Originally Posted by
BA304
Thank you, this is actually very helpful. I will take Mauritius off the list. Am I correct in assuming there is nothing to do but R&R on both the Seychelles and Maldives? Have you paired either of those destinations with other nearby locales (Madagascar,Mozambique, India, Sri Lanka, etc.)?
I have done Mauritius, Mozambique, Madagascar and Seychelles twice, Maldives and Zanzibar a half dozen times, Sri Lanka a dozen.
The Maldives are a grouping of islands where the resort is the island itself (or as another mentioned, two islands). It's if you want complete solitude and have a lot of $$ to burn (the transfer from the airport to the hotel can go from $150-$300 ONE WAY). To go between the islands you can take a boat to neighboring islands, but you hit more resorts. The only place worth seeing, if seeing at all is Male the capital. The Four Seasons is simply incredible (both of them).
Seychelles is similar to Maldives except there's island hopping and you can leave your hotel and walk around the small capital, Victoria. It reminds me a little bit of French Polynesia. I stay at the Le Meridien Mahe and Victoria is close by.
Mauritius is one entire island, Port Louis is a bustling little city and I always stayed at The Grand Mauritian (and scheduled to stay at The St. Regis Mauritius this winter). The hotel is on the other side of the island and is quite a drive. The people are beautiful and I have never ever ever had any issues with the locals. On one trip I did a week-end in Madagascar, which I completely recommend. Mauritius is more like Bali, where you can leave the hotel and go to town.
SEY and MRU are nothing like Mozambique. Mozambique is almost identical to Sri Lanka. Zanzibar reminds me of Mykonos without all the tourists, the Kempinski there is absolutely beautiful!
Safe travels and have fun!
UG
SIDENOTE: The people of the Indian Ocean to not regard themselves as African - I learned this the hard way. Calling a Sri Lankan "Indian" is a no-no. Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius and surrounding islands are more connected to the people of Indonesia interesting enough. Even in Madagascar, when I made reference to being in Africa, my guide said, "Oh no no, we separated from Africa billions of years ago." Madagascar has a certain flavour, like the "Southern Belles" of Louisiana/Georgia here in the States.