Mauritius Island Holiday: North, South and Ile aux Cerfs, 6 Nights

You are met at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in the south-east of the island and driven to your beach hotel; depending on its coast, the drive takes from half an hour to around ninety minutes. Rooms are usually ready from mid-afternoon. Spend the rest of the day on the sand, and dinner is at the hotel.

A full day on a shared tour, starting in the upland town of Floréal with its craft shops and a workshop where wooden model ships are built by hand. In Port Louis you look down on the harbour from the Citadel, drive past the Champ de Mars racecourse, the oldest in the southern hemisphere, and finish with time at the Caudan Waterfront.

The south tour climbs into the island’s green interior. Look into the crater of Trou aux Cerfs above Curepipe, then visit Grand Bassin, a crater lake and Hindu pilgrimage site watched over by a huge statue of Shiva. The road crosses the forested Plaine Champagne to Chamarel, where volcanic sands settle into bands of red, violet and ochre.

Nothing is planned. Most beach hotels have kayaks, snorkelling gear and pedal boats for guests, and the lagoon inside the reef is calm enough for swimming on most days. If you want to do more, a catamaran day on the west coast, dolphin watching off Tamarin or a round of golf can all be booked locally.

A drive to the east coast at Grande Rivière Sud-Est, where water sports are offered at extra cost, then a speedboat out to Ile aux Cerfs, a small island ringed by white sand and a shallow turquoise lagoon. Time on the island is your own until mid-afternoon. Pack swimwear, sunscreen, a hat and a hotel beach towel.

A last full day with nothing arranged. It is a good day for the hotel spa, for a walk along the beach at low tide, or for a taxi into the nearest village to try dholl puri and other Mauritian street food. We can book a sunset cruise or a sea-kayak trip if you would like one.

Breakfast at the hotel, then the transfer back to the airport for your flight home. Check-out is usually around midday; if your flight leaves in the evening, a late check-out or a day room can often be arranged at extra cost so you can shower and change before the journey.