo Getty Images)
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As the world slowly reawakens from its enforced slumber, I’ve been daydreaming of those distant destinations that promise a place of wonder. You probably have, too, ready to trade staying home for what’s being called a “revenge” trip – getting revenge against the pandemic, that is.

The Maldives is just such a place, one that is so far from our everyday lives, so different from home that it evokes the possibility of experiences that cry out like a siren song, singing “Come, have the adventure of a lifetime here.”

The Maldives is a faraway paradise, a small country made up of tiny islands amid the warm deep blue sea, located near the equator in the Indian Ocean. The country has been open to American visitors throughout the past year-plus (with COVID-19 protocols in place for travelers), since its single-resort islands are ideal places to socially distance during regular times, as well as in a pandemic.

And the reality is, the Maldives lives up to just what you’ve been imagining in every way, as I learned during a recent, pre-pandemic trip. So, settle in and join me on an armchair visit – and begin making your own plan for a trip-of-a-lifetime escape as our world once again becomes a safe place to explore.

Getting there

It’s a daunting journey from Southern California, regardless of whether you choose to head east or west, for in either direction this country, which is made up of 1,192 islands, is basically halfway around the world. There is no easy way to get there, and the trip will likely take you about 30 hours door-to-door, with at least two flights needed (and a long layover in between) to get to Malé, the capital city of the country that is pronounced “mall-deeves.”

I chose to head there going east, on Turkish Airlines out of LAX via Istanbul, because I knew from experience that meant flying on a top-notch airline that offers free tours of Istanbul to passengers with long layovers. That’s a wonderful way to spend the down time while waiting for the flight to Malé; or business-class passengers can relax with their access to Turkish Airlines’ legendary lounge.

Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific will fly you the other way, to the west via Asia; and Emirates can get you there through Dubai.

Once on Malé, you’ll ride a quick water taxi shuttle from the airport to the seaplane dock, where a small plane will fly you out to the resort you’ve chosen – all 245 of them are found on one of the 200 inhabited atolls on this island string that stretches for more than 500 miles.

The experience

As we soared over the brilliant blue waters, one thing became quickly obvious to me as those island atolls unfurled beneath our wings – the resort destination you pick in the Maldives is most likely the only place you’re going to call home while in country. Most of them are private-island resorts, which means that everything you experience will happen there.

A few resorts, including the Four Seasons Maldives at Kuda Huraa, are a quick ferry ride to a larger island (Huraa), but most are just what you’d imagine the Maldives to be – an isolated paradise, a remote resort centered on water sports and beach games, beachfront dining, spa interludes and overwater bungalow serenity.

World-class scuba diving is always on my mind, which is why I ventured to two different resorts while in the Maldives. After traveling so far to this pristine place, I was dying to see different parts of this famed underwater nirvana. So, my first stop was at the Heritance Aarah Resort on the Raa Atoll, a luxurious spot complete with overwater ocean villas and suites, as well as pool beach villas.

Set amid the green-blue ocean, this gorgeous all-inclusive has five bars and six restaurants (and room service, too), serving classic cocktails, wines and choices from an international buffet to seafood specialties, Sri Lankan, Indian and French cuisine, and street food. There’s snorkeling, kite- or windsurfing, jet skiing, flyboarding, sailing – and the scuba diving I had come for.

It would have been easy to lounge all day, looking out over the water while sipping some bubbly, especially since my home base there was an overwater suite with its own infinity pool. But when in a newfound warm-water paradise, for me it’s all about squirming into a wetsuit, strapping on a heavy tank, taking a giant stride and launching into that crystal-clear water.

From the moment you begin to descend, it is akin to swimming through the most incredible coral-filled aquarium your mind can imagine. Sea turtles meander by, white-tipped sharks slice sleekly past and – if you’re lucky, like I was – both a school of spotted eagle rays and a silvery crowd of sharp-toothed barracuda slid into view on my very first dive.

Finding so many wonders under the sea, along with meals of fresh seafood and flowing wines at Heritance, made it hard to tear away, but getting the chance to visit another spot in the Maldives was a strong lure, for the underwater critters vary widely in different parts of the 500-mile-long chain of islands.

I headed south to the Mercure Maldives Kooddoo on Gaafu Alifu Atoll. That’s another picturesque resort with a breathtaking coral lagoon protecting the atoll’s calm sea waters. That lagoon allows you to swim right off your villa’s deck with snorkel gear in place, where I spotted little turtles, baby sharks and small rays that love lingering in those protected areas around the overwater bungalows’ decking path.

The Mercure is a small, cozy resort with 68 villas, two restaurants, two bars and a white-sand beach with a nearby infinity pool. Like virtually every resort in the Maldives, it has its own dive operation, along with other water-sport equipment ready for guests to create their own adventures.

In this part of the country, manta rays and whale sharks often come to visit, eating plankton and giving you what is arguably one of the most sublime experiences of your life, swimming with those gentle giants of the deep. It was the wrong season for whale sharks (August to November is best), but I did encounter a massive manta ray that swam right up and took a peek at me as I grinned right back at him, fulfilling my earlier Maldives daydreams perfectly.

It’s a long way to go, for certain, but a trip to the Maldives is worth the journey, especially if you’re celebrating a honeymoon or anniversary (or doing a “re-do” of a big one you missed while sheltering in place) – or are simply ready to make this legendary destination your first post-pandemic adventure of a lifetime.

Anyone can try scuba diving there: simply ask for a resort dive experience (a shallower dive than us pros take) and you’ll soon know if joining the underwater world and becoming one with the fishes is part of your dream, too.