So, you have decided to go to the Maldives for your next holiday. This is going to be the trip of a lifetime, so you need to plan carefully to make sure you get the most out of it. The Maldives is home to hundreds of amazing hotels, most of which have their own website, but it's difficult to really know which hotel best suits your need. Then, once you have chosen the hotel, you need to choose the dive center or liveaboard safari ship, the restaurant, the tour operator and everything else. While some things, the restaurants and bars for example, are not that important, you really don't want to choose a bad hotel or liveaboard because that could seriously ruin your whole trip and cost you a lot of money. Following these top tips could help you make the right decisions:

1. Check out review sites

There are not many sites that specifically review attractions and operations in the Maldives, but a new one was recently launched. www.MaldivesReviews.com has sections for reviews on all aspects of holidaying in the Maldives, from dive boats to resorts and everything in between.

2. Ask questions on forums

Visit forums about the Maldives and ask questions about various topics. www.MaldivesTourist.com is a good place to visit. You are bound to find someone who has been to the places you need to know about. Try to get responses from a few people to ensure you are getting fair responses. All too often the owners of hotels and dive boats monitor the forums to ensure positive responses are given about their products.

3. Contact the hotel/liveaboard operators

Find the hotel or liveaboard you are interested in, read the reviews on the review site and ask questions on the forum. Contact the hotel or liveaboard operator with any further questions you have and wait for their answers. This will give you a good idea of their level of service and responsiveness.

4. Do a News search online

Before reserving, type the name of the hotel or liveaboard operator into a search engine and select News as the type of search. This will help you see if the place has been reviewed by newspapers or websites around the world (usually a good sign) and if anything bad has happened there recently. You don't want to reserve your holiday in a hotel that was recently closed down for food poisoning, do you? These tips should help you find out a lot more about your holiday before making the reservation. Enjoy your holidays!

www.MaldivesTourist.com