Staying at Bandos Maldives resort

Stuart Forster reviews a stay at the Bandos Maldives resort in the Maldives.

Declaration: Stuart travelled to the Maldives to attend the World Travel Writers’ Conference organised by Maldives TV. Some of the links and banners below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Bandos Maldives is a 10-minute speedboat journey from Velana International Airport. For international air travellers, that is the principal point of arrival in the Maldives.

The resort was my base during the first World Travel Writers’ Conference. Keynote sessions and panel discussions were held in the Bandos Maldives’ air-conditioned conference suite.

Arriving at Bandos Maldives

During the welcome and orientation briefing at the Bandos Maldives, I was served refreshing, cool coconut juice. Afterwards, the group of us who’d just arrived were invited to hop aboard an electric buggy to be shown to our rooms.

I was allocated a standard room a few paces back from the northeast shore of the compact island, which is just over 400 metres in diameter.

Aerial photos show Bandos Island as being almost circular. The lush green core is ringed by a white, sandy beach and set in blue water. It would have been easy to walk across the island but, handily, the driver used the journey to point out the swimming pool, mosque, gym and Dive Bandos, the resort’s dive centre.

The island was one of the first to open as a resort, back in 1972, when the Maldives began promoting tourism. The nation’s one island, one resort policy has been a factor in the Maldives gaining a reputation as an exclusive holiday destination.

As I discovered during my stay, it’s possible to participate in a range of activities. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be planning a honeymoon to justify a trip to the Maldives.

Accommodation on Bandos island

My air-conditioned room featured wooden flooring, a thatched ceiling and a king-size bed. Handily, the room had a desk at which I could work. The safe enabled me to lock away my laptop and camera equipment while in the ocean.

Though the veranda had a couple of chairs, I preferred taking a couple of dozen steps further, so that I could sit on the beach and read.

Padded loungers were available on the sand, beneath palm trees angled over the water. Hammocks were slung between palms. One of the hammocks proved the ideal place to read about the conference while listening to the soothing sound of rustling palm fronds and the rhythmic lapping of waves.

Food and drink at Bandos Maldives

The majority of the meals I ate at Bandos Maldives were within the open-sided Galley Restaurant. Buffet meals provided Continental and Indian-style food options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I enjoyed starting my days on the island by tucking into mild Maldivian curry and mashuni (tuna sambal) served with roshi, a type of soft flatbread.

The resort has a choice of dining options, including pool and beach bars.

Indian and Italian dishes are among the options at Sea Breeze Café, where overwater decking enables me to watch blacktip reef sharks swimming among shoals of fish. Some of the sharks are up to two metres in length. The presence of those non-aggressive creatures is a factor in drawing scuba divers to Bandos Maldives’ hous reef.

I also grabbed a burger at Huvan. The overwater bar-restaurant that is a hit with people who enjoy cocktails while watching sunsets over the Indian Ocean.

Diving and snorkelling off Bandos Island

Bandos Resort has a PADI-accredited scuba diving school. The state-of-the-art facilities include decompression and hyperbaric chambers.

I joined a dive on Bandos Island’s house reef. It resulted in a multitude of sightings, including scorpion fish, blacktip reef shark and a hawksbill turtle. I later got back in the water to snorkel, enabling me to see many more colourful reef fish.

Fellow bloggers Allison Green and Aleah Taboclaon went diving from a boat with the team from Dive Bandos. The expedition enabled them to see manta rays circling in the ocean.

Wellness treatments at Orchid Spa

On arrival at Orchid Spa, Bandos resort’s wellness centre, I filled out a health questionnaire and discussed potential treatments.

My work entails long hours in front of a keyboard. That results in shoulder tension. Consequently, the team suggested a signature massage could help smooth out knots in my back.

The massage was carried out in a cottage. Soft music and a gentle scent helped create a tranquil atmosphere. I enjoyed the masseuse’s work.

Sporting facilities at Bandos Maldives

Walking back to my room took me past the gardens and greenhouses where fruit and vegetables are grown on Bandos Island.

The stroll also gave me a chance to admire the island’s synthetic football pitch. The staff team were participating in an intensive-looking training session.

With a volleyball court, tennis courts, indoor badminton facilities and a gym, the island gives sports enthusiasts options. After swimming in both the sea and pool, I enjoyed a couple of rounds in the steam room.

Excursions from Bandos Island

I participated in a fishing trip, a sunset boat cruise and a tour of neighbouring islands during my time at Bandos Maldives.

The availability of activities and excursions dispelled my preconception that a visit to the Maldives entails flopping on the beach and doing little else. Yet after walking barefoot in the soft sand, I appreciate why some holidaymakers spend so long relaxing on the Maldives’ beautiful beaches.

Would I like to return to the Maldives? Definitely; I took home many positive memories of my time at Bandos Maldives. I’d love to return to the Maldives and do more diving.

Map of Bandos Maldives

The map below shows the location of the Bandos Maldives resort:

Bandos Maldives on Google Maps.

Travel to the Maldives

British Airways operates direct flights between London Heathrow and Velana International Airport (MLE). Flights from London have a duration of around 10 hours and 35 minutes.  Flights via Doha (Qatar Airways), Dubai (Emirates) and Abu Dhabi  (Etihad) are also among the options.

From Male’s Velana International Airport, Bandos Maldives is a 10-minute speedboat journey.

Book accommodation at Bandos Maldives

Check the availability of rooms at the Bandos Maldives resort using the map below:

Books about the Maldives

The following books about the Maldives are available from Amazon.co.uk:

Lonely Planet Maldives.

Traditional Maldivian Cookbook: 50 Authentic Recipes from Maldives by Ava Baker.

Dive Maldives: A Guide to the Maldives Archipelago by Tim Godfrey.

A Moment in the Maldives by Susannah Hockham.

Useful travel information

See the Bandos Maldives website for more information about the resort, including offers and to book a stay. Jacuzzi pool villas and overwater villas are available on the island.

Take a look at the Visit Maldives website for an overview of things to do in Asia’s smallest country by landmass and population.

Further information

Thank you for visiting Go Eat Do and reading this post about things to do in Warkworth, Northumberland. Planning a trip to North East England? Here’s an overview of some of the places to visit in Northumberland.

Stuart Forster, the author of this post, is from North East England and is an award-winning travel writer. He has written about the Maldives and other destinations for leading travel publications.

Photos illustrating this post are by Stuart Forster.

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A version of this post was initially published on Go Eat Do on 23 December 2017.