More than a thousand tiny coral islands scattered like glitter in the turquoise Indian Ocean, make up the Republic of the Maldives. These islands are the epitome of an island castaway. Beautiful ice-white sands, coral reefs, and fantastic marine life and diving make the Maldives as beautiful a getaway as you are ever likely to experience.

The Maldives island resort of Bandos is located in the North Mal Atoll, which is the closest atoll to the capital of Mal. Transfer from Mali, which is where the main airport is, takes roughly 20 minutes by boat and allowing you to easily nip back during your stay if you wish to explore the capital city which is more westernized than the remaining islands.

Bandos has some of the most excellent dive sites in North Mal Atoll and the Maldives in particular. It is within easy reach of shipwrecks to explore, and is renowned in the diving world for its diverse range of marine life that are common and easy to see here, including white tip sharks, barracuda, and colourful reef fish. Bandos is also blessed with some excellent coral reef surf for the sport watersports enthusiasts amongst you.

Bandos is designated as a 4-star resort and is currently equipped with around 100 standard rooms. These rooms alternate between twin and double bed layout and are nicely furnished with tiled floors and balconies, but you might consider the bathrooms to be on the slightly smaller side. Many of the standard rooms face west and provide good sunsets and are additionally gifted with one of the best sections of beach on the island.

The 48 Junior suites on the resort are arranged in groups and are stylishly decorated, with a ochre color scheme and solid wooden four-poster beds. The only small downside, as far as I could tell, is the beach in this section of the resort is almost completely submerged at high tide, but then these rooms dont cost as much as the Water Bungalows so in a way some may think this a pleasant feature of their stay.

The resort has made a huge effort to accommodate families, with purpose-built childcare facilities and friendly female staff on hand to look after the children.

For couples intending on getting married on Bandos, you will be pleased to know that the resort accommodates you with the “Kuda Bandos Sunset Wedding” which features a taste of traditional island ceremony, a sunset boat ride, unique cultural costumes, Maldivian drums and traditional style and ceremony. The wedding ceremony is held on the beach of one of the uninhabited islands in the atoll – Kuda Bandos – and is followed by a private cruise for the newlyweds on a Dhoni (Maldivian boat).