Thanks to Emily from Original Travel who has kindly offered to contribute to my Perfect Beach Honeymoon series. She just recently went to the Cocoa Island on the Maldives for her honeymoon and is here to share her experience with us!
Think brilliant white sand, crystal clear turquoise waters and a small paradise island. Welcome to Cocoa Island, just one of the many islands of the Maldives and where I was lucky enough to spend part of my honeymoon. As I work in travel, I researched our honeymoon extensively and have high standards to meet!
This was the 2nd part of our honeymoon, the first stop was Sri Lanka where we got our cultural fix, hit the tea highlands and then went on a camping safari. Now it was time for total R&R and what better place than the Maldives. It’s also incredibly easy to get to from Sri Lanka, a short flight to Male (the capital of the Maldives). Even the airport has a holiday vibe, as you walk out of Arrivals, everyone is directed to the jetty where people are whisked off to the various islands either by sea plane or by speedboat.
After 45mins of speeding away from civilisation we arrived at Cocoa Island. The island is small, in fact you can walk the whole way around in about 15 minutes and it was discovered about 30 years ago by an eccentric Belgium who rented it from a Maldivian family, cleared the jungle scrub and set up home and later opened a small resort for visitors. Cocoa Island is now part of the renowned Como Shambala group and everything about the resort is beautifully designed, real understated chic.
As we’d arrived early and our room wasn’t yes ready we were whisked to the restaurant which has open sides to take in the view and get the morning breeze and greeted with the biggest breakfast selection I’d ever seen. One we’d fully tucked in and taken in the invitingly gorgeous infinity pool and spotted where the bar was for our pre dinner G&T’s, we were then led to our room. Although these aren’t just any ordinary rooms, all the ‘rooms’ are built along a jetty and designed as Dhoni boats but permanently fixed (so no swaying) in the water. They’re split level with the most enormous bed and then stepping down to a comfy white ‘chill out’ day bed.
On our ‘boat’ we had our own secluded decking at the back with sun loungers and steps down to the water. So about 20 paces from your bed to the sea. So morning dips were something else! The Maldives is renowned for its snorkeling and diving, the coral reefs are teaming with hundreds of different species. On our daily snorkeling trips we spotted turtles and even a Manta Ray. Just watch out for the Trigger fish though as they will charge after you if you happen to get too near their nesting patches!
So once we had our water fix (if you’re into scuba diving then you’ll be in seventh heaven) they have a wonderful spa area with a huge selection of treatments, even Phil my husband couldn’t resist an all over body massage. The resort also has a very swish hydrotherapy pool which we found very invigorating and as the resort only has a small capacity, it’s never busy or crowded, which adds to the incredibly laid back atmosphere.
The food as you can imagine was just superb, a different menu every night as romantic trip we even had one candlelight dinner on the beach.
So if you’re looking for a laid back, stylishly chic Maldives destination, I couldn’t recommend Cocoa Island more and as a destination our Maldives honeymoons are one of most popular.
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