Mauritius - January 2026
Deciding we needed to use our BA companion voucher, and deciding Sam was not going be be getting a visa in time and knowing that the week of the 26th-30th of January was the inter-semester break and potentially only holiday until Summer, we booked the only place with a beach and sunshine. Mauritius.
The week before the weather report was not looking promising with the potential for a cyclone being fairly high. Sitting at the gate at London Gatwick with exactly 330 children and babies suddenly the odd question popped into my mind as to if this was the right idea. The questions were not answered when we were told that due to military activity en route we would be taking the long way down through central Africa adding an extra 1.5hrs to the flight time. Fortunately 12.5 hours of screaming child(ren) later we arrived in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and most importantly it was 20 degrees warmer than the UK.
Our laid back taxi took us up to Seapoint Boutique Hotel where we were warmly greeted and given a delicious juice and refresher towel on the beach. From our arrival until we left the service was incredible with big smiles and helpful suggestions. The beach was perfect and the seawater was warm, another bonus was the small reef with gorgeous coral and fantastic fish right on the doorstep. After a long flight and some delicious fried chicken and calamari we decided it was a perfect time for a nap.
Dinners were a highlight of the trip, with the option of the chef’s menu which changed every night or the a le carte menu. The highlight was a delicious cream and bacon gnocchi. but in close second was a delicious local chicken curry. The food was all fantastic, and the hotel insisted that men wear trousers and closed shoes, which proved a good opportunity for Sam to dress up too!
The evenings were enjoyable not just for the food but the local wildlife of semi-wild cats, enormous snails and very cute geckos. Sam was convinced we were going to bring one of the cats home. The amused security guard said all she needed to do was tell ‘the authority’ but that was where his helpfulness ended, unfortunately for Sam (fortunately for me). And we still don’t know who ‘the authority’ is…
The days were long and warm, on the first day we took a walk to the much spoken of Mont Choisy beach and it was as pretty as the pictures with blue blue water and white beaches. We met a fellow South African Joe from Joburg who was working the the Club Med. “We” made sure to collect all the best rocks along the way. As we were making our way home we came across a kids’ club who were happy to share their crabs with Sam (heehee!). We finished the day with a wonderful hot oil massage which was dreamy.
The next day we started off by having a really nice snorkel for a couple hours, we then took a taxi ride into town to find lunch. It was very hot but we found a really nice roof terrace restaurant with a great view over the bay. Being the clever cookies that we are we then decided to walk the 5km back home in the sun and heat. And it was only when we got home that we realised that was probably not the best idea as both of us had seen a little too much sun.
Having both taken on a little too much fun and sun we decided to take it easy the next couple days where we enjoyed the local beach and the hotel pool and generally just relaxed and read our books. The weather also clouded over a bit which offered a little respite from the heat and a cool wind kept it very pleasant.
A highlight of the trip was the wide range of birds which were all a little too friendly around the breakfast and lunch tables. As is always the case with these holidays it was over too soon and after a scenic drive it was back in the plane for another 12 hour flight home although with fewer crying children and after a few restful days it was far more bearable.
