Sandbank Affaire Makunudu Maldives 🌴🌅🍽️ Your Private Island Dinner

18
Jul 24
0

Sandbank Affaire, Maldives 🌴🌅🍽️ Dinner on your Private Island

The Sandbank Affaire at Makunudu Island Resort in the Maldives offers an exclusive experience. Imagine being whisked away by a speedboat to a distant mini-island—a thin sliver of white sand on the horizon. Accompanied only by your waiter and a chef, you’ll savor a Lobster BBQ with a bottle of wine on this private evening excursion.

As the sun sets over the Indian Ocean, you’ll dine on a sandy strip that used to be an actual island, now gradually reclaimed by the sea. It’s a truly unique escape, far from the everyday, where tranquility and culinary delights meet.

Highlights

The Sandbank Affaire is a special experience devised by the Management of the Makunudu Island Resort. This is a private evening excursion to a distant Sandbank. You are accompanied by your waiter and a chef, and are treated to a Steak and Lobster BBQ, with a bottle of wine.

La Roche-Posay Double Repair Face Moisturizer

Since this was our last evening in the Maldives, we decided to try what promised to be a truly unique experience.

Speedboat from Makunudu island

Getting there from Sri Lanka

Reaching the Sandbank

We set out from Makunudu at 6 pm in a small motorboat. We were accompanied by Ibrahim (our assigned waiter), one of the local chefs, and 2 of the boat staff to take care of transport. The speedboat was fast, and we quickly covered a considerable distance way out into the Indian Ocean.

After around half an hour we spotted our destination: A thin sliver of white sand on the horizon.

Sandbank Affaire, Makunudu Maldives – Arrival

We approached from the opposite, shallow side of the Sandbank. Our boat handlers moored the boat about 30 meters out, and we hopped out into the shallows and waded ashore.

Our venue for the evening comprised a thin strip of sand, around 150 meters long by 30 meters wide, rising maybe half a meter above sea-level. This used to be an actual island, but like everywhere else in the Maldives it’s gradually being reclaimed by the sea.

Wading ashore to our private island restaurant

Isolated in the Indian Ocean

We did a detailed reconnoitre of the sandbank, looking for any interesting flotsam and jetsom. In the meantime, Ibrahim and the other guys carefully brought ashore 2 large boxes and assorted goodies. It was still light enough to set up the barbecue and table area.

Of course, we could choose to sit wherever we wanted 😉

Sandbank Affaire Makunudu Maldives – Preparation on the sandbank

As we stood alone on the tip of the Sandbank, we felt a gentle early evening breeze. The ocean around us was calm, and lapped peacefully onto the sandy shoreline.

Maldives 🤿 Under the Reef

We scanned the panorama around us, and could just make out the tiny silhouettes of 2 islands on the extreme horizon. If ever you really want to get away from it all, this is the place.

Sandbank Affaire Makunudu Maldives

Full Face Snorkeling Mask Travel Essentials — Full Face Snorkeling Mask
The 180 panoramic view gives you a clearer view of the ocean world. Additional removable motion camera brackets allow you to easily capture your adventures and share them with your friends and family.

We didn’t want to risk running out of booze 😲 so in addition to the red we took along a bottle of sparkling white wine.

I chatted with the guys from the island as they were setting up. Ibrahim turned out to be one of the senior staff members: He had been working on Makunudu since the early 1990’s. Like many Maldivians who work for long fixed periods on the resort islands, he didn’t get back home to his family very often.

If time allows, it is well worth the effort to visit some of the non-resort islands in the Maldives. It’s the only way to appreciate the genuine nature of the place and the people.

Ibrahim prepares our table

Surf-and-Turf Sandbank-style

The barbecue was kindled as the light started to fade. Soon after, we could smell the aroma of barbecued steak and lobster. Yes, a proper surf-and-turf menu with baked potatoes and roasted vegetables to compliment our venue.

Sandbank Affaire Makunudu Maldives

Taking into account where we were, our dinner was prepared and served impeccably, with a nice assortment of side dishes and deserts.

Sandbank Affaire

As night fell, Ibrahim lit up the candles in the sand holes he had prepared around our table. We were then left alone to enjoy the peace and solitude of the Indian Ocean, just meters from our feet.

We eventually got back to Makunudu Island around 9:30 pm.

Dinner alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean

The cost for our Sandbank Affaire came to $220 (€190) for two, including the complimentary bottle of wine. Considering the uniqueness of the experience, this was excellent value for money and an unforgettable way to end a trip to the Maldives.

We were next heading across to nearby Sri Lanka for a less luxurious but fascinating 3 weeks of travel and adventure.

Our Sri Lanka Travel Plan