continuing series we are going to jump over to Asia, where they usually call these things “water villas” instead of overwater bungalows. The Maldives, which is just southwest of India, is actually home to about two-thirds of all the overwater bungalows in the world, and this week’s resort is one of many that offers fantastic value.
The Maldives is very popular with Europeans since it’s an easy overnight flight from anywhere in the region, but it’s a tougher sell for Americans since the flight even from Los Angeles will take an entire day.
Unfortunately for many of us, overwater bungalows and water villas are expensive, sometimes shockingly expensive. So it’s a common question about how to book one of these beautiful rooms at a discount, and there’s some good news about that below.
If you are booking a honeymoon trip and, for example, you want to stay at the same resort where the Kardashians stayed in Bora Bora, then you might have to pay full price.
I’ve written a longer explanation of all-inclusive overwater bungalow resorts, but this seems to be an extremely common question so I’ve decided to offer a short and simple explanation that should help people find exactly what they are looking for more quickly.
It’s no secret that these overwater bungalow and water villa resorts are expensive, so it appears that many people are very interested in knowing almost exactly how much the holiday will cost before they choose a resort.
we first had the idea to create a worldwide directory of every overwater resort in the world, we honestly assumed there were about 20 or maybe 30 of these places. It turned out we underestimated by quite a bit, and since new ones keep opening up, the number keeps getting higher and higher.
A couple months ago I wrote a post called where are overwater bungalows, which lists all the major spots in the world where you can find these things.
the Maldives didn’t already have enough water villa or overwater bungalow resorts, the list continues to grow longer almost monthly. At the moment there are over 90 different overwater resorts in the world, and now the Maldives alone has about 60 of those.
These four resorts have been under construction since 2010, and getting an exact opening date for them tends to be difficult. The resorts tend to open later than originally planned, and most go through what they call a “soft opening” where they begin accepting guests (usually at special rates) while the finishing touches are being applied, or sometimes rooms are being finished.
are unsure of when the best time to visit the Maldives is, I have good news for you. It’s a slightly complicated topic discussed in detail below, but the quick answer is that almost any time you can make it, the Maldives will be waiting for you with nearly-perfect warm and sunny weather.
Its location starting around the equator and stretching up for about 1,000 kilometers puts it in the sweet spot for warm weather literally every day of the year.
Happened to all of us. We see a photo of an overwater bungalow (or a water villa, as they are called in much of the world) and we immediately daydream about spending a holiday in one ourselves. There’s something both romantic and private about these hotel rooms, which is one reason that they are incredibly popular for honeymoons and anniversary trips.
One complication is that overwater bungalows are found in only a few parts of the world, almost all of which are a long way from the people who’d like to stay in them.