Maldives Liveaboard/Resort "Split Stay" COVID Restrictions?

[Walso9]

Wondering if anyone has had relatively recent experience staying on a live aboard in the Maldives followed by a resort stay? Is that even allowed right now in the world of COVID? We are trying to do a live aboard on the Emperor Atoll followed by a 5 day stay at Le Meridien. Seems simple enough, however, on some footnote at the ministry of tourism website, we found:

Tourists are now allowed to stay in multiple tourist resorts and/or tourist guesthouses, or combine both in one stay, given the split-stay procedures are complied with prior to transfer from each tourist facility. Please refer to our circular number 88-PS/CIR/2020/73 which details the current inter-island travel procedures. Please note that the inter-island travel procedures will be done on your behalf by the tourist facility. However, any movements between vessels and resorts/guesthouses cannot be authorized at the moment.

The Emperor Atoll is listed on the Maldives' listing of approved 'tourist vessels', so originally we assumed it would be treated like any of the other approved guesthouses/resorts. But now we're not so sure. Does this mean the only option of doing a live aboard in the Maldives right now is fly in, live aboard and immediately fly out? There has been very little info we have been able to find, with contradictory reports. Would love to hear your recent experiences. Thanks in advance!

 

[Searcaigh]

Have you asked the people at Emperor Atoll?

Perhaps other Emperor Atoll guests have had a similar agenda.

 

[Walso9]

Have you asked the people at Emperor Atoll?

Perhaps other Emperor Atoll guests have had a similar agenda.

Yes, we reached out but haven't heard back yet. Definitely going to heavily rely on their feedback but was wondering what others' experiences have been.

 

[Tippytoes12]

The circular in the link may not be current, please double check the Maldivian governmant website. I did an Atoll trip in December, which was wonderful by the way. Everybody on the boat left straight to the airport, apart from one couple who stayed in Male for two extra nights.

My understanding is that if a local island or a resort or a live aboard are “undergoing monitoring” you may have to go there directly from the international airport and leave directly to the international airport. Being monitored means being contact traced.However this rule is often ignored apparently and guesthouses and resort island owners can usually get around it. Also, I follow a FB blog of a couple who island hopped and managed to travel between several islands on the list without any apparent problems. It seems that the authorities are most concerned about local islands.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Leave the organisation of your transfer from LOB to resort to LOB and resort. They will be up to date with any procedure at the time of transfer and will be able to deal with short term changes, contract tracing, ...
Just tell both in advance what your plan/schedule is. If your return port is Malé, you will be taken to your resort from there, very likely someone from the resort will assist you as they do for all other incoming guests.
As you will stay at a resort and not a local island, that should all be quite straight forward.

 

[diveUAE]

We’re in Maldives right now (Fuvahmulah), plenty of people arriving here from other islands or going to other islands/LOB.

 

[Svart]

Hi,
we had the same issue in October last year.

We ended up booking the resort first (Kuredoo) and then went on the Emperor Serenity.

In the end we enjoyed splitting the trip this way because we had time to acclimate and we were not jet-lagged anymore when arriving on the boat.

But as suggested by someone else, contact Emperor reservations and they will be able to solve it for you. They are super helpful.

 

[JustSurfaceInterval]

Note that the state of emergency has been lifted and no PCR tests are needed anymore, not for entry, not for split stays.
See IMUGA or Circular from 15.03.2022

 

[Russjstewart]

Yes, we reached out but haven't heard back yet. Definitely going to heavily rely on their feedback but was wondering what others' experiences have been.

Hi Wals09: Just wondering if you have had your trip and if so what you thought of the Emporer Atoll, we are looking at a trip in June 2023

Cheers