Arriving at mentioned airport, by all accounts, could be fairly overwhelming. Velana is fairly small (although it is getting a swanky new worldwide passenger terminal in mid-2025), and there are seemingly infinite sea taxis, planes and switch minivans ready for his or her friends once you first land. Fortuitously, for Nautilus friends, every little thing runs like clockwork.
We had a member of airport workers meet us off of our flight from Abu Dhabi (ridiculous, I do know), the place we bought taken by automotive to an arrival lounge to sip on full-fat Coke whereas our luggage have been rescued from the baggage carousel for us. Most resorts have you ever make your personal method by means of customs and baggage declare, which might take some time and be extremely popular, so this was an actual deal with.
The entire workers appeared to know precisely who we have been and the place we would have liked to be, and reps from The Nautilus have been readily available to point out us the best way to our sea aircraft terminal.
The Nautilus has its personal, very-lilac sea aircraft, which takes friends from Velana direct to The Nautilus a number of instances a day. Beneath regular circumstances, you’d organize an unbiased seaplane switch, operated by the nation’s Manta Air, however friends of The Nautilus do not should undergo the trouble.
Reaching The Nautilus takes a brief half-hour, a journey that’s made extra than snug with water, earplugs and followers. Taking off simply earlier than sundown and flying over the butter-soft seashores that lined the islands under was like nothing I had ever skilled – and touchdown on a picket pontoon in the course of the ocean was fairly spectacular, too.
The ultimate stage of the journey was to hop onto The Nautilus’ personal boat for a five-minute shuttle to a jetty on the southern-most tip of the island – and approaching the Thiladhoo (the island The Nautilus is about on) was truly one of the crucial joyful moments of my complete expertise. Good, pleasant staffed lined the jetty, smiling joyfully and – chilly towel and ice-cold mocktails in-hand – marking the beginning of our vacation.
The homes
There are 26 seaside and ocean homes at The Nautilus, and whereas the over-water ocean homes stay the preferred with new friends, the seaside homes are reportedly favoured by associates and repeat friends of the island. Whichever model of room you go for, your expertise will likely be tailor-made to your wants totally – confirmed by the truth that you get a private butler in the course of your keep, and the possibility to fill out a pre-arrival preferences type to let workers know who you’re.
You may stroll across the complete parameter of the island in lower than 20 minutes – or cycle, when you do not thoughts avoiding the seashores – so reaching the room was a speedy affair. We have been pushed proper to the entrance door of our over-water villa by buggy, by means of frangipani and hibiscus-littered paths, and felt comforts of residence from the second we stepped inside.
