By Amira Hashish
The Maldives is known for its picture-perfect coral islands, glistening waters and idyllic beaches but there is so much more to this dazzling destination than its romantic retreats. Whether you are seeking an action-packed adventure or a cultural getaway, this escape to paradise is brimming with special activities.
From a marine expedition with an OBE-awarded investigative journalist to getting up close and personal with the stars or a kickabout with Peter Crouch, here are some of the experiences you never expected to have in the Maldives…
See the Galaxy With a Sky Guru
Where better to expand your view of the galaxy than in an over-water observatory? Stargazing at Anantara Kihavah is a truly magical experience. The hotel’s Sky Guru Ali Shameem is a native Maldivian who spent his childhood mapping the constellations. He went on to become the protégé of Italian astronomer Dr. Massimo Tarenghi and has spent more than a decade working as a professional astronomer. He shares his passion and expertise of the constellations in weekly stargazing sessions. The proximity to the equator and its non-polluted skies means both hemispheres’ stars are clearly visible. Spot the pale yellow rings of Saturn or the counter-rotating zones and belts of Jupiter. Then peek through the telescope at the Milky Way’s Omega Centauri or Messier 13, a globular cluster of over 300,000 stars in the constellation of Hercules.
Book: anantara.com
Dine on Michelin-Star Cuisine in a Pop-up Residency
Eco-friendly luxury resort Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences is welcoming Cambridge-born culinary mastermind Luke French to its shores for an exclusive pop-up residency this October. Chef director of Kelham Island eatery and Michelin-recognised restaurant, JÖRO, French combines sustainability led, locally sourced ingredients with a forward-thinking approach to bring high impact international flavours. From 13-23 October, he will host a series of special gastronomic events, as well as leading one of the private island resort’s celebrations to mark 50 years of tourism in Maldives. What a backdrop for this foodie feast.
Book: amilla.com
Indulge in a Literary Festival
No other literary festival can offer the setting of JLF Soneva Fushi. Known as The ‘Greatest Literary Show on Earth’, it returns to the Maldives in 2023 and will no doubt feature another high profile line-up. Held across 10 days and two weekends, the programme combines literature with stimulating debates, dialogue and free speech. Each weekend comprises keynote addresses, gala dinners on the sand, live music performances, and film screenings at Cinema Paradiso.
Book: soneva.com
Play Football With Peter Crouch
Budding footballers have the chance to hone their skills with famous faces at Anantara Dhigu. The resort regularly hosts Football Escapes where the little ones can play the beautiful game with their heroes. Peter Crouch is the instructor from December 19 – 23. Little wonder tickets got snapped up in minutes but join the waiting list or check back for more big name announcements.
Book: footballescapes.com/anantara
Go Dancing With Manta Rays
The Nautilus is a beautifully-designed luxury retreat which prides itself on bespoke experiences. Take a trip to Hanifaru Bay, one of the largest manta feeding hotspots in the world, and witness the manta rays perform their mesmerising whirling dance. The Nautilus’s resident marine biologist will tell all about the magic of these beautiful creatures before your private guided manta experience, just 30 minutes from the super private resort via luxury speed boat. This visit to this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve will transport you to another world.
Book: thenautilusmaldives.com
Embark on a Marine Voyage With a Ground-Breaking Investigative Journalist
Vakkaru takes a deeper dive into ocean conservation with a week-long residency by Oliver Steeds OBE. Steeds is a former investigative journalist and the founder and mission director of Nekton, a science-based organisation that works with ocean nations to protect the seas and increase humanity’s knowledge of marine life. During the week, guests of all ages can participate in a variety of activities to learn more about ocean life and its conservation in the Maldives, with workshops, cinema screenings and two expeditions, as well as sustainably sourced dinners and cocktail evenings. From August 27 to September 2, A Deep Sea Odyssey will include two Young Ambassadors of the Ocean workshops designed for budding coral reef scientists and aquanauts aged between 7-11 and 12-15. Hosted by Steeds, budding aquanauts will also learn how submersible pilots operate, and how to protect healthy coral reefs.
Book: vakkarumaldives.com
Save the Turtles
From its Fab Lab, where kids can turn marine plastic into 3D-printed models, to free children’s diving lessons, Patina Maldives has rapidly become a standard-bearer for marine conservation in the area. It is also the first resort in the Maldives with a 100 percent solar-powered kids’ club, recreation and dive centres.
A sea turtle biologist is stationed on-island, acting as a guest educator and overseeing rescue efforts for any sea turtles that become entangled in so-called ghost gear. The resort is also facilitating a pioneering genetic research expedition to study the local Maldivian hawksbill sea turtle population. Conducted by registered turtle conservation charity the Olive Ridley Project, the pilot expedition will depart from Patina Maldives later this year on a mission to gather tissue samples that will unravel the genetic makeup of Maldivian hawksbill sea turtles.
Book: patinahotels.com
Stay in the World’s Most Private Hotel Room
According to Velaa Private Island, the resort has the most private hotel room in the world. Aptly named The Romantic Residence, it has uninterrupted oceanic views, its own personal gym, fully-equipped kitchen, personal butler and optional private chef. Meals are served over the water in a secluded dining gazebo, and sunsets come with luxurious daybeds on a sprawling terrace. Not forgetting the outdoor jacuzzi, infinity pool, secluded sundeck and sunken bath.
Book: velaaprivateisland.com
Swim to an Underwater Art Gallery
Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi Resort, on the northern Shaviyani Atoll, has the longest infinity pool and biggest jacuzzi in the Maldives. Sirru Fen Fushi, which means ‘secret water island’ in the local Dhivehi language, is also home to one of the country’s largest resort lagoons and 112 luxury villas each with their own private pool. Stretching from one side of the tropical island to the other, the 200m pool is framed by swaying palms and leads guests to the Coralarium, the Maldives’ first and only coral regeneration project in the form of an underwater art gallery.
Book: fairmont.com
10 Project Management Apps That Will Change The Way You Work
By Amira Hashish
Keeping on track of projects whilst communicating ideas or workflows with your collaborators is easier said than done. However, managing everything on a platform that feels intuitive and cohesive can be a real game-changer. Thankfully there are some nifty apps out there that will enable you to get projects off the ground and then manage them efficiently.
From virtual lists that can help achieve that work/life balance to smart apps that bring all your most-used tools into one perfectly organised space (ah, the satisfaction), these project management tools will change the way you work…
Basecamp: The one that does it all
How it works: This is a great platform for dropping everything into one place and clearly following trails as opposed to checking emails separately from schedules or documents. Work is broken up into separate projects. Each project contains everything related to the work involved including the people, discussions, documents, files, tasks and dates.
It is then easy to monitor it through message boards, to-dos, schedules, file storage, real-time group chat, and automatic check-in questions. If that sounds too distracting, not to worry. You can pause notifications or set your work hours so you are only contacted within this time frame.
Why we love it: Because it avoids having to sign up to too many programs and have countless tabs open.
Cost: Free for personal use; £82 for business use. Details here.
Trello: The one for list lovers
How it works: Trello can be used for teams or solo project managers and is a clear way of illustrating workflows and tracking progress in a visual and productive way. It is ideal for managing milestones and the day-to-day tasks of working together in list form.
Boards, lists and cards can be customised and expanded with extra detail as the team or workflow increases.
Why we love it: It is essentially a virtual list tracker…and we can’t resist a list.
Cost: Free, with pricing plans for extra features as outlined here. More here.
Monday.com: The one for team building
How it works: This one is a little more complicated but works well if you are managing a big team. Everything starts with a visual board that you tailor to manage anything from projects to departments.
It consists of modular building blocks from which software applications and work management tools can be created. These blocks include items, columns, views, automations, integrations and widgets. There are templates available to get you off the ground as well as a helpline.
Why we love it: It’s comprehensive and can feel super bespoke but is more tailored towards organisations than solo workers.
Cost: Free for individuals. From £21 per month for teams of three or more. More here.
Casual: The one for number crunching
How it works: Think of Casual as the cool younger sibling of Excel. It is essentially a spreadsheet designed for working with numbers and data. You can use it for performing calculations such as modelling, forecasting, scenario planning or visualising data including charts, tables and freeform texts. Then you can present these in interactive dashboards. You can also connect Causal to your data sources (accounting systems, ERPs, databases) to incorporate live historical data in your work.
Causal can be used for anything from simple calculations to fully-fledged financial models with millions of calculations.
Why we love it: It brings numbers to life in an engaging way.
Cost: Free for personal use. £207 per month for teams of 10-25. More here.
ClickUp: The one for goal-setting and monitoring
How it works: Another great option for doing it all in one place. ClickUp allows you to plan, track and time manage any type of work.
You can tag individuals or groups, assign comments for action items, and link tasks to get more done together. Then monitor progress by connecting tasks to goals and keeping your objectives organised with Goal Folders. If you can’t quite bear the thought of replacing all your tools – from Slack to Google Docs – ClickUp can integrate them. Sync your team calendars, messaging apps, cloud storage, and more to keep everything in one place. Extra helpful features include real-time team chat and 24/7 support.
Why we love it: It lets us bring all the work tools we know and love into one platform.
Cost: Free for personal use. From £4 per member per month for small teams. More here.
Asana: The one for doing it your way
How it works: Similarly to Clickup, this app helps you stay organised by bringing all your tools together. It has more than 200 integrations, so it can act as a base for everything you need to communicate and coordinate work, from emails to files.
We also like that you can choose the project view that works best for you including List Views, Timelines and Boards. We all like to do things our way after all.
Why we love it: It feels intuitive and adapts to the way you like to work.
Cost: Free for basic, £9.49 per month for Premium and £20 per month for Business. More here.
Todoist: The one for managing business and pleasure
How it works: The ‘to do list’ that you can actually keep track of. Super simple to use this is a smart app for bringing your work and personal worlds together so that you manage your time effectively. Adding tasks and reminders is very easy. Your to-do lists are automatically sorted into Today, Upcoming and custom filter views so you can focus on your most important things. There are also some great templates ready to download, from content calendars to business travel packing.
Why we love it: This one keeps it real and couldn’t be easier to get to grips with.
Cost: Free for starters, £3.30 per month for pro and £5 per month for business. More here.
OneNote: The one to replace your sticky notes
How it works: This is Microsoft’s solution for avid note-takers. Tasks are split into notebooks which you can divide into sections and pages. It is easy to navigate and search. You can share notebooks with coworkers, friends and family but this one works better if you are doing things on a solo basis.
Why we love it: Because those sticky notes always go astray.
Cost: From £59.99 per year. More here.
Airtable: The one that feels advanced
How it works: This is a good option if you are keen to build a custom app without having to splash out on a software guru or worry about code. Do everything from tracking job interviews to managing large-scale video production by creating a database that holds the information that matters for your work. It is pretty intuitive and there are lots of tools to help along the way but if you are willing to invest the initial time it could result in a much more streamlined workflow in the long run.
Why we love it: It feels tailor-made for your project or business.
Cost: Free for individuals with packages starting from £8.30 per month for businesses. More here.
Slack: The one for messaging
How it works: This is rather like the WhatsApp of the working world. First and foremost a messaging tool, it also has channels that can help with the organisational side of things. Open a different channel for everything that you’re working on and bring in the relevant people for discussion.
Why we love it: It is useful if you need to do a lot of back and forth with team members.
Cost: Free for the basic package with tiers the more pro you get. More here.
Summer Picnic Hacks
By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
From antique rugs on the lawn pulled casually from drawing rooms to fully-realised dining tables in fields of wildflowers, the picnic, humble or otherwise, can take many forms. For the Instagrammers and Pinteresters amongst us, picnics provide the perfect opportunity to really hammer home an aesthetic. You can take your picnic design ideas to the nth degree with place cards and menus, little floral sprays in bud vases dotted down the table, and your most prized tableware (formerly for indoor use only).
But never fear, you don’t need to be a professional stylist to achieve the perfect afternoon picnic with friends and family or for date night. Beyond tasty food and cold drinks (that stay cold), there are a few hacks for making sure your picnic has a considered edge. Just a bit of housekeeping: Keep single-use plastic to a minimum, take any rubbish home with you, remember your SPF and add frozen fruit to your drinks instead of ice cubes, which will dilute your picnic tipple of choice.
In the age of curation, styling and photographing everything we do and eat, take some time to think about how your picnic will manifest itself, especially if you’re throwing it for a special occasion. A loose theme is a good start, even if it’s as vague as ‘Italianate dinner party’ or ‘English summer luncheon.’ Not only will this influence the colours you choose for the picnic blanket or the style of crockery you opt for, but it will also make menu planning easier. Bruschetta and Aperol, anyone, or perhaps it’ll be pâté and citron pressé?
The idea is not to do away entirely with tablescaping – just try your hand at blanketscaping. It’s about creating texture, layers and dynamic heights around a centrepiece, even if that centrepiece is a beautifully arranged tray of homemade sandwiches. Depending on how much you can carry (or how many hands on deck you can wrangle), incorporate the crockery and serveware you use inside at home to give the picnic a highly considered, even magical feel. A collection of mismatched plates and trays looks charming on your dining table at home, so imagine quite how gorgeous it would look laden with food on the grass in a more casual, relaxed setting. This also goes for cutlery and glassware. Bettina Ceramica has some beautiful options for ceramic serveware (above) – a fantastic spot if that Italian theme speaks to you…
It’s no secret that our summers here in the UK are getting warmer, so it’s time to invest in some proper outdoor cushions and a good-quality picnic blanket. Accessories like throws and cushions are not only essential for the comfort of your fellow picnic-ers, but they also add an almost dreamy, cloud-like quality to the scene, encouraging people to relax and recline. There are some absolutely exquisite outdoor cushions available these days, many of which could very easily pass for indoor cushions. For example, Liberty’s new outdoor fabric collection, The Liberty Garden, reworks the company’s iconic prints and patterns in polyester to make them picnic-safe, while Andrew Martin’s outdoor cushions (above) and rugs are almost indistinguishable from its interiors ranges.
As much as it feels like summer has only just begun, as we approach high summer, the days will start to shorten, so it’s important to consider a light source if you plan on extending your picnic suppers late into the evening. Candles, especially citronella, create a particularly useful and atmospheric feel, with the benefit of keeping away pesky mosquitos. So too do cordless lamps, of which there are many available today. Pooky (above) and Lights&Lamps have collections of long-lasting, rechargeable wireless lamps that you can take outside to keep the party going into the early hours.