Following on from Eating in the Maldives – Finolhu Baa Atoll – Part 1…
Day 3 – After two days of purely eating, drinking and doing not much else, we decided to start our morning with a walk to the other end of the island as the sun rose.
It was a 5.6km return walk and the temperature rose pretty quickly.
After doing a loop, we walked back to Baa Baa beach club for breakfast. It was crepe day that morning and I asked for a Nutella crepe to be made.
I added a small drizzle of maple syrup and some fresh cream that melted quickly as it was already quite humid.
I also asked for a freshly made omelette filled with tomato, mushrooms, capsicum and ham at the egg station inside.
After a few hours digesting and relaxing by the pool, it was time to go snorkeling on one of the snorkel tours. We boarded a small boat that took us to the other side of the island (where we had just walked to that morning).
It was a beautiful day and I saw lots of colourful and large fish but not much coral.
After a shower back at the villa and some rest, we caught a complimentary ferry back to the other end of the island for lunch at the Fish and Crab Shack to take the chef from Kanusan up on his offer. The ferry docked right in front of the Shack.
Thankfully most of the dining area is undercover to avoid the harsh sun. It was so peaceful and I remember thinking I never wanted to leave.
We started off with the seafood platter for two which had salmon, tuna and kingfish sashimi, scallops, prawns, crab legs, and prawn and vegetarian sushi rolls. We really enjoyed it all and Ioved the garlic prawns.
Our fish was brought out to us (and it was completely cooked this time), though we found it had too many little bones to pick through. It wouldn’t have been our first choice for a main, but we appreciated the kind gesture by the chef.
We picked one of the Fish and Crab Shack’s specials, the mud crab curry hot pot, as our second main.
This came with cooked grains similar to barley, and cucumber salad on the side.
I loved the rich curry which was flavoursome with so many herbs and spices plus a touch of chilli. It stained everything it touched, but it was well worth it.
For dessert, we chose the fruit skewers and a lemon tart with house made vanilla bean ice cream.
I also enjoyed the Calypso mocktail with mango, citrus, pineapple and hibiscus agave syrup.
Later that afternoon, we took out a catamaran and went sailing on the water. How gorgeous is the water?!
For dinner, we dined at another restaurant on the island, the Baahaa Grill specialising in North African cuisine (our package included one meal here). We had a wonderful view right on the beach looking out at the sun setting over the ocean. One thing I love about all the dining establishments at Finolhu resort is that cold towels are always provided, and badly needed as it does get humid.
We started off with house made Lebanese bread and labna.
For our entrees, we ordered the scallop shashuka consisting of a rich tomato-based sauce and topped with perfectly cooked juicy scallops. This was delicious and I could have easily ordered another serve.
We also tried the calamari salad which came with a generous serving of squid and a zesty dressing.
For the mains, we tried the seafood tagine which was my favourite dish of the entire trip. Everything worked. Fresh seafood, plentiful portion, glorious spices and delicious flavour. I couldn’t get enough of it! An amazing combination of wow.
We also ordered the lamb cutlets which arrived on its own little grill still smoking away. These were still pink, slightly charred and did not last long. Our mains were served with two sides – vegetable rice and a saffron mashed potato.
After our mains, we received a small stuffed zucchini with asparagus to share.
We both wanted the same dessert – sticky date medjool pudding with rosewater ice cream and pistachios. It was a more feminine version of the dish and though I did like the rosewater ice cream, I don’t think you can improve on a classic with vanilla bean ice cream. There also wasn’t enough butterscotch sauce so the pudding was a little dry.
I ordered another mocktail (not on the package menu) for something different. This was basically a faux mint mojito.
Day 4 – After breakfast, we spent most of our time by the pool, ordering drinks, reading, swimming, and attempted stand up paddle boarding. That was really all we did our entire time on the island. It was great having this down time after the wedding. Some fruit skewers were served to those by the pool and on the beach.
Our last night at Finolhu was seafood night at the main dining hall Baa Baa. There were fresh prawns, crab, and calamari that were regularly refilled.
On the other side of the cold food station, there was sashimi and salad. There were also plenty of seafood stews, curries and soups.
And as always, there’s so much dessert! My favourite was the fresh local paw paw that was available each night.
When we returned to our villa that night, we received a chocolate mousse cake as a celebration of getting ‘just hitched’.
We were also given a romantic bath on our last night (though we did have to follow up on this as they had forgotten it was included in our package).
Our last day at the Maldives was a sad day. We had our last breakfast and lunch at the Baa Baa beach club, enjoyed one last swim in the Maldivian blue water, before checking out and waiting for our speed boat to take us to Dharavandhoo island’s domestic airport.
We had both really enjoyed our time on the island, over eating and enjoying the stunning views and water. Would we go back to the Maldives? YES! Photos do not do it justice. It’s like being in a postcard. I don’t think I would ever get tired of looking out at the water. All staff on the island were always friendly and always said hello.
We had read some reviews of Finolhu before our stay and the main complaint from guests was the thudding noise coming from the golf buggy being driven up and down the boardwalk connecting all of the villas together. It’s kind of hard to imagine but it does make a rather loud noise particularly at 7am. The buggies come around every 15 minutes to do pick-ups and drop-offs. I didn’t notice it too much but I’m also an early riser.
Some tips:
- There are NO mosquitos at the Maldives! They can’t fly out that far. And although packed, we didn’t need to use our insect repellent 🙂
- Definitely bring sunscreen, a hat and a rashi is a good idea if you want to snorkel and get burnt easily.
- If you don’t want to walk as far, you could request a villa closer to the island or activities (probably the case for most overwater villas), though there is a golf buggy service.
- The golf buggies cannot be booked for a specific time. They do come and go frequently but there’s no schedule or set time (#islandlife) so start walking and catch one or you can wait at the designated golf buggy stop.
- Make a booking for Baa Haa Grill, The Fish Shack, and Kanusan on your first night, if you can, to get the best time slots during your stay.
- Make use of the facilities – snorkel gear, kayaks, stand up paddle boards, catamaran, and sailing are free activities (prior knowledge required for the catamaran and sail boat). We did a lot of nothing which was bliss, but we do wish we’d at least taken out the kayaks and borrowed the snorkel gear to take back to our villa.
And that concludes our stay at Finolhu in the Maldives. We flew to Hong Kong for the next chapter of the trip…
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