Heading to the Maldives

Alison and I love travel. We often read and talk about travel. As a result we are consistently planning future trips. At any given moment we have a fairly good idea of the trips we want to take over the upcoming couple of years. These plans are tentative and shift and change over time. Sometimes we explore a trip and realize the timing or cost won’t work at the moment and we put it back on our list of places we will visit in the future. This strategy has enabled us to take some incredible trips.

Because we like to plan our trips far in advance, we began talking about plans to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary in 2019. As we talked about potential trips I had an idea. This idea came from some effective advertising. I had seen recently seen quite a few Hilton advertisements showcasing overwater bungalows. I told Alison I really wanted to stay in an overwater bungalow. She agreed this sounded fun. We started doing some research. We considered the Maldives, but we initially dismissed them due to cost and difficulty of getting there. After more discussion and research we began to think we could make it work. 

The first step was to obtain our hotel room. The Maldives is a popular destination for people to use Hilton Honors points to book rooms because it is probably the best use of points value wise of any destination in the world. We began by looking at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island. This is a luxury resort with overwater bungalows that consistently prices at 95k Hilton points per night. It can be somewhat difficult to obtain rooms during high season, but we were confident that with enough planning we could pull it off. After looking at this resort I was convinced this was the type of overwater bungalow experience I wanted.

Alison had other (better) ideas. She began looking at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi. This a very luxury resort. The rooms are overwater, but tend to be more connected to the shore. They also tend to cost 100k+ points per night. At first I was hesitant about changing from the Conrad to the Waldorf, but Alison worked on convincing me and eventually I came around. The Waldorf opened in July 2019. One of the biggest challenges with the Waldorf would be securing a room. Only a few rooms were available at ~100k points per night and these rooms were in high demand. They book out a year in advance. Alison is always up for a travel booking challenge and so we decided to see what we could get.

Alison booked our room at the Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi in March 2020. She booked it the day after we both were sent home from work due to the global pandemic. It was a crazy day and we were all glued to the news. We were working remotely from Blake and Debbie’s house because it was a Friday and our house cleaners were at our house. In that moment we did not think that our trip one year later would be impacted by the global pandemic. It didn’t seem like anyone was thinking it would have such long-term impact at that moment in time.

Alison initially booked the room in a series of reservations. This was part of the strategy to make sure we were able to book the number of days we wanted. We also weren’t sure exactly what the trip would look like yet, so this gave us flexibility to adjust by a day or two. Alison booked a block of 5-days. This was important because when you pay with Hilton points if you book 4 nights you get the fifth night free. This is exceptionally valuable with the Waldorf. Alison then booked two additional nights separately after our 5-day block. This allowed us to book as soon as 5 consecutive nights were available, instead of waiting for 7 consecutive nights. We were able to book 7 nights in the Maldives for 720,000 Hilton Honors points.

Once the room was booked there was not much to do but wait. Getting to the Maldives is not particularly easy, especially from Salt Lake City. We did begin making tentative plans. Delta does not fly to the Maldives, but we wanted to fly a Delta partner so that we could get miles and build up status. The Delta partner that made the most sense was Aeroflot. They are a Russian airline. Getting to the Maldives would require us to fly through Moscow. We would have had a lengthy layover in Moscow and so we thought we should just extend the trip and spend a couple of days in Moscow. We were excited about this opportunity, but decided to hold off on purchasing flights because of the pandemic.

This was the correct choice. As we got closer and closer to the end of 2020 the more the we could see the pandemic was likely to continue well past the end of the year and Russia looked increasingly unlikely to open to foreign visitors. Not only was Russia not going to open, but Aeroflot wasn’t even offering the flight we needed. 

The Maldives are open to tourists, despite the pandemic. So we decided we would find another way to get there. There were no other good options through Delta partners, in fact, there were very few options overall. After considering our options we decided to fly Turkish airlines. To get to the Maldives we would fly Turkish airlines from LA to Istanbul and onto the Maldives. Turkey was also open to tourists so we decided we would stopover and spend a couple of days in Istanbul. 

We were feeling optimistic about this plan. Then one afternoon in December 2020 we received an email informing us our flight to the Maldives was cancelled. This was devastating. After nearly a year of planning it suddenly looked like the trip would be impossible. We we wondered if we were trying too hard and if we should try to push the trip back to November or maybe even 2022. We looked at other potential carriers, but none of those flight options made sense or seemed likely to actually go. We felt dejected at this point.

Later that evening we circled back and looked at Turkish airlines again. It appeared they consolidated their flight schedules to and from the Maldives. Rather than running a flight everyday they pared it back to a couple of times per week. While the new schedule wasn’t ideal at matching up with the dates we had booked our hotel we realized we could make it work. We would arrive in the Maldives earlier than we had planned, but we figured we could always get a hotel in Male for a night, if needed.

With a bit of luck and because of the pandemic we were able to adjust our hotel reservation. Prior to the pandemic Alison and I earned a couple of free weekend nights with Hilton through a promotion. We wanted to use these in the Maldives, but it didn’t end up working out. Because of the pandemic Hilton changed the rules so that these nights could be used on weekdays as well. When we checked the Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi, we were able to add these onto the beginning of our trip and Alison cancelled the two days she reserved at the end of our trip. It is very unusual for two base level nights to be available during peak season, but it must be because of Covid. We can’t think of any other explanation. These nights now lined up perfectly with our adjusted flight schedule. We were able to book 7 nights the Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi for two free night certificates and 480,000 points. This is an incredible value. The average nightly price to book our room (King Reef Villa with Pool) the week we are going was $2,480, or a little over $21k for the 7 nights we spend be in the Maldives.

The pandemic impacted this trip in multiple ways. Alison and I were both vaccinated prior to our trip. We didn’t skip the line. We were both vaccinated because we are participants in the phase 3 trial for the Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer unblinded the study at the beginning of 2021. I found out on February 2 that I received the actual vaccine. I have been fully vaccinated since September 2020. Alison found out a couple of weeks later that she received the placebo. Pfizer provided all participants who initially receive the placebo the actual vaccine. Alison got her second shot the week before we headed to the Maldives. I am really happy we participated in this trial, not only because we were able to help Pfizer validate that the vaccine is safe and effective, but also because it gave us access to the vaccine. This provided some peace of mind when we decided to move forward with our trip.

Testing was one of the more complex and stressful parts of planning for this trip. The Maldives required a negative PCR test taken at no more than 96 hours prior to departure. Turkey required a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure. For our return, the US requires a negative Covid test taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure. Navigating the testing requirements is stressful. It turns out it is harder and more stressful to get timely test results in the US than in other locals we would visit. We contacted our hotel in the Maldives and they will have someone come to our hotel room and test us and they provide assurance they will provide the results within the required timeframe. It is a similar situation in Turkey. We can either get tested at the airport (with results available within hours), or at our hotel also with timely results. In the US there are no such guarantees on the turnaround time of the tests. As a result we decided to get three tests, so that we will hopefully get one back within the required timeframe. 

The Maldives is a fairly safe destination to visit during the pandemic. Because of the Maldive’s signature one-island one-resort model, resorts are spread out on many small islands making social distancing more attainable. For example, the Waldorf Astoria Ithaafushi is only accessible by boat. It consists of 122 villas spread across three private islands. There are also 11 restaurants. Each room is quite spacious and they each have a private pool. At any given time there may be a few hundred people on the island. Most people stay on one island for their entire vacation. They aren't coming and going. We don’t expect to spend much time around other people when we are in the Maldives. 

In the months and weeks leading up to our trip we really buckled down and avoided leaving our house as much as possible. When the calendar flipped to February we stopped going into the grocery store - instead we would schedule a grocery pickup. In the two weeks leading up to our trip we entered self-imposed isolation. We avoided leaving our house as much as possible and we even avoided seeing Alison’s family. Getting COVID was the biggest risk that might stop us from going on this trip so we did everything we could to avoid getting sick. Even though we were taking every precaution we were fairly paranoid and stressed. It seemed like one of any number of things could go wrong and prevent us from taking this trip. 

When we got within a week of our trip our biggest hurdle was testing. The Saturday before our departure we realized we had a potential problem. Our plan was to get tested by IHC. They have a fairly easy process for getting a PCR test. Alison took this test a few weeks earlier. I was reviewing the requirements for the Maldives and decided to see if her results from IHC contained all of the required information. They did not. The Maldives required the lab name and address to be on the testing documentation. We then went into overdrive trying to figure out who provided a PCR test that would provide the information we needed. It is harder than you would think to find the information included on the test results. Fortunately, Alison has a friend who traveled internationally in January. He used the Pixel by Labcorp test and was able to send us his results so we could have an example of what was included. It included the information we needed. We each ordered a Pixel test (this test is performed at home and mailed in). We also planned to visit Walgreens and get a test in person. On Thursday (96 hours before our trip) we took the Pixel test and delivered it to Fedex. We also did a drive-thru test at Walgreens. We hoped we would have the results by Saturday. Then because we were paranoid we would get a rogue gate agent in LA that wouldn’t use the 96 hour criteria of the Maldives, but would instead hold us to the 72 hour criteria of Turkey we did one more Covid test on Friday (72 hours before our trip) at IHC. This way all of our bases were covered. We ended up receiving the results from both the Pixel and Walgreens tests on Friday around the middle of the day. Both were negative. We were overjoyed we now felt much more confident we were going to the Maldives. Our IHC results came on Saturday morning, also negative.

Because Alison was so worried that something would end up cancelling this trip we did not even think about packing until Saturday. We are fairly proficient at packing for international trips so it wasn’t a big deal, but it did take most of our Saturday. This trip was challenging to pack for because beach trips tend to require more stuff, and the weather in the Maldives and Turkey was going to be very different. We had to pack for cooler temperatures in Turkey. Also this trip is a little over two weeks total, so it is fairly long. Once we were done packing we tried to relax and turn in early on Saturday night. We had a hard time sleeping because we were so excited. We were like kids on Christmas morning.

We woke up on Sunday and finished preparing for our trip. We dropped CC and Tex off at their respective accommodations. My grandpa was kind enough to give us a ride to the airport. The SLC airport was a happening place on Sunday morning. SLC felt like pre-pandemic travel levels. I was surprised, but Alison told me this is how it was on her last work trip as well. We had a short and bumpy flight from SLC to LA.

We haven't seen this view for a while

At the start of our journey

In LA we had to pick up our bags and recheck them with Turkish Airlines. Turkish airlines only staffs the check-in counters a few hours before a scheduled flight. They don’t have very many flights out of LAX these days. We had to find a seat and wait for the check-in counter to open. Once it opened we had one of our final tests, the gate agent asked to see our Covid test. She studied them intently for a few minutes without saying anything. We stood there just waiting for any sign of approval. Finally she told us everything was in order and checked our bags. We were so happy. We breezed through security. There was no one in line. The international terminal was eerily empty. There were a handful of other flights, but it was so quiet. There also weren’t many food options. We were hungry and the only thing open was Panda Express and that was fine. After we ate we went and sat by the gate. We would have hung out in the lounge, but it was also closed due to Covid. Many of the stores and restaurants, particularly in this terminal were temporarily closed. All told we had about a 6 hour layover in LA. 

The international terminal in LAX was a ghost town

The sun was setting as they were preparing our plane

The flight from LA to Istanbul was the longest leg of our journey. It took ~13 hours. They blocked middle seats on this flight, which was great because Alison and I got a whole row to ourselves. Turkish airlines was fine overall. The seats were a little cramped, but with no one in the middle seat that wasn't a big deal. They made a ton of announcements, which is annoying when you are using their entertainment system. The food was good (more on that below) and their entertainment options were excellent. I watched a movie, ate a surprisingly good airplane meal (salmon for me, pasta for Alison - she is a little skeptical of ordering fish on planes), and then I slept. It is pretty hard to sleep on a plane, but I managed to sleep for ~7 hours of the flight. I tossed and turned a bit, but I did feel fairly refreshed when I woke up. Sleeping in a face mask did not even bother me. I honestly thought it would have been much more bothersome. When I woke up I watched another movie, ate breakfast and started a third movie before we landed. It was really great to be on an international flight. We have traveled to multiple countries each year prior to the pandemic, but it's been over a year since our last international flight. Hearing announcements in multiple languages was exciting and felt a little bit like coming home. 

We landed in Istanbul at 7pm local time. We deplaned just in time to see the sunset. Since we are transiting we didn't need to pick up our bags or go through customs. We did have to go through security again. The Istanbul airport was fairly busy and most all of the shops were open, which was quite a contrast from the ghost town of LAX. There were a lot of international flights going in and out of Istanbul, even late into the evening. We had ~7 hour layover so we wandered around the airport until we found the Turkish airlines lounge. This lounge requires status for access, but fortunately Alison made sure she had status on Turkish before our trip. We normally wouldn't have any status on Turkish airlines (they are part of United's Star alliance program), however, most airlines offer a status match program. These programs allow someone who has status with a competitor to obtain a similar level of status. They do this so you can try out the perks on their airline and they hope this will convince you to switch or split your loyalty. Alison used her status with Delta to match status on Turkish airlines. It was a somewhat painful process as they required a fair amount of documentation proving her status on Delta. She went back and forth with them a number of times. Finally she got the match. All of that effort was worth it for access to the lounge. The lounge on the second level of the Istanbul airport and overlooked the shopping/restaurants below. We found some comfortable seats away from everyone else and relaxed for the duration of our layover. They had decent food and a great beverage selection and it was all free. We snacked, drank tons of water, and waited for our flight. This layover was so long. The lounge was also extremely valuable because it had free wifi access, which surprisingly the Istanbul airport does not have. Waiting ~7 hours with no wifi would have not been great. 

This has been by far our longest travel day yet. Between the long flights and long layovers, we did a lot of sitting over the 36 hours we were in transit. We both commented that although we plan to travel internationally with our children we would never do this type of travel with kids. We then discussed where we would travel with kids and settled on Europe and anywhere in Asia we could get to with 1 layover. Prior to traveling with children though, we would actually have to have children... 

View from our seats on the lounge

Our little corner of the Turkish Airlines Lounge

Finally it was time for the last leg of our journey. Our flight from Istanbul to Male was ~8 hours. This flight felt really long. It was the last leg of our journey and we were ready to be done. It ended up being a little longer than planned because there was traffic at the Male airport and we had to circle around for a while before they allowed us to land. Once we landed we made it through customs and immigration. They accepted our Covid tests without any issues. 

I could not wait to get to our accomodations and to take off my mask. I don't really mind wearing a mask and I am a strong proponent of following the advice of medical professionals. Alison and I have even invested in comfortable masks, but I will say after having worn a couple of masks for most of the past 36+ hours I was ready for a break. 

We picked up our bags and then found a representative from the Waldorf Astoria waiting for us. They ushered us out of the airport and took our bags. Just outside the airport a yacht was waiting to take us to Ithaafushi. Our ride was ~45 minutes, but the yacht was very comfortable and they gave us a refreshing cold towel and some delicious mango juice to enjoy. There was an employee who pointed out the various resorts and islands we passed.

We arrived at the welcome dock. Here we met our personal concierge - Adhikko. He would help us make dinner and activity reservations, provide transport around the island and answer any questions we have.  As we disembarked we received another cold towel and a welcome beverage (it was some kind of juice with ginger). Then we asked Adhikko to take us to our room so we could freshen up. He drove us in a little golf cart. He checked us in at our room - they don't want to make you wait at the front desk and showed us around the room before leaving us to get settled. The room is incredible. It has a private pool with lots of room to lounge outdoors. It is built out over a reef are. The inside of the room is quite spacious with large windows looking out over the ocean. The bathroom is huge. There is an indoor and outdoor shower. We may never want to leave. I have also never been in a hotel room that smelled so nice. Every detail is perfect. We dug into the welcome fruit bowl that was full of all kinds of delicious fruits.

Once we had unpacked we decided to take Adhikko on his offer to give us a tour of the island. At this point I was hitting a wall and I knew that if we were going to leave I only wanted to leave once. We called Adheeko (they gave us a small mobile phone we could use to contact him). He picked us up in a golf cart and took us to Nava. Nava is a casual beachside restaurant/bar. We were seated at a table overlooking the beach/ocean. The ambiance was quite nice, there was a talented musician singing and playing the violin while we ate. Food at the Maldives is quite expensive, which we knew when we planned this vacation, but it was still a little shocking to pull up the menu and see that a cheeseburger is $50. This is why we planned to try to pay for only one meal a day (we get free breakfast because of Alison's status with Hilton and we packed a fair amount of snacks). Alison had some fish tacos and I got the aforementioned cheeseburger. The food was quite tasty. 

After lunch Adhikko drove us around the island. He showed us the other restaurants and we told him which ones we were interested in so he could make reservations for us. He also took us to the Dive shop and we scheduled a dive trip. After the tour of the island he dropped us back at our room. 

It was a beautiful evening. We headed out to our deck and laid out on one of two swinging beds. We were just relaxing, but before we knew it we were both asleep. We woke up and the sun had gone down. We weren't even sure how long we had been out so we headed back inside and called it a night. As we were getting ready for bed an employee came and rang the doorbell. He wanted to know if he could clean our room (they clean the rooms twice a day). I told him we wanted to pass on the service tonight. Then we both turned in for some much needed sleep.