So, I have found this package for a 5 day-4 night trip to the Maldives. Travelling are me, my husband, my parents (in their 70s but in good shape), and my ten month old baby. We will be travelling from Bangalore, India to Male on Indian Airlines and staying for four nights, full board, at the Embudu Village resort. Cost for ccomodations, board, taxes, and transfers is $531 per person (so about $2100 US total for 5 days-4 nights). Airfare is going to run $300 or so per person.

Our plan is to rest and relax and spend some time in the water (snorkelling, etc). Our baby is intrepid and relentless so my parents are coming along to watch him so my husband and I can have some free time together. We chose the Maldives because it is a short & direct flight from Bangalore plus we love the ocean (my husband is from Mexico).

I looked up reviews of the resort on travelocity. Verdict is: simple but clean accomodations - everything you need but no luxury, good value, gorgeous beach, great house reef (right by the Taj Exotica). This kind of reminds me of the Lalaanta resort in Krabi that we stayed at in January 2010 - sort of like a "deserted island" vibe. Affordable, no frills- nature is the star. Generally favored by the British and Germans (not sure if this is a good or bad thing - we are Americans of various ethnicities).

Cons are they don't have towel service so I suppose that means we bring our own towels. Plus the island is super small.

Thinking whether we should save some $ and do 3 nights, 4 days but day 1 and day 4 are swallowed up by travel so 5 days, 4 nights sounds about right.

Thoughts? We are travelling in high season - third week of january 2012.