Destination No. 14 — Indian Ocean
Mauritius
An island with history, cooking and a reef all the way round.
Mauritius is often reduced to its beaches, yet it is the most cultivated island in the Indian Ocean: colonial retreats, market life that works without visitors, and cooking drawn from Indian, Creole, Chinese and French lines.
A continuous reef keeps the lagoons calm, while inland the mountains and cane fields rise. The west is drier, the east windier and emptier, the north the most sociable.
Why we like this place
Three reasons
01
Because you can leave the hotel here and find a country.
02
Because the botany — Pamplemousses, the gorges in the south — carries a rainy day.
03
Because the hotels are often family-run and have a tone large groups rarely strike.
For planning
- Best time to visit
- May, June and September to November
- The shoulder months are mild and dry. The southern summer from December to March is warm and humid with occasional cyclones; July and August are cooler and windier — good for sailing.
- Suggested length
- Seven nights
- A week at one address with two days inland. As a coda to a safari, five nights are enough.
What matters when choosing a coast?
The wind. The east is fresher and better for watersports, the west calmer and warmer, the north livelier, the south least developed. Between June and August the east can feel genuinely cool. For calm water and warmth choose the west or south-west — and Mauritius pairs well with a safari.
Noted by Pure Voyage
Pure Voyage Atlas
Where this leads
The Atlas connects what belongs together: the region, the collections, the right season and the houses that sit within the same story.
Within These Collections
When to Go
In the Journal
Discovery Paths
Where we stay
Addresses in this region
On Mauritius we mostly recommend family-run houses in the west and south; the choice follows the wind and the season.
Pure Voyage Signatures
Themes that run through our work
Recurring thoughts rather than categories. They appear where they explain something.
In a similar spirit
What shares the same spirit
Not the most similar, but the most natural next step: places, routes and essays that belong to this way of travelling.
- HouseAman VeniceCanal Grande, VenedigA house we would mention in the same conversation.
- JourneyVenice Simplon-Orient-ExpressLondon, Paris, the Alps, VeniceA route that suits this way of travelling.
- RecommendationFirst Time ItalyFor a first journey to Italy — the one that sets the tone for all the others.Our selection for travellers with this outlook.
- JournalWhich Aman Is Right for You?9 minutesAn essay that carries this thought further.
Continue through Pure Voyage
Where to go from here
Not a catalogue, but a next step: the retreats, routes, countries and essays we would mention at this point in a conversation.
Hotels
Addresses that belong beside this page.
Journeys
Routes that open up this region.
Recommendations
What we suggest for this occasion.
Journal
Further reading before you decide.
A Personal Enquiry
Shall we plan Mauritius for you?
Tell us when you would like to travel and with whom — we suggest the houses that genuinely suit Mauritius in your period.
A first assessment is without obligation and free of charge.
Why book through Pure Voyage?
- Personal luxury travel advice
- Carefully chosen hotel recommendations
- Tailor-made itineraries
- Partner benefits wherever they apply
- Direct personal contact from start to finish
An Invitation
Once a month: hotels, new openings and travel ideas
One hotel that convinced us. One new opening we are watching. And one travel idea for the right season. Carefully selected and reduced to the essentials.