Safari Island

We have been to two other Maldives island resorts and the resorts keep on getting better. As we have been before we decided to go with a half board plus, this included snacks and drinks. The overall condition of the island facilities as many other people have mentioned could do with an update, however, this would take away the charm of the resort and may change the wild/marine life. The marine life around the island/house reef were on another level, lots of colourful fish, big fish, big nursery white and black tip sharks. A number of eagle and sting rays were pointed out to us by the staff. It should be noted that all the staff were very friendly and helpful, thanks Riffa et al. Our accommodation was a beach front bungalow, which was on the side of the island that the sea plane lands. This was the ‘windier’ side of the island and when it was very hot we had a lovely breeze. The room was spacious, with a bamboo king side bed, TV, tea/coffee, daily water, mini fridge (we put can drinks in here), safe, bath and a separate shower. The room was air conditioned, which was welcome throughout the day. We had our meals, breakfast and evening meals in the main restaurant; we were assigned a lovely table that overlooked the sea and our server was Hassan, who was absolutely fantastic. Breakfast was amazing with a variety of foods from all over the world. The evening meals a buffet type, which changed all the nights that were out of this world. I had the best butter chicken ever. Deserts were on another level. During our stay we undertook some sub-aqua diving. It should be known that I am a qualified sub-aqua diver, while my wife does the occasional dive. However, the dive centre, Nicola and Henry thanks, (Joy Dive), suggested that she did a course, which she duly did. Both the reef and boats dives were spectacular, with the wide life both very large and inquisitive. Having sharks of up to 2 meters long coming within 40 cm to you, seeing a turtle have a reef snack to name a few incidents. On a separate snorkelling trip, we saw another turtle and 2 dolphins, an adult and baby which were truly magical memories. Spa massage, we liked it so much that we had 2 x You and Me- Enough said Our overall experience was fanatic and apart from the 4.5 hour delay at the sea-plane port, we can highly recommend Safari Island.

Just back from an idyllic 2 week stay on safari island, we did have a couple of issues with WiFi and air con but these were dealt with rapidly, it really is all about the guests! the staff here really do their best to ensure you have a wonderful time, Abdul in the main restaurant and Adu in the bars were amazing, we went all inclusive and the food at every meal was lovely with a really good selection to cater for everyones tastes. the water villas are spacious and spotlessly clean. The spa and dive centre were equally great, snorkelling the reef is wonderful and also got to say hi to the sharks under the restaurant!!! Would not hesitate in recommending this island.

Although this was my 16th time visiting the Maldives it was my first at this island. I booked here as it looked a lovely small island and the snorkelling footage I had seen was impressive. I was here for 3 weeks staying in a beach villa on the HB+ meal plan and even though it was a long duration it flew by very quickly. I requested a villa on the lagoon side as I prefer the late day sun and the chance at seeing a sunset from the beach, I was given room 102 which was just down from the arrival jetty, the location was perfect, the beach is around 15 steps from the villa decking and at the time I was there the beach was very nice on this side of the island (those that travel regular will understand that beaches move around with the current). The room itself is very spacious with a nice sized bed, tv and fridge, and an indoor bathroom, in the bathroom you have two sinks, a bath and a shower. On the villa decking there are two loungers preformed in a nice shape for laying on, then two more loungers which you can take down to the beach as well. You are given two beach towels each day so no need to take your own. There is just the one restaurant on the island which is a buffet restaurant out over the sea, the food is very varied so something for everyone and was also very tasty, there are also 3 live cooking stations, one of which is always a pasta/spaghetti one. You are assigned a table on arrival which is yours for the duration of your stay, you can request to be moved to another area but this will be dependent on if the table is free, so you may need to wait for other guests to depart the island. The main bar is situated out over the sea next to the restaurant, there is an outside area here as well where you can look at any passing sharks or fish. There is also a bar at the pool which is located near the jetty to the bar and restaurant, you can also order some food from here as well during the day and there are more of the very comfy preformed loungers around the pool with an umbrella as well. A third bar opens around 4.30pm near the spa which is a sunset bar. The snorkelling here is very good on the reef side, you don’t have to go out too far to get to the drop off and you’re pretty much always guaranteed to see sharks around, plus there are a lot of clownfish at this island as well, plus rays and turtles as well as all the other usual suspects that you see in the Maldives. Whilst I was there the visibility wasn’t always great but again this is dependent on weather and current conditions so nothing you can do about it. The beach is very nice here and all the way round the island you can easily walk out in to the sea as the coral doesn’t start for a bit, so ideal for just relaxing in without risking getting snagged and cut. The staff here are all great, they have permanent smiles on their faces and very cheery, and within a short time they know what you drink and one appears as you sit down. The roomboys do a great job and I was lucky to have

Gorgeous island. BUT the resort is ‘one of those’ places that charges at every turn. As a simple example, none of the packages include water. You can not drink water from the tap, and the price is about 500% higher than the local rate. The internet is terrible. Can not recommend.

The island needs a good refurbishment and the food wasn’t the best I was disappointed with the whole front of house staff not being helpful and constantly smirking when you try to ask for something and they look at you as if your stupid Dropped $40 in the restaurant and a guest gave it to to the waiter and when I asked if he had it he said why do you want it and didn’t return the money The palm bar the staff was amazing always happy and couldn’t do enough for us When we checked out I paid some cash and card a because the notes had been folded they wouldn’t accept them Saying they were creased Not a great experience I’m afraid definitely wouldn’t return