Honeymoon-ing in Paradise

We went to Baros, Maldives for our honeymoon, for what turned out to be one of our most relaxing vacations to-date. 


Going there was a bit tiring, requiring transit through Singapore (in our case), with the total travel time aggregating about 10 hours per way. But the distance and time it took was well worth it!

Service at the resort was superb. They took us straight to our room upon arriving at the island, and all check-in papers were processed in-room to allow us to settle down and relax as soon as possible. Walking to our room, we passed over a small stretch of the beach where we immediately spotted our first black tip shark!

Karen had the brilliant idea of splitting our 5 day stay between the water villa and pool villa. For our first 3 days we stayed at water villa 320, where we woke up to a view of our terrace and the ocean (second picture below was taken form our bed).

Our last two days were in the pool villa, which fronted the beach and had a small private pool.

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Good food is always a top consideration when Karen and I travel. After hearing people say that their Maldives experience was wonderful, save for the food, we made it a point to look up a resort with lots of food options. Baros has 3 restaurants and a bar within the resort, offering a variety of cuisines spanning Japanese, Maldivian, Western, and seafood.

Lime, the resort's main restaurant served Maldivian food and the usual western resort fare. Our best meals here had to be breakfast!

Cayene Grill, on the other hand, served grilled seafood and oriental cuisine. We ordered the huge seafood platter with lobsters, oysters, prawns, squid, and fish.

Lighthouse is for fine dining, serving the resorts top gourmet dishes. We ordered the lobster bisque, seared foie gras, wagyu steak, and grilled mahi-mahi with lobster tail. The second picture below was our cognac flamed lobster bisque.

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Staying 5 days was hardly enough for us to do everything we wanted to. On the second day, we went snorkeling twice. Once during the day time, and another (and this sounds like a crazy idea in hindsight) during the night, when sharks and other creatures are more active.

At one point during the night snorkeling, a sea turtle said hello and swam directly beneath me, just about a meter away.

On day 3, we went posh fishing on a boat. The boat could have easily accommodated 15 people, but they only allow 5 guests at a time to allow for ample space. We were waited upon by 3 resort staff who served fresh fruits, coffee, and juice while we fished. Karen caught a Jack, just the right size for a meal for 2. We had it cooked back at the resort Maldivian style!

Day 4 was when we transferred to the pool villa. We ordered room service and dipped in the pool while eating burgers and sipping champagne. We explored the island, and discovered you can go all the way around in less than 45 minutes. There were other guests in the resort, but you'd hardly notice them there since everyone was preoccupied having their own good time.

We also went snorkeling on our own around the island, trying to identify as many fish species as we could. And to chase the occasional shark we came across.

On the last day, after packing all our things, we walked around the island to see everything one last time. We lounged at the Lighthouse for a view of the sunset, with cocktails and snacks. Soon after, we'd be on our way back home.