Mauritius holidays

Mauritius is the Indian Ocean's most-developed resort island — a French-Mauritian-Creole-Indian-Chinese cultural blend (the country is the only African country with a Hindu majority, the result of 19th-century Indian indentured labour), a lagoon-locked beach coast (the offshore coral reef creates calm shallow turquoise waters at every major beach), the dramatic Black River Gorges National Park interior, the Seven Coloured Earths at Chamarel, the Sega music tradition that has UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status, and a deep all-inclusive-and-luxury hotel scene led by Beachcomber, Sun Resorts, Constance, LUX*, and the splurge Royal Palm, One&Only Le Saint Géran, Shangri-La Le Touessrok, and Four Seasons Anahita. Mauritius is also one of the world's top-five honeymoon destinations and the most-booked Indian Ocean beach holiday in the UK travel-agent market.

A 7-10 day Mauritius trip: arrival at SSR International on the east coast → most travellers book single-resort stays for 7-10 nights with day-trips arranged through the hotel. Resort-selection regions: North-West (Grand Baie, Mont Choisy, Trou aux Biches — the most-developed resort coast with lively restaurants and nightlife, Beachcomber Royal Palm, Mauricia and Trou aux Biches Beachcomber here); East (Belle Mare, Trou d'Eau Douce, Anahita — wilder, longer beaches, fewer crowds, Four Seasons Anahita, LUX* Belle Mare, Long Beach Mauritius); South (Bel Ombre, Le Morne — the dramatic Le Morne UNESCO mountain backdrop, less-developed, Outrigger Mauritius, Heritage Le Telfair, Lux* Le Morne); West (Flic en Flac, Tamarin Bay — the kite-surfing and dolphin-swimming zone, Sugar Beach Sun Resort, Sands Suites). Day-trip headlines: Port Louis capital and the Saturday Champ-de-Mars horse racing, Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens, Black River Gorges hike, Chamarel Seven Coloured Earths and the Rhumerie de Chamarel rum distillery, Île aux Cerfs catamaran day-trip, the Mauritius Glass Gallery, the Casela Nature Park, and the Aapravasi Ghat UNESCO indentured-labour heritage site.