A Holiday Of a Lifetime! – Patricia Bright

As some of you may know, I recently went away to the Maldives for a “babymoon” with my family. Although I love working, I felt I needed some rest which was absolutely epic and something I rarely do! Trips like this make me realise just how important holidays are and taking time to just relax with your loved ones and reset, your mind, body and spirit. With it being our last holiday as a family of 3, I wanted to make sure it would be memorable and stress free, so luxury and efficiency were required in equal measure! We opted to stay at the stunning Ayada resort in the south of the Maldives which is an area I haven’t been before. 

Preparing to leave is always a bit of an ordeal, I’m sure we’ve all been there, you’re getting ready for your holiday, loving life, holiday shopping, packing and then the panic sets in.. if you’ve remembered everything, do you need a jacket? How much money to take with you? Which currency to get and getting it exchanged on time, (have you ever gone on holiday and only remembered to change at the airport!) and of course getting the most for your buck… Cue Starling Bank to the rescue ! 

I applied for my Starling card a couple of days before going away (last minute.com, I know) and it arrived in just a few working days before I left!. The application was super quick and easy, literally took minutes after downloading the Starling app, and showing my passport ID (you can show any form of ID applicable), fill in the form and I was good to go! It was a super fast process so this was a great start. With this all taken care of, we were off to the airport to embark on the trip of a lifetime! 

I wanted to keep our itinerary whilst we were away as relaxed as possible, as life has been pretty hectic at home lately. We spent a little time at the beaches which are always out of this world in the Maldives, ate a significant amount of delicious local food and seafood, which is a speciality in the Maldives, and strolled around the Island. In the past I’ve often tried to cram in as many activities as possible whenever we have travelled and then felt exhausted at the end, but this trip was different. We did however manage a few mini excursions which the resort had arranged such as a boat trip and snorkeling ( I mainly supervised from inside the boat lol), which was fun but not too strenuous. As you can see from the pictures, the trip to the Maldives was a huge success, and a time I’m sure I’ll never forget! 

Anyone who has travelled to the Maldives can attest that for all it’s beauty, it’s a LONG journey which usually involves a stop at some point in the Middle East. I used my new Starling card both in the Maldives and also in Dubai while we had a layover which was a seamless experience. When I wanted to change the currency, I would just go to my ’Currency Controls’ in the app and in the ’Card and Currency Controls’ section I could choose whichever currency I wanted to pay in, whether that is in EUR or GBP! Of course I used it at the airports getting some snacks (because are you really on holiday if you don’t get all the snacks at the airport), in the most delicious restaurants, bars and even at the resort for all the activities we got up to while on holiday. It was super easy to withdraw cash too, you also don’t get charged for card payments and ATM withdrawals (of course the sneaky local charges may apply).

With my Starling card, I was also able to get the benefit of the live exchange rate even while you’re away and spending your holiday coins! Not having to worry about managing the money and paying for things throughout the trip was a huge bonus. I love the fact that I can sync my Starling account with my apple pay and pay by a simple tap. And if you lose your card on your trip (which happens to the best of us), you can lock it immediately within the app and continue to use Apple pay whilst away until your new card gets delivered. The app even gives you spending insights and shows you a breakdown of your spending so you can see exactly what you’re spending your money on (of course food for me)! I highly recommend you all get yours too and see just how easy it is for yourself! Find out more, you can apply for a Starling Bank account in minutes and manage your money all from one app. Starling Bank is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.