We had a truly relaxing holiday in Maldives with the help of Secret Paradise. We booked for 8 days Yoga Retreat and we are very happy with the service and did not regret choosing Secret Paradise to help us organize the vacation. Thank you for your service and prompt communication. More power and definitely a high recommendation.
Ruth and her team are simply fantastic having assembled a 12 day package of Yoga for me. This turned out to be the best Yoga experience ever for me as the teachers and setting was amazing.
All the staff I met at Secret Paradise were charming and really loved what they did and were vocal about this. Their hospitality and efficiency on arrival was superb and when BA announced a 24 hour delay on the return flight, everything was done to ensure I enjoyed the extra time I had – doubly challenging as it was Christmas day! Thank you so much all of you.
We are experienced PADI scuba divers who were seeking an adventure in getting close to manta rays and whale sharks. We met Ruth Franklin at an NEC Dive Show and were impressed by her professionalism and Maldives knowledge. She arranged dive trips to both Baa and Ari Atolls in conjunction with excellent local guides, which proved to be brilliant. We saw and swam with both mantas and whale shark within an arm’s reach. We would have no hesitation is seeking Ruth’s assistance again and would recommend her to other divers looking for an adventure in beautiful surroundings.
Thanks to Ruth, I managed to make this trip by myself. As a solo female traveler, I had hesitation to stay Local Island at first. With limited budget, I have to settle with Lily Rest on local island, Maafushi. Now, it is worth every penny. Thanks to the guide, Kamei who is around throughout my trip, non-stop talking to keep me busy. Thanks Ruth for arranging my dive trips.
Great! 4 islands all by boat. Got lots of snorkeling and beach time. Accommodation clean and everyone friendly. I didn’t want much down time and felt like I had lots of things to do and choose from. Would definitely travel with Secret Paradise again.
Amazing experience. Paradise on a budget. Loved it!
The essence of the local culture of the Maldivians, the unspoilt beauty of the islands, the surreal feel of the underwater tropical aquarium and the friendly locals makes this tour worth doing.
Magical! Experiencing local life in its true form from dining with a local family to use local transport to being able to explore nature and the depths of the Indian Ocean.
The best way to see the beauty of the Maldives. The people, the beaches, the way of life. One of the best places in the world!
Best tour I have ever had! Very well organised. Great tour guide – fun, knowledgeable and informative. Accommodation comfortable and service impeccable. Loved the local food and culture experiences. Highly recommend travelling with Secret Paradise.
We spent a day at a luxury resort and whilst that was a lovely experience it made us appreciate our ‘real’ Maldives experience. Very good balance between activities, relaxation and optional excursions. Kamey was an exceptional guide in every way went above and beyond on several occasions. Travelling with a local guide is definitely the way to explore!
A great experience in a beautiful country. Kokko my guide was fantastic! Knowledgeable and great to be around. Able to see and experience local life rather than be secluded in a resort. Great balance of activities and free time to relax.
Perfect! Everyone including the guide was friendly and helpful. Excellent itinerary and would travel with Secret Paradise again.
In short notice Ruth Franklin she can help us to arrange our itinerary that we can achieve the activity that we want to do in maldives, amazingly Secret Paradise makes our experience worthwhile and Superb. I really highly recommend to you guys to arrange with Secret Paradise, I appreciate their transparency and integrity in their service, i would like the give our appreciation also to our tour friend Kamey, he became our friend not just a tour guide. Thank you so much Secret Paradise for a wonderful experience.
Thank you Secret Paradise for making my vacation a reality. Thank you for planning our itinerary, since we didn’t have much time to plan for ourselves. Everything was perfect, we didn’t have to think as everything was planned. Thank you Kokko for being our guide and being there for us from start to finish. You really know the importance of your guests. Thank you Ruth for your patience answering my questions. I will never forget the Maldives!
My holiday in the Maldives was a short one. It was a way to get my feet wet (literally and figuratively) into the world of solo travel. With that said, I was a little nervous about going at it completely alone so I hired Secret Paradise based from their ratings on TripAdvisor, multiple package options, and pricing. I was not disappointed.
I was in constant contact with Ruth for a couple of months before the trip. She is VERY quick to respond to emails. She gave me great suggestions when it came to my itinerary and made some last minute arrangements when I decided to visit a resort for the day. She even upgraded my Maafushi ferry ticket to a speed boat at no extra charge.
Upon arrival, I was met at the airport by Ruth and my guide Kamey. He and I turned out to be only a year apart in age (I’m not sure if that assignment was on purpose), and it felt more like hanging out with a very informative friend than a hired guide. The rest of the team was great. Captain Chino and Kamey took me out to some awesome snorkeling spots around Maafushi.
There were plenty of beautiful fish and coral. The staff at the Guesthouse were friendly, and my room was always nice and clean.
The Maldives is a beautiful place to visit, and when guided by experienced and knowledgeable people, I was able to appreciate it more. Secret Paradise really took the stress out of having to plan a holiday.
A wonderful experience for my first trip to the Maldives. Kamey my guide was super good. Fantastic knowledge both local and marine life. No improvements required!
This was an amazing experience. I loved every minute of it. A great balance of activities. I booked this tour as a birthday present to myself and I’m pretty sure I have never received a better present. I plan to come back for more adventures with Secret Paradise.
“Great Experiences and Service!”
With only one day in transit, we wanted a short snorkeling excursion, and Ruth was great to work with to find the right timing and mix of activities. Our visit to Stingray Point and the coral gardens was outstanding. Perhaps equally impressive was the service ethic of Secret Paradise. On arrival at our first stop we discovered that the location had been booked by a cruise for their passengers only, but within minutes Ruth was able to put together an excellent alternative. As others have noted, the service and responsiveness provided by Secret Paradise is excellent and often rare when traveling these days.
Visited January 2015
“Great Day Tour”
We are very much contented with the service. Ruth was very helpful in scheduling our excursion. Tour guide is also ok. Tries as much as he can to go an extra mile for us to enjoy our tour. I highly recommend this to everyone. We plan to go back next year with our friends and we’ll be sure to book with secret paradise again.
Visited May 2015
“Male city tour and Night fishing – GREAT!!!”
Guide was very friendly. He took us the Male city tour in such way that we experience local life. But then this is an activity to do only if you have much time to do . If you are on a short trip(say 4-5 days), please go for other activities like sandbank picnic etc.,
Night fishing – They took us in a private boat to deep mid sea and took lot of efforts for us to experience the night fishing. But then my wife fell sea sick(also we took this activity next day after travel), so she wanted to return back to shore. But Guide and the fishermen on boat were very friendly, warm and courteous.
I must thank my guide hossain and Ruth for taking all efforts to organise the day tours. Ruth’s planning and prompt communication was great. I’d definitely recommend Secret Paradise, but I’d recommend to choose your activities wisely by having a detailed discussion with Ruth!!
Visited May 2015
“Yoga Retreat at the Barefoot Eco Hotel booked through Secret Paradise”
We were very happy with our yoga retreat holiday, which was booked and organized with Ruth’s help from Secret Paradise. The company gave us the best rate for the holiday (even better than the hotel’s original rate) and was extremely efficient with the booking and communication. The eco concept of the hotel added a unique and engaging touch to the general exotic holiday experience you can find in other Maldives’ hotels, as the hotel has a group of marine biologists who work there and organize guided snorkeling and diving tours with the detailed presentation on marine life and their work to preserve it. The chief in The Barefoot prepared delicious food every dinner and although the choice of food in the buffet is not huge, there was always a good selection of meals worthy a five star restaurant. The beach in The Barefoot is sandy and beautiful, however, there is no abundance of sea life right near the beach and the richer riffs are about 10-15 min away of swimming (or 5 mins on the boat). But it gives you an ability to swim freely is you just want to swim instead of snorkeling. The service at the hotel is good and the rooms are cleaned twice a day. The bar at the boat is worth visiting, as the boat itself has an exciting exterior of a pirate boat, while watching the sunset from it having a cocktail or star gazing at night is definitely a memorable experience.
Visited April 2015
“Fantastic Diving”
Great bunch of divers that took me to some of the greatest live reefs I’ve ever encountered for up to 3 times a day. Spent the other time listening to great stories about the islands and their plans. Awesome experience..
Visited March 2014
Incredible Diving
Was in the Maldives over New Years, and the outings Secret Paradise arranged were a highlight of the trip. We even saw a whale shark! Highly recommended.
Visited January 2015
Secret Paradise is the place where you can book anything and rest assured it is delivered perfectly all thanks to Ruth who takes personal care in the presenting, booking and delivering of the final product.
We had already booked our stay earlier and were looking for few excursion trips from Male, I emailed several local agencies and none replied except Ruth, who gave all details and answered every query and finally I choose to do Diving and Sunset Cruise with her, which was the best experience I had on the trip.
Discover Scuba Dive was an amazing experience, it was actually handled by Dive Club Maldives, the two dives we had in the sea was truly something out of the world. It was first time for me and my wife, but the instructors were very good and they assisted us throughout removing the fear out of the activity and making it very exciting, which was the best part. We made two dives and saw a variety of sea animals including rays, turtles, baby sharks and many more there was nothing more we could ask for on this experience.
Sunset Cruise and Dolphin watching was a very nice experience, just the two of us were escorted out to the sea, where we saw many dolphins playing around, we followed them around for an hour and shot some beautiful pictures, the experience of sunset while at sea was also an excellent experience for us.
I would definitely recommend all you people looking for even a customized trip or excursions to go with Ruth a very trust worthy person to make sure you have the best time in Maldives.
Visited April 2014
Multi Activity
The tour guide was very helpful and flexible. The itinerary was excellent and well balanced with a variety of activities and as we were the only two on this tour we were able to be flexible. The guesthouse was clean, nice and close to the beach. The staff friendly and helpful.
Visited July 2015
Family
Secret Paradise arranged a four day programme for our family including a tour of Male, two dive/scuba trips, a fishing trip and a local island visit. All were fantastic experiences. Male is not the most picturesque of cities but the guide took us to the markets and other interesting landmarks which gave us a history of the place and most importantly included an ice cream stop.
The best was the diving/snorkeling where we saw so many amazing fish and the turtles, dolphins and sharks mentioned! I would have liked to have been informed by the dive boat captain of the plan for the morning but I am guessing this is the laid back style of the Maldives and we went with the flow! They were brilliant with my kids who did their bubble maker/ intro to scuba while we were there. Finally the overnight stay at Maafushi was lovely, great guest house where they prepared an amazing evening meal for us and we swam with about 30 baby black tipped sharks!
Visited April 2014
I don’t have a bad word to say about these guys! Secret paradise is the perfect organisation for anyone on a budget and/or wishing to see the real maldives. Lovely Ruth was so helpful in organising all my activities when I emailed her my stay duration and interests just a few days before (having already booked a hotel and flights). She also gave a lot of honest, simple information about local customs, costs and getting around the islands etc. During my brief stay (I was traveling onwards) I went on a city tour of Male, snorkelling trip and picnic island, all of which were fabulous the perfect balance of full of Maldivian culture, wildlife and total tranquility. I would liken the experience to being shown around the Maldives by a friend, (taking you on public ferries and to local dive centres and Maldivian restaurants) which was ideal for me being a (first time) lone traveller. My guide Kamey was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic but also super laid back and easy to talk to. He came to collect me and walk me back to my guesthouse every day and was even kind enough to invite for meals and coffees with his friends in the evenings. Wonderful company, well done Ruth! I will certainly be back for a longer stay next time!
Visited July 2014
I opted for a 3 day adventure tour from secret paradise and it was a great experience, accompanied by great service from Ruth. I was met by ‘kamer’ the guide at my guest house where we got a ferry to Mafuushi. Kamer spoke fluent English and informed me of Maldivian history and what went on in the local islands. It was very interesting and was a much fuller experience of Maldivian culture.
Mafuushi is an island which offers a mix of guest houses and local culture with both mixing very well. There is a beach for sunbathing and good snorkeling. I was given a tour of the island and ended up dancing away to Maldivian drummers that offered a mix of spiritual music and there very own take on ‘we will rock you’.
The guest house I stayed in arora inn was very nice also and offered all necessary amenities and excellent food, I recommend the noodles !
The following day we went to Kuda Bandos or ‘picnic island’ which was a deserted resort which was now beautifully untouched as an island with only a few signs of the former resort with a derelict Jetty and a few shacks.
The snorkeling on all sides of the island were breathtaking. An excellent picnic was put on for lunch and we returned via speedboat to Mafuushi.
The 3rd day entailed a tour of Male. Male has an abundance of history, and it was very interesting to hear its origins and how it developed through times of the Portuguese, Dutch, English and how it became independent.
Male is the chalk to the other islands cheese in that is pretty full on but after 2 days of complete calm a bit of crazy is exactly what was required and was good fun.
Secret paradise is a great way to travel and experience the true Maldives for great value. I highly recommend it. My only tip would be to avoid Ramadan. It’s not a deal breaker but the opening times of shops ferrys and restaurants vary quite a lot.
Visited July 2014
The 3 days package with Secret Paradise is more than what we have expected. They made sure our tour is personalized and tailor-made according to our preference and budget. Ruth was very accommodating and our tour guide Kamy is so helpful, knowledgeable and patient with us. It was just unfortunate that the weather was terrible on our 3rd day so we didn’t go to picnic island and sand bank as planned but that is beyond their control. However, we still went snorkeling and seen the spectacular corals, had a hearty lunch in one island and went shopping for souvenirs on that day. The rain did not stop all the fun after all 🙂 I will definitely visit Maldives again and will get the services of Secret Paradise!
Visited October 2014
Backpacker Breaks
All my trips were well organised, with guide who were friendly and out going, and a lot of fun; They even checked up and found me on a random ferry in the middle of know where to make sure i heading in the right direction. got to see some great dive spots and beaches and didn’t cost me an arm and a leg. Definitely going back when i get the chance.
Visited April 2013
We really enjoyed our short visit in Maldives to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Secret Paradise is very realiable and efficient tour planner as Ruth replied my email or answered my question promptly. She also suggested and gave recommendation on the best excursion for us. Kamey, our tour guide really did a good job. He took care of our safety and make sure we are comfortable. We would recommend “Secret Paradise” to our friends and families. Their service are beyond expectation. We definitely use their service again in the future as we plan to come back to Maldives again.
Visited May 2015
We thoroughly enjoyed our short visit to the Maldives ,the 2 highlights being having one of the most wonderful guides and the family dinner in Guiradhoo.
In my now almost 25 years of “world hopping “I think as well as my mother, that Kamey is by far one of the most knowledgeable, courteous and dedicated guide we’ve ever had; he is one of your most precious assets and do convey him our warmest thanks again !The family dinner was superb :my mother and I actually enjoy a lot meeting and discussing with people so this was great! Only little regret after that, because of the bad weather, we couldn’t do the sunset dolphin cruise on the 15th September ,but that s unpredictable anyway. The staff and people in Guraidhoo are very hospitable.
If ever I have friends who want to do diving trips to the maldives or make short visits I ll contact you and get kamey working ! thanks a lot for everything. wishing you ,your whole staff plus kamey all the best
Visited September 2015
My holiday in the Maldives was a short one. It was a way to get my feet wet (literally and figuratively) into the world of solo travel. With that said, I was a little nervous about going at it completely alone so I hired Secret Paradise based from their ratings on TripAdvisor, multiple package options, and pricing. I was not disappointed.
First off, their sales department is fantastic. I was in constant contact with Ruth for a couple of months before the trip. She is VERY quick to respond to emails. She gave me great suggestions when it came to my itinerary and made some last minute arrangements when I decided to visit a resort for the day. She even upgraded my Maafushi ferry ticket to a speed boat at no extra charge.
Upon arrival, I was met at the airport by Ruth and my guide Kamey. He and I turned out to be only a year apart in age (I’m not sure if that assignment was on purpose), and it felt more like hanging out with a very informative friend than a hired guide. The rest of the team was great. Captain Chino and Kamey took me out to some awesome snorkeling spots around Maafushi. There were plenty of beautiful fish and coral. The staff at the Arora Inn Guesthouse were friendly, and my room was always nice and clean.
The Maldives is a beautiful place to visit, and when guided by experienced and knowledgeable people, I was able to appreciate it more. Secret Paradise really took the stress out of having to plan a holiday.
Visited September 2015
Short Stay
Great service, great tours, quick answers, Kamey was a great, informative guide/host and Ruth was amazing at setting everything up and offering additional tour opportunities. Thanks for the Dolphin cruise it was one of the highlights of my trip.
Visited September 2015
The most unforgettable activity is having breakfast with a local family. It provided a good opportunity to get to know the local culture. We were so excited and liked it so much and we decided to show off some of our native cuisine too, Shamvel’s wife made pancakes and we made the fillings. We name the breakfast ‘Maldichinese Springrolls’. Everyone enjoyed the process and food! This experience alone will attract people all over the word. And what’s more? No resorts do that!
Visited December 2012
Hello from Slovenija. We are back with lots of nice memories and good experiences. The staying on Maafushi and Guraidhoo was beautiful. The staff was excellent. We had a good time and beautiful snorkeling. We spend quite a lot of time with Kamey who arranged everything and found out a lot of interesting things about life on Maldives. He is very nice. If we ever come back to Maldives we’ll definitely come to the local island and enjoy the beauty and everyday life of the Maldivians’.
Thanks for your very very good organization and we’ll recommend you to everyone who wants to experience other, domestic view of true Maldives. Enjoy you Maldives and keep up the good work
Visited March 2013
Best tour I have ever had! Very well organised. Great tour guide – fun, knowledgeable and informative. Accommodation comfortable, service impeccable and everyone really friendly. Loved the local food/meal experiences. Was in paradise. Highly recommended.
Visited October 2014
I really enjoyed this tour. We both had a great time and it was nice to see the local side to the Maldives rather than the more frequently known tourist spots. We enjoyed the included activities and their variation. We felt we had the perfect balance of activities and free time.
Visited September 2015
Thank you for the tour and the wonderful customer service. Thank you to Kamey he’s a good guide and we want to adopt him!
Visited October 2015