// MALDIVES //
The Maldives were our first international trip after changing to a vegan diet. This was in 2018, when there wasn’t much information out there about traveling abroad as a vegan. Needless to say, I was panicked and expected to be living off of rice and bread for the week. With a lack of advice from fellow vegan travelers available, I spent HOURS researching resorts, their menus and corresponding back & forth. I had narrowed it down to a list of 4, all of which I would love to one day to visit:
Anantara Kihavah (our final choice!)
Amilla Fushi (a VERY close runner up)
Six Senses Laamu
Ayada Maldives
Everyone has different criteria for their vacation and the Maldives is definitely a destination where (unless you have an unlimited budget), it especially comes into play. For us, it was a balance of cost and amenitites - and Anantara Kihavah delivered on both. We were able to take advantage of some deals by traveling off peak (June) and staying 5+ days - which also scored us full board - inclusive of breakfast, lunch and dinner (2 restaurant options for dinner).
At Anantara Kihavah, guests are treated like royalty and the staff quickly learns your preferences. It’s unlike any experience I’ve ever had. At our first meal (dinner), we were beyond tired after traveling for 20 hours, we could barely speak. The waiter assured us anything could be modified to be vegan, so we started with a Mushroom Risotto and it was absolutely incredible.
At the next morning’s breakfast, our waiter gave us menus for juices, smoothies and anything made-to-order. He also showed us the buffet of hot dishes, grains/granola/cereal, milks, fruits, etc, all of which were clearly identifiable as vegan or not. Upon learning we were vegan, he took extra care to make sure we had enough food and were satisfied with our meal (which we were!). As we were wrapping up breakfast, our waiter brought over the Executive Chef to the entire resort, to further ensure we were satisfied. At this point, the Executive Chef, Timothy Hill, went SO ABOVE AND BEYOND anything we ever could’ve expected. He said he loves a challenge and to try new things, so anything we could dream of he would make. And if we didn’t know what we wanted, just to give him a few ingredients and he would come up with the rest. This was no joke either. Every day, Tim would come by our breakfast table to chat and see what he could do. For dinners, there was already so many options at the 2 restaurants, that we had plenty to order off the menu, but the option was always there to have something special made up.
Now this is where I apologize for having hardly any photos of the food we ate, but you can 100% trust me when I say it was all perfection. I have only the best things to say about our trip to Anantara Kihavah and highly recommend to anyone traveling to the Maldives - especially vegans!