# @stephmylife on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DWgf-zmkWqf
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/62891315-stephmylife-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/60f7107b48.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-03-30T12:01:11.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Stephanie Barry Woods (@stephmylife) — https://gondola.cc/stephmylife

## Caption

I thought people just edited their photos, but it’s really this beautiful 😭❤️

After almost 10 years of full time travel, I finally booked a trip to the Maldives. 10 years of saying it wasn’t my kinda place, it seemed boring - that “resorts aren’t my thing” 🫣 it turns out I kind of loved it, like a lot. A lot a lot. 

Here’s the details of where we stayed & how we booked - plus some things I didn’t know before visiting that any newbie to the Maldives should know!

• We stayed centararasfushiresortmaldives (booked online via bookingcom because at the time it was cheaper than going direct!)
• Booked the deluxe overwater bungalow. Now, I saw so much debate about overwater vs beachfront (some people say beachfront is better because you don’t have to walk so far from the room) but I much preferred overwater. The walk wasn’t super long from our room (~5mins) and we had so much privacy. Plus, being able to swim from the room was such a bonus. 
• we were met at arrivals and taken to the pier, about a 5 minute walk away, to take a 30 minute speedboat to the island. It was so efficient, I didn’t realise you can get your boat directly from arrivals - like you can take the luggage cart all the way to the boat from baggage claim. 
• Holy hell all inclusive is completely worth it. Did you know it’s $15 for a bowl of hummus? Plus tax and service. We thought that all inclusive was better if we wanted to have wine - but even if you don’t drink, you will save so much going full board or all inclusive. 
• Don’t forget sunscreen. It’s $45 a pop at the gift shop. 
• I don’t know if it was just our resort (pls let me know) - but booking restaurants is a total pain. You gotta book in advance or you’re stuck at the buffet, so plan ahead and get your bookings in when you check in.

When you’re choosing a resort, don’t go to to a booking website & scroll. The resorts in the Maldives range from a 15 minute speedboat to a 1.5 hour flight (and those flights are *expensive*). You want to search for your resort in map view, not list view if you’re short on time or money. So you don’t have to spend added time or money getting there from Malè airport

#Maldives #traveltips #maldivestravel

## Stats

- **Views:** 18,999
- **Likes:** 381
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 16

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stephanie Barry Woods | @stephmylife | https://gondola.cc/stephmylife | Influencer |

## Tags

maldives, traveltips, maldivestravel

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