Male Tours in Spring

Really enjoyed the trip, in two parts Firstly Sri Lanka highlights Itinery was very good, fitted a lot in to 7 days. Good transfers, reasonable hotels - but wish that more of them were closer to the centre of towns. Kandy one was especially good in that respect. Mixed feelings about "Sam" the Sri Lanka guide. He was a bit grumpy. But mostly he "promised" things eg currency exchange, Sri Lanka to Maldives transfer details but consistently failed to deliver. We had to chase ourselves with local agents to get flight details, which they provided in 5 minutes. Too many "buffet in hotel" meals. Nothing "local" arranged outside. He did "add" Tooth Temple to tour, and arranged for bus to take us all from Kaggola to Galle. Maldives Mahoni trip was wonderful!! Moosa the guide one of the best we have had. A shame he's moving to a rival company. Excellent on board the ship and in the water. Boat facilities excellent, especially the food. But top bunks no safety rail and difficult to get into and out. Provided equipment - seemed fine for people without their own. We only needed flippers and the largest, size 11/12, we're too small for my feet, got blisters on my toes. Really need to reign in your meet/greet bloke at airport ref currency exchange. He was recommending $100 to $150 per person, done via a "bloke with a wallet". Rate was OK BUT... we only changed $100 yet, despite being in Maldives for 3 weeks in total we spent NONE, ZERO, NADDA. And to add insult when we left Maldives the in airport bank couldn't provide £s nor $s nor €s!!! So we are stuck with unusable Maldives currency.

Explore leader: for Sri Lanka only satisfactory. Not easy to understand, didn't seem to feel part of the group, didn't join us for meals, a poor communicator (relative to past explore trips) For the dhoni Maldives cruise: Moosa was excellent in every way.

A great trip on board the well equipped dhoni, Kheti visiting different locations guided expertly by Moussah to see so much marine wildlife. Swimming with sharks and rays!! We were really well looked after by the crew and the food was excellent. Luckily the snorkelling helped keep the weight in check.

Sri Lanka tour, a great way to see Sri Lanka with a mix of culture and wildlife. Dhoni cruise, boat was basic but clean. Food amazing, staff great. A great way to see The Maldives, uninhabited islands and small local islands. Snorkeling at least twice a day, seeing Turtles, coral, fish and Nurse Sharks. Plenty of time to relax after a busy 2 weeks in Sri Lanka.

Highly recommend the Maldives boat trip. The crew and tour leader were all lovely. The boat was clean and comfortable, despite the cabins being a bit small. The food was plentiful and delicious. And the snorkelling was fabulous! The Maldives are a different world and this is a real "get away from it all" holiday.

Explore have done it again, with a wonderful trip, led by a most competent tour leader. And the crew of the Dhoni could not do enough for us. Alas, while I appreciate the threat of climate change, the Maldives is rapidly moving to overdevelopment and I would urge anyone thinking of going there to do so sooner rather than later - and to stay as far as possible from Male...