Global Staci

The smallest country in Asia, The Republic of Maldives, is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean southwest of Sri Lanka. Formed of 26 natural atolls, made up of 1,194 islands, only 200 are inhabited. It is also the lowest country in the world, with an average elevation of less than 1.5 meters above sea level, making it highly susceptible to climate change and rising sea levels.

Believed to have been inhabited for a few thousand years, the islands have been influenced by various cultures and religions, including Buddhism and Islam, and were a British protectorate in the 19th century before gaining independence in 1965.

Since tourism began in earnest in the 1970s with the first resorts hosting only a few hundred guests, there are now over 150 resorts which have transformed the country from a largely uninhabited archipelago into a premier global travel destination, known for its unique “one island, one resort” concept.

And it’s not just for honeymooners!

[PRO TIP: Fill out your immigration forms online within 96 hours of arrival. There are a number of official entry requirements but in practice all we needed was this form, passport, resort booking and onward ticket reservation.]

Having learned that the Maldives, a country I thought I may never visit, was only a four-hour flight from Bangkok, where I’d be coming off of a Fuller Center Global Builders build in Lampang, I seized the opportunity. It also helped that the flight wasn’t expensive. Getting here from points further afield would have been a long and costly journey.

Therefore, to answer the title question, “Yes, visit the Maldives, but maybe do it from Asia not North America!”

Because each resort is on its own island, there were several factors that influenced my decision making. It was a bit of a challenge to find a resort that met all my criteria.

Up for Consideration:

• Distance from the airport to the resort—Important to know how far you need to travel to get to any resort and whether you can do it by speedboat or seaplane, which is usually an additional cost.
• Size and scope of the resort—Depends upon, of course, what kind of trip you want, but my friend and I wanted a variety of activities and nothing honeymoonish.
• Type of rooms available at the resort—Many resorts feature rooms with one bed. We were looking for separate rooms, bedrooms, or, at a minimum, separate beds.
• Availability for our travel dates and price—Dates were set and somewhat determined by flight arrivals and departures, and we needed something to fit our budgets.

Filtering our research through those lenses, we chose to stay at Kuramathi. It turned out to be an excellent choice for two friends for five days. We easily coordinated our flight arrival at Velana International Airport with a 75-minute speedboat ride to the all-inclusive resort. Incidentally, you can also fly there. We saw seaplanes landing near the island daily.

[PRO TIP: I figured out how to get to the Maldives using my latest travel planning obsession, flightsfrom.com which shows every nonstop, direct flight from any airport in the world every day of the week. Prepare to be amazed! We flew AirAsia from Bangkok, then used the same tool to choose to fly to Switzerland on our way back to the east coast of the USA.]

The island is comparatively large—two kilometers long—with many room types at varying price points, dining options, swimming pools and bars, even live music. The island boasts a botanical garden walk, and its own hydroponic garden yielding produce used in the restaurants. There are a bevy of activities for an extra cost as well.

There are lots of spaces to gather and to get into the water. The golf-cart minibuses run the length of the island should you not want to walk. Guests ranged in age from infants to seniors, couples, families and friends, honeymooners and wedding guests, you name it.

[PRO TIP: The resort offers an excursion to a local island. I’m a sucker for cultural exploration over other leisure activities, so I went. I would not recommend. The description sounds better than it is. I felt very much like a voyeur wandering around aimlessly on someone else’s turf. My curiosity was satisfied, but it did not deliver. I got a good photo collage out of it!]

No phone service, but Wi-Fi works mostly everywhere on the island. Let go people. It’s the Maldives.

Spending a good amount of time in solitude, reading and writing, I was inspired to write this poem.

May all your travels connect you deeply with yourself and point you toward the paradise within.

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Kuramathi Maldives | February 2026