I can’t believe that I am writing this, but we made it to the Maldives for the fifth time! I think it is pretty obvious that this is our favourite place on earth and we can’t wait to explore two beautiful islands on this trip. And this time with our little one!
Our first stop is Villa Park on Sun Island, one of the biggest island resorts in the Maldives with its 442 rooms and villas. We are super excited because we are here to experience the relaunch of the Sun Island Resort, which is now called Villa Park.
Sun Island is huge, 1.6km long to be specific, and offers so many activities and things to do. Our journey begins at Male International airport where a Villa Resort representative greets us. We have a 25 minute domestic flight ahead. The domestic terminal is just a few walking steps away. We quickly checked in our luggage and head straight to our plane. The flight is executed by Villa Air, and takes you directly to Maamigili Airport. From here we hopped on a speedboat and 5 minutes later we have arrived at Villa Park.
Even it is not our first time we were once again speechless by the color of the water when approaching the pier. The Maldives are really as beautiful as it is on the pictures!
After checking in we were more than ready, after a total journey of 20 hours with a 7 month old, to reach our villa. We are staying at one of the newly renovated Deluxe Beach Pool Villas. Everything in the villa was brand new and the design is really bright and modern. The pool on our private terrace was definitely the highlight and Teo enjoyed It so much. The ocean is just a stone throw away which was my favourite part.
The semi outdoor bathroom is stunning and even equipped with a hot tub.
As you can imagine we were quite exhausted and immediately jumped on the bed and had a very sweet nap, showered and were ready to have our first dinner on the island.
We were on the Full Board plan (no alcohol included). Our first dinner was at one of the A La Carte Restaurants, Al Pontile Italian Restaurant, and it is located at the end of the jetty surrounded by the ocean.
Unfortunately, it was raining on that evening so we sat inside but still could hear the sound of the waves which was really nice.
The food was great, our personal favourite were the calamari and the carpaccio. But most of all the staff was amazing, especially the way they took care of Teo was the cutest. We even had a short date night since Teo was happy playing with the staff
The next morning we opted for breakfast in our room and had a floating breakfast which was delicious.
Since we were still a bit jet-lagged we decided to take it slow on that day and enjoyed the ocean and our pool. For lunch we headed to Southern Star, the buffet outlet, which is reserved for Water Villa guests.
I am always a bit sceptical when it comes to buffets but it was really good. A lot of fresh salads options as well as a grill station with fresh fish and meat. There is also a daily live act playing during lunch, which was a saxophonist on that day.
After a lovely afternoon at the beach we headed to La Tropicana at the West End of the island. This is the best stop the catch the sunset and have some drinks. La Tropicana quickly became one of our favourite spots in the island.
The next morning I was particularly excited because I treated myself to get a massage. It was my first massage since I had Teo and after 7 months of carrying and rocking him I really needed it! The moment I entered Araamu Spa I felt like I was teleported to Thailand. It was so lush and all the massage rooms are outdoors so you can hear the birds chirping. Definitely can recommend.
Before dinner we headed for an evening walk on the water villa jetty and to watch the daily shark feeding. Every evening at 8:30 pm they gather at the end of jetty for their daily feeding ritual. At 7 pm there is also a stingray feeding on the beach. Both super fun to watch, especially with kids.
Dinner was also at Southern Star. We enjoyed the buffet and there were plenty of choices. After dinner there is always something going on at the main bar. But this time we could not participate since Teos bedtime was around 8pm.
It was already our last full day and we still had a few exciting plans waiting. For lunch we went to Zero. This place was my favourite restaurant on the island. First of all, I loved the setup and atmosphere. The restaurant is located in the heart of the island nested in between the lush garden. Kind of like a jungle treehouse. Zero, stands for Zero food miles. The majority of the menus ingredients is grown directly on the island. Villa Park has reserved a significant part of the island for farming. I loved the effort towards being more sustainable as well as the execution at Zero. And the food was really amazing.
After lunch we also headed to Green Fingers, which is the botanical garden of the island. You can see many tropical fruits growing here like pineapple, mango or passion fruit. And what is even more amazing is, that you can adopt your own coconut or mango tree right here on the island. Of course we could not miss this opportunity and planted a coconut tree for Teo. We had such a great time and this is a wonderful memory for the whole family. And now we have a reason to go back and visit Teos tree.
Sadly our last day here at Villa Park had arrived. We were scheduled on the 2pm flight so luckily we still had the the whole morning to enjoy breakfast a last dip. We said goodbye to the island with a last drink at the beach bar.
5 days was not enough to explore the whole island and there were still so many activities we could have done. The Japanese Restaurant and a trip to the nearby reef to swim with whale sharks for example.
But we are not saying goodbye to the Maldives yet. Our next stop will be Villa Nautica, a sister resort of Villa Park. So we are excited to explore another new island.
Villa Park really is a great resort that offers many room options for every budget and is also really versatile. Since the island is huge you will definitely not get bored and will always have plenty of things to do. The vibe is more family resort rather than romantic honeymoon which is exactly what we were looking for this time around. To check out prices click here.
