Going to the Maldives with children isn't 'brave', it's brilliant
I can't say I was all that surprised hearing those words from multiple people in the run-up to our once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I'd had the same thought, many times – it's a couple's destination.
Then there was the fear of the 11-hour journey – my 11-year-old daughter and four-year-old son's first long-haul flight.
As a precaution, we armed ourselves with as many tools as possible– think pool sinkables, Lonely Planet's kids drawing games on the go, and sticker-filled activity books.
In the worry, I'd lost sight of the fact my children have an incredible sleeping superpower, and the only one unable to get any shuteye on the flight was yours truly.
The next fear I had was the Maldives itself. It's for honeymoons, not families, right? I could just imagine my football-mad daughter kicking a football on the beach and it crash, bang, walloping onto a lobster-for-two, splattering a loved-up couple in garlic butter and sending their expensive bubbles onto the sand.
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Alas, each of the three resorts we stayed at (we chose to island-hop so that if we did cause a fracas, the embarrassment was finite) was incredibly welcoming to our children.
So much so, that my four-year-old was declared (or declared himself) chief buggy driver of the northern atolls. He loved all the kids' clubs, but driving the carts that ferried us around the islands is now his goal in life.
We stayed at The Westin (mine and my husband's favourite), then Le Meridien (my daughter's favourite) and The Sheraton (my son's favourite).
When I travel, I love to taste food from around the world. Call me a cliché. Sadly, my children, like many others, haven't yet developed the joy of culinary experimentation.
One evening as we sat drinking crisp white wine with a family from northern India who we had befriended thanks to our children playing together, I relayed this thought to a mother.
I asked what her kids enjoyed, hoping that she would tell me they were accustomed to spices and flavours I can only dream of my own enjoying.
Her response disappointed me: 'We can't go anywhere that doesn't serve pizza, pasta, or chicken nuggets.'
Clearly our youngsters' penchant for Italian cuisine and bread-crumbed poultry is an international issue – one that our resorts all understood and catered for. Okay, so we let them have chips more than we normally would at home, but we've got to have a break from our own voices. We are on holiday, after all.
For us adults, across the board the food was excellent. We experienced everything from breakfast and burgers to fine dining and local cuisine.
We also had a 'floating breakfast' in our pool at Le Meridien. Or rather, we tried to. I'm sure it's good for Instagram, but chopping my sausages on a moving platform and trying not to get my toast soggy wasn't ideal.
On two islands, we stayed in beach villas, but at the Westin, we were in an overwater villa; I felt like this was a Maldives non-negotiable, like the pool breakfast or catching a sea plane, crewed by the barefoot pilots of Trans Maldivian Airways.
We told our four-year-old that he could only go on our porch if he was wearing a life jacket – there were no barriers and he could easily have fallen in.
In the end, that wasn't necessary, because upon his first dip in the water, he didn't like the taste and became convinced he saw a sea snake while snorkelling. It was refraction of the ladder as it entered the water.
Our children were most excited about the sunset dolphin tours. Wanting to mimic the spinner dolphins jumping and flipping, my son is now helping me build my upper-body strength with his constant requests to throw him in a similar manner whenever we go swimming.
My husband and I were most excited about the kids' clubs.
Of course, we spent a lot of time with our children, but it was nice being able to spend a bit of time together, going for massages and enjoying a beachside glass of wine or two without having to be on lifeguard duty because your four-year-old refuses to put his armbands on.
Our children both enjoyed the kids' clubs too, but I think perhaps, being 11, it will be the last time we can get away with it for our daughter.
They came back with tattoos (temporary), a shell-based picture frame, and new friendships. In fact, our son loved Le Meridien so much that he wanted to stay there rather than coming snorkelling with the rest of us.
Island hopping with two children and a daddy who is not the most confident of flyers (the landing always gets me), the thought of a sea plane was rather daunting.
I paid particular attention to where the emergency exits were on the Trans Maldivian Airways fleet.
Even as we hovered over the seascape of blues and greens, my mind was racing to the 'what ifs' of rogue waves, wrong angles and the best way to make sure my children escaped first. More Trending
In the end, the landings were incredibly smooth and my worries, thankfully, were for nothing. I agree with my son though – the speed boat to and from the Sheraton was the most fun of all the transfers.
Next time someone tells me taking my kids to the Maldives is brave, I'll just smile. It's not brave, it's brilliant.
You might still worry about rogue footballs and choppy landings, but the joy on their faces – and the occasional child-free massage – makes every single chicken nugget worth it.
Room
L (11-year-old): Westin – because when I woke up, I saw fish
E (four-year-old): Sheraton – because we were all in the same room
Transport
L: Speed boat – it was fun because it was super bumpy
E: Sea plane and speed boat
Food
L: Raspberry ice cream at the Westin. And the choice at the different buffets
E: Pancakes with Mickey Mouse chocolate face
Kids Club
L: Pool party at the Sheraton
E: Le Meridien – he still misses the staff
Swimming Pool
L: Le Meridien – because there were lots of other children to play with
E: Le Meridien or The Sheraton – because he could touch the bottom
Favourite activity
L: I enjoyed the snorkelling because we got to see the fish pooing – I saw six.
E: Speedboats. And buggies. And Kids club
Favourite memory
L: I loved seeing the sharks out on the reef every night
E: Speed boat
Must haves: High SPF sunscreen. At least factor 50 (take lots, it's expensive out there) Rash guards/swimming shirts Water shoes (there's a lot of coral) Underwater camera
No screens – we may have led our children to believe that the Maldives doesn't have very good internet
Rooms at Le Meridien start at around £200 per night for a beach villa for two people. At the Sheraton, rooms start at around £180 per night for a deluxe room; at the Westin, from £230 per night for a beach villa.
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