Bodufinolhu ( also known as "Fun Island")
We stayed at Fun Island from the 5th through the 12th July 1997 ( following on from
the Sri Lanka Tour ). We hope our general comments below and the photos on the
following pages will encourage you to visit this marvellous place and give some
flavour of this holiday resort island in the South Male Atoll.
What we thought of Fun Island
PROS :
Great swimming and water sports generally
Friendly staff ( especially the Diving School people who like cats ! )
A 1/2 mile wooden jetty which stretches out to the house reef from the Reception
Good selection of edible food at the buffet restaurant
Huts are air-conditioned and just 5-10 paces from the beach
Crabs, small lizards, a cat and a white rabbit live on the island too
The coffee shop which serves large portions of good food at reasonable prices ( and which provides bread or rolls for feeding the fish from the jetty ! )
Plenty of T-shirts at reasonable prices in a special T-shirt shop!
Good mini-lab which also sells films, some batteries and some one-use underwater cameras
Jewellery shop with Sri Lankan gems
CONS :
The prices in the island shop ( 85 US$ for a snorkel and mask !!!!!! )
No drinks ( not even water or soft drinks ) are included in the holiday price.
Not a place for those on a diet!
TIP
: Take at least 2 types of credit card ( e.g. VISA and MASTERCARD ). When we settled the bill
at the end of the holiday no VISA cards were being accepted by the banking network used by the Maldives!
Comments
The island is about 50minutes from the Airport by fast speedboat - do not think about using
a slower boat or dhoni unless you have most of a day to waste !
On arrival you will be offered a non-alcoholic 'Welcome' cocktail - it is delicious!
There is a small uninhabited island close by which is almost connected at low tide - we were
advised not to try to get to the island because of striong currents !
Unlike some of the other Maldive resorts, Fun Island does not offer a fully-inclusive tariff which
means that you will have to pay for any drinks ( whether taken in the Restaurant, Coffee Shop, Bars
or Room mini-bar ) at the end of your stay !
If you do use the Mini-Bar drinks, you will be asked to sign for those drinks used. This is done
during the evening meal at the restaurant.
On your first visit to the Restaurant, you are assigned a table and a waiter for the rest of your time there.
We were assigned Ahmed who always carried out his duties ( clearing away dishes and taking orders for drinks etc )
cheerfully and with a friendly smile.
All meals in the Restaurant are self-service from 3 long tables of Buffet food.
Breakfast
- Fruits, breads, cereals and fruit juices.
- You can choose from bacon, pancakes, toast ( you can operate the toaster ), eggs ( you choose how the chef does the eggs ! ) and more...
Lunch and Evening meals
- First courses are a choice of soup or fruits
- Second courses are chosen from rice, pasta, fish, meat, potatoes, other vegetables. ( Especially good
are the devilled fish and all the pasta dishes )
- Third courses are chosen from fruits, cakes and blancmange-like puddings.
- Coffee ( or Tea ? ) is brought to the table after the third course.
Once a week Maldivinian dancers visit the Island for an Evening show.
There are Hotel and Kuoni organised trips to Male, a three-island trip, Night Fishing and snorkelling
Other pages about Fun Island
Douglas I. Smith, dis@bcs.org.uk
[D.I.Smith][A.C.Smith][Urmston]