Kuramathi, Maldives

The Maldives has been a bucket list destination for me for many years. Whenever I travel my key requirements are a great beach, beautiful sea (I don‘t like swimming pools!), great food and preferably involving some kind of nature and wildlife. The Maldives ticked all my boxes - it is truly the ultimate beach destination. Flying from Manchester with Emirates with my husband and 3 children, ages 25, 17 & 15, our first flight was approximately 7 hours on the amazing A380—a short connection of 2 hours in Dubai and then a 4-hour flight onto Male. Arriving in Male at 7 am we were met by the Kuoni representative who escorted us to a transfer bus to the seaplane terminal. The Kuramathi lounge was lovely, and a great environment to decompress after the flights and get excited for our short 20-minute flight to Kuramathi island. I was very excited about my first trip on a seaplane, albeit a little scared too! Seating only 15 passengers, you feel like you are sitting with the pilot. Such an amazing experience and a fantastic introduction to the Maldives, as you get your first glance of the islands from the sky. Arriving on the island, we walked down the wooden jetty and almost immediately saw 3 baby sharks swimming by - wow.

Check-in was smooth and personalised with our Kuoni representative explaining the island, how our All Inclusive package works and the rules around enjoying the marine life off Kuramathi‘s house reef. We initially stayed in 2 garden villas, I have no idea why they are called garden villas as both were located directly on the beach. Traditional in style, they were perfect for our needs and we loved the outdoor showers are a common feature in the Maldives.

We were delighted every day around 6 pm when the entire beach turned into a mass of moving shells with literally 100s of hermit crabs going about their business and the huge fruit bats flying overhead. Halfway through the trip we moved to the other side of the island and stayed in a 2 bedroom beach Villa - simply stunning. Modern and again right on the beach.

The island is one of the largest in the Maldives, approximately 2kms in length. White sands along the coast and inland Tropical forest. 9 A La Carte restaurants and 3 buffet restaurants are all set in various locations around the island (an efficient buggy service operates to take you whether you wish to go). The food was exceptional, with 3 bars a champagne loft for adults only and the largest selection of cocktails.

The snorkelling was incredible. There are 10 snorkelling channels along the reef side of the island, leading you out to the reef. Snorkelling along the reef with a 40-foot drop along one side was exhilarating. Unsure what marine life would appeal next from the depths was scary but incredible. I am a keen snorkeller and this was beyond all of my expectations. It was like swimming in a tropical fish tank. The first 5-foot shark we saw was a little scary but we saw so many, they became just a delight. The rather large stingray within touching distance nearly made me choke but the 1.5m Black Moray Eel that cut my snorkelling short that day - it was terrifying!

Kuramathi and the Maldives were the Ultimate beach destinations - perfect.