Take Me With You

The honeymoon of dreams

It’s December 2019, we had been engaged for 5 months and wedding planning was in full swing. The most important part, the honeymoon had also been booked: Maldives and Sri Lanka. The best of Indian ocean beaches mixed with culture merged in one adventure post wedding. Only three months later, the world changed.

Hands, face, space, the daily mantra being broadcast on every channel. Our wedding planning grind to a halt. We had quickly made the decision to postpone our wedding to August, and then again to May 2021, but I digress. I’m sure you are here to read about how Lux South Ari Atoll was, spoiler alert, once you’re done reading this, you will want to book it!

Before our journey began, we had to do COVID tests to ensure we were negative before flying. We flew with Ethihad and stopped over in Abu Dhabi. We then took our connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to Male. Once we arrived in Male, we were ushered to a building where we had another COVID test, the stress was real. Over 10 hours of travelling in a plane..I didn’t want to think about if it was positive. Once tested, we were taken on a buggy to the Lux Lounge. Here they had a great spread put on, sandwiches, pastries and their famous coffee. Now it felt like a honeymoon.

We then took a seaplane to Lux South Ari Atoll, stopping by a few islands on the way. Dropping a few passengers off at a time. Eventually we arrived in our own slice of paradise. The seaplane was definitely an experience. Very warm, slightly cramped and very loud! Getting on and off was not as bad as it looks so if you’re worried about it, don’t stress.

Lux South Ari Aroll is set upon 4km of white sandy beach, with plenty of accommodation (up to 62 villas with their own pools!). Being our honeymoon, we stayed in the Romantic Water Villa Pool. We were greeted by what could be described as the welcoming committee. We were given cold towels to refresh ourselves and a complimentary juice, whilst we waited to check in.

By the time we had checked in, we were given a personal contact who would be looking after us during our stay. They created a Whatsapp group to communicate with if we had any requests. It was also used to update us with the latest events of the day and activities.

Having checked in, we made our way to the romantic water villa. By the time we reached, I think I needed to jump into the ocean itself. We stayed in room 101. The furthest point on the island and hence the longest walk, but hey, at least I’d be getting those steps in, especially with that all inclusive pass waiting to be utilised. For further information on the accommodation check my blog post here.

First things first, food! Knowing us, we had already scoped out the food menus and options prior to even setting foot on the plane. We headed to Beach Rouge, and ordered the mezze platter, Margherita pizza and truffle fries. So so good! Lux has so many good options, for further information on what we ate during our honeymoon click here.

Some of the activities we did included the sunset cruise, dolphin cruise, snorkelling with turtles, photoshoot, massage, movie night on the beach and candle light dinner. The island is full of so many activities to do, see below a the itinerary sent to us on a daily basis with the latest activity available.

Overall, Lux* South Ari Atoll remains one of the best experiences our travels together. We often look back and reminisce every so often and wish we could go back (maybe one day!) The only regret? Not staying longer!