Amazing Facts to Prepare You for a Perfect Maldives Vacation

You probably know of the Maldives as a tropical holiday destination where the lagoons are a glorious turquoise, the sand is soft and white, and the hotels are uber-luxurious.

But many visitors to the Maldives don’t get to learn much about the country’s fascinating history, customs and culture. This is because the local population is segregated from resorts, making it harder to interact with locals.

As a result, most discussions around the Maldives are limited to “wow, so pretty.” But to understand the country only through this lens is to barely understand it at all.

These 30 facts will prepare you so that when you go on a luxury Maldives vacation, you’ll be able to enjoy much more than meets the eye.

Despite its fame as a dream destination, many people find themselves Googling, “Where is the Maldives?” If this is you, we’ve got you covered. 

The island nation is located on the Indian Ocean, just a bit southwest from India and Sri Lanka. An impressive 1,200 islands make up the territory, though only about 187 are inhabited and another 154 have resorts. 

Inhabited or not, most of these islands are coral islands, which is part of what makes the country such a perfect snorkeling destination.

Although a Maldives honeymoon is the dream of many, the country has a surprisingly high divorce rate.  At 10.97 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants per year, the country’s divorce rate is more than twice as high as that of Belarus and the United States — second and third place in the rankings, at 4.63 and 4.34 percent, respectively. According to statistics from the UN, the average Maldivian woman has been divorced three times by the time she’s 30.

Anthony Marcus, chair of the anthropology department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said in his book “Reconsidering Talaq” that he thinks the main reason for the Maldives’ high divorce rate is its significant pre-marital sex stigma, which prompts a lot of pent-up 18-year-olds to hastily get married. Divorce is also not looked down upon, while singledom is; hence, many people marry even when their choice in suitor is less than ideal.

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to avoid your exes when the average island is less than 1 square mile.

“The Muraka” underwater suite at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island is one of the nine underwater hotels on the planet. It cost $15 million to build and was the region’s first underwater bungalow.

With 360-degree views of the reef through glass walls, it is like sleeping in an aquarium. Prices start at $10,000 per night during low season and without any amenities. With amenities, it can cost up to $50,000 per night to have this unique experience.

So what does staying in one of the priciest hotel rooms in the world get you? To start, a private seaplane jetty, a piloted speedboat, jet-skis, 24-hour butler service, a personal trainer and daily 90-minute spa treatments.

In the women’s sport of bashi, a team designates a woman to stand on one side of the court facing backwards while the opposing team stands behind her on the opposite side of the net. The woman then raises the tennis racket above her head and bashes 12 balls backwards over the net in quick succession. She attempts to hit the women in the opposing team, while they attempt to catch the balls she volleyed before they hit the ground. It’s like tennis crossed with dodgeball.

Originally, this sport wasn’t played with a tennis racket, but with a racket fashioned from coconut palm leaves. A hand-woven ball was also used.

Broken fingers are common in the sport, so bashi (eggplant) could refer to the color of the players’ fingers after a match.