You know I am a big fan of Maldives and I have been there multiple times over the last years. Not only staying in the most amazing resorts, I have also been visiting local islands in Maldives. But what you didn't know is that I also secretly went on a honeymoon in Maldives…
I can hear you thinking already: did he even have a girlfriend? Really he got married in Maldives?
Before my Anantara Kihavah honeymoon I visited some other luxury resorts in Maldives: Westin Maldives Miriandhoo Resort, Soneva Fushi, Lux South Ari Atoll, Kanuhura Maldives, Naladhu Private Island and Shangri La Villingili.
Luxury honeymoon in Maldives
I always said I would never get married and it is overrated, but may be I fell for the idea that a honeymoon in Maldives would be an awesome idea to celebrate the highlight of a relationship. But wait if marriage is the the best thing about a relationship, then it can only go downhill from there right? Lol!
No, Im just kidding. There is a big chance you are getting married soon, or you already are. So no time for jokes!
When getting married, then in style! And why not say yes to the man of your dreams on one of the most tropical places in the world. There are many resorts in Maldives and it is really hard to determine what is the best resort in Maldives for honeymoon. I guess at the end of the day all the islands with fabulous hotels are suitable for a honeymoon trip to Maldives, depending on your budget.
Reef safe sunscreen
Something really important for when you visiting the fragile Maldives islands: responsible tourism. Are you aware that normal sunscreen contains chemicals that harm our reefs? Get your reef safe sunscreen here and help safe our planet!
Anantara Kihavah
For me the best island to stay in Maldives for honeymoon is now of course Anantara Kihavah. Obviously I am biased, would you not be? I just spent the best days of my life there so of course, if you ask me where to stay in Maldives for honeymoon this is my answer.
Overwater villa or beach villa
Before giving you recommendations whether to choose a beach villa or an overwater villa I have to admit that I still don’t know myself what I prefer. Even after staying in so many different resorts in Maldives I can’t make up my mind. Luckily on my honeymoon trip to Maldives I was able to experience both. The Anantara Beach Villas are so extremely spacious that when I moved to the overwater villa which normally has my preference I was in doubt.
Shot from a private pool villa at Anantara Kihavah.
The overwater villas at Anantara Kihavah are spacious as well, but so different from the beach villas. I think you should just do the same and book both when staying at Anantara Kihavah.
Room service: lunch time at our Anantara Kihavah overwater villa.
The bathroom in the overwater villas are next to the private swimming pool. From the bath tub you can basically swim out into the pool. Or the other way around!
Beach villas have more privacy and all come with private pools and beach access. The beach access is covered by green bushes and therefore your patio and private swimming pool at the Anantara Kihavah beach villas offer complete privacy.
The outdoor ensuite bathroom at the Anantara Kihavah Beach villas are extremely huge with two showers and a bath tub. There is even a big lounge bed in the outdoor bathroom may you run into trouble on your honeymoon in Maldives.
Overwater bungalows are so iconic to a holiday in Maldives, but in fact the beach villas are even more luxurious if you ask me and more suitable for a honeymoon in Maldives.
Get married in Maldives
After seeing all these photos you might start believing that I got married in Maldives. Although I had the most amazing time ever and stayed in the best resort in Maldives for honeymoon, I did NOT officially get married at Anantara Kihavah. This whole Maldives honeymoon blog is the outcome of a secret Maldives holiday! The photos may speak for it self, but there is a story behind all of these photos.
Spending a week in Maldives with this gorgeous blond legend Megan Marx, my absolute bestie from Australia was all a set up. Anantara Kihavah invited Megan, me and a complete production team for a photoshoot. One week long I was running around the island doing the most amazing things as you can see in the pictures. Who said visiting Maldives is boring? There are so many cool things to do in Maldives!
Every time I got back from a boat trip I landed on the pier and this was my view walking back to the resort. These floating beach chairs were so inviting, but honestly I never found time to chill in one of them. This may sound crazy, but with so many activities in Maldives you have to make time to relax, and I did not!
Megan and I did sailing trips, saw dolphins, went paragliding, did a jet ski trip, went stand-up paddle boarding, snorkeling, float above the reef in a glass bottom canoe, went stargazing, had the most romantic sunset cocktails, brunch on the beach, champagne breakfast, ate in an underwater restaurant, biked around the island, enjoyed an overwater villa and also stayed in a beach villa.
Megan taking a behind the scenes shot of our in room dining experience. Breakfast out on our overwater villa.
My Maldives honeymoon blog in pictures
If you were wondering what to do in Maldives on your honeymoon then have a look at the following activities.
Underwater restaurant Anantara Kihavah
One of the most memorable experiences was an underwater dining experience in this iconic restaurant. Anantara Kihavah actually has the first underwater wine cellar and the best sommeliers to give you the ultimate romantic experience on your honeymoon in Maldives. Sipping wine and eating delicious food while knowing that I was underwater was already great but when suddenly some big fishes swam past I got just as excited about them as I was about the food. This underwater restaurant in Maldives definitely made my Maldives vacation a special one.
If I ever write a blog about the best travel adventures from around the world again, I will definitely name the underwater restaurant of Anantara Kihavah.
Stand-up paddle boarding in Maldives
There is always time for a SUP session, especially on a Maldives holiday. Islands are protected by the surrounding reefs and the sea is mostly calm, but even when it is windy on one side then the other side is calm. When you look at the picture below I am sure all you are willing to do is book a trip to Maldives right now.
Dolphin watching in Maldives
Probably one of the best things to do in Maldives is watching wildlife and who does not love dolphins? We went out in the early morning on one of the boats of Anantara Kihavah trying to see if we would be lucky. Of course these are wild animals and there is no guarantee, but after a couple hours we finally found them and yes they liked us a lot and stayed around for a little while. There are spinner dolphins and bottlenose dolphins in Maldives.
Glass bottom canoe ride
Peddling out in a glass bottom canoe never was this cool. One of the more exciting things to do in Maldives if you admire the underwater world. The crystal clear waters of the Maldives are like nowhere else in the world. To me it also was the best way to connect with life below the surface. As you may know I have been suffering eardrum problems for a long time. I finally got my surgery on my first visit to Paris a couple months ago. So on my next Maldives holiday I hope I can actually get to scuba dive in Maldives again.
Sunrise yoga
No need to tell you that I am not a morning person and no need to tell you that I am not a yoga person. But see what happened below. I got up before 06.00 in the morning and I totally loved it. No yoga is not my thing and it really was an intense work out for me, but look at that view. And then the location! Can you feel the serenity? You don't need to be a morning person to enjoy this peaceful morning ritual! Take me back to my Maldives honeymoon please!
What about this yoga pose? Can I get away with it? I would do yoga every morning if it was like this.
Snorkeling in Maldives
Down there Megan and I were on our way to the reef and as you can see that is just a couple strokes from the shore. Snorkeling at Anantara Kihavah is great and there is a lot to see. The reefs around the resort are full of life and as I said before the sea is always calm somewhere around the island. Please make sure to apply coral reef friendly sunscreen, click here to buy it on Amazon. Something to think about putting on your packing list for Maldives anyway.
Enjoy the tropical paradise
This is just an example of how incredible a lunch on the beach can be. Fresh fruits is one of my favorite food to be honest and at Anantara Kihavah they took it to the next level and prepared this extravaganza fruit platter. Impossible to finish it all of course so we shared it with the whole crew. You can order whatever you want the service level at Anantara Kihavah was extraordinary.
Jet Ski adventure
Yes down there that is me! Unfortunately not Megan next to me though. She was probably enjoying a massage on our overwater bungalow, but I had to do the adventurous stuff. I jumped on a jet ski and steered the beast towards the horizon together with my guide. In total we toured around for 30 minutes on one side of the island, so we would not disturb the guests in the overwater villas. It was hard to keep up with the guide and although jet skiing in Maldives seems easy with the calm sea, it still was really challenging. These things go fast!
Room service at Anantara Kihavah
Yes, yes. I know this almost looks like champagne! But it is obviously not, haha! As I did not want to drink alcohol so early in the day, I opted for a non-alcoholic drink. A common misconception about traveling to Maldives is that alcohol is forbidden. Yes on local islands it is, but of course not on private resort islands. Megan was not really hungry here or may be she simply wanted to escape. LOL!
Bike around the island of Anantara Kihavah
Yes resort islands in Maldives are small, but probably not as small as you think. On top of that the piers offer the best biking possible. Driving a bike on an elevated path above these crystal clear waters is heaven. Trust me driving a bike at Anantara Kihavah will give you the ultimate holiday feeling. Not just on the pier, also on the sand paths around the island. The heart of the island is lush green and a pleasure to bike around. Overwater villas and beach villas both come with bikes at Anantara Kihavah.
Sunset cocktails on the rooftop terrace of Anantara Kihavah
Anantara Kihavah is one of the first resorts in Maldives that opened up a rooftop terrace. Surely the best place on the island to watch the sunset. Drinking cocktails or a glass of wine up here is a good way to end the day. The lovely staff is happy to bring it up to the rooftop terrace. Looking at this photo I think Mega should have washed her feet first! LOL
You can of course also sit downstairs. Closer to the ocean and if you look over the edge I am sure you will spot baby sharks, stingrays and heaps of other fish.
Private sunset dinner
More sunset activities for the grab. If sipping cocktails is too standard then you can always arrange a private sunset dinner in front of your beach villa. A private chef came out to ask our preferences and cooked our meals just outside of this photo. We ate fresh lobster, tiger prawns and loads of other delicious sea food. The place where this dinner was set up? Just 30 meters away from our bed!
Stargazing in Maldives at Anantara Kihavah
With so little light pollution watching stars in Maldives is simply magnificent. There is hardly any place in the world that is so remote but does not feel like it. The islands of Maldives are far away from the civilised world, but still you have high speed internet, you have all the food imaginable and all modern life facilities. You almost forget how remote you actually are. When you are on a Maldives holiday simply open Google Maps and look at the blue dot in the middle of the ocean.
But back to stargazing, Anantara Kihavah houses the first overwater observatory in the world. Up on the SKYbar there is the entrance to the observatory and the in-house astronomy expert, a Maldivian local who grew up in one of the neighbouring islands will tell you all about the night sky. He learned to read the sky as a kid and was eventually taught by Dr. Massimo Tarenghi, apparently a famous astronomer. Anyway this guy knew what he was doing! :)
Bring your cocktail inside the observatory and marvel at the stars through the 16” Meade LX200 telescope, the most powerful in the country. A great honeymoon gift! Thanks Megan! x
Sailing trip in Maldives
When staying at Anantara Kihavah for your honeymoon you can also book a private sailing trip. This way you get to see even more of the stunning little islands around, some deserted sand banks and when you are lucky you can spot spinner dolphins or manta rays. A honeymoon in Maldives is full of surprises!
Paragliding
It was my second time paragliding in Madives but this time it was a special one. I got to stay up in the air for about 45 minutes and circled the complete island. One of my biggest travel fails is that I did not bring my iPhone with me at that time. It would have been the most amazing live video and I had the chance to take great photos myself while hanging high above the resort. The views are obviously outstanding and I was able to see the complete island and surrounding reefs.
Endless deserted beaches at Anantara Kihavah
You may think if you go on a beach holiday in Maldives all guests will hang out on the beach. They are among the worlds best, so why not! Strangely enough I always wonder where all the guests are. Every time Im on the beach in Maldives and I look around I hardly see anyone. A Maldives holiday is the best beach holiday I always say, but apparently I am the only one who thinks like this. LOL
As you can see there are many different things to do in Maldives on your honeymoon. You can make it as special as you want and there is basically no-limit! I obviously had the time of my life and it was not even my real honeymoon. I am not sure if I ever want to get married, but after my trip to Anantara Kihavah I guess my real honeymoon is going to be disappointed! LOL
For more info about the Anantara Kihavah resort in Maldives, head to their website.
Some more romantic cocktails for sunset!
Strolling around the islands is one of my favorite things to do in Maldives. Everyone always seems to be in a good mood: staff and guests. A holiday to Maldives is uncomplicated, relaxed and laid-back. This is what I call a stress-free life!
Last but not least one of my favorite Maldives honeymoon pictures with Megan. Popping a bottle of champagne on the beach with a gigantic fresh fruit platter in front of us.
As you can understand my Maldives honeymoon was a blast! Thanks for keeping up with my travel adventures from around the world.
Check out the actual rates for Anantara Kihavah on booking.com or on Agoda.
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Looking for more affordable Maldives resorts? Then have a look at these ones: Adaaran Club Rannalhi, Kuramathi Island Resort, Kandima Lifestyle Resort.