They turn up in the same search results, cost about the same to fly to, and look identical in photographs. Then you arrive and find out they are not the same holiday at all.
I’ve been to all three. The decision has less to do with beaches than you’d think, because all three have ridiculous beaches. It comes down to what you want to do between swims, what you’re happy paying for dinner, and whether being unable to leave your hotel sounds relaxing or slightly alarming.
I’ll start with Mauritius, because it’s the one people underestimate.
Why Mauritius wins for most travellers
Mauritius is the odd one out, and that’s exactly why I’d book it first. It isn’t a resort chain; it’s a country. Around 1.3 million people live there, and it has a capital, a street market, sugar cane fields, mountains, a national park, and a food culture that arrived from India, China, Africa and France and turned into something of its own.
The whole island sits inside a coral reef, so the lagoon stays flat, shallow, and warm right around the coast. That lagoon is why boat days are what people remember, and it’s worth doing ten minutes of reading before you book one. This guide to catamaran cruises in Mauritius explains which coast stays calm in which month, which isn’t obvious from the listings and matters a lot from June to September when the trade winds pick up. Budget about €38 for a short sunset sail and €55 to €65 for a full day with lunch grilled on the back of the boat.
Things to do in Mauritius beyond the beach
This is where the gap opens up. Hire a car for around €30 a day and the whole island is yours, which you cannot meaningfully do in the Maldives or the Seychelles.
You can spend a morning in the Port Louis market with a cold alouda, an afternoon at the seven coloured earth in Chamarel, and still be back in the sea by five. Le Morne is one of the best kitesurfing spots in the world. The Black River Gorges has real hiking and a rescued kestrel population that was down to four birds in the 1970s. Grand Bassin is a crater lake that half the country walks to every February for Maha Shivaratri.
What a holiday in Mauritius costs
Dholl puri from a street stall runs about a euro. A good local restaurant is €10 to €18 a head. Car hire is roughly €30 a day, buses cost small change, and a full day on a catamaran with food and drinks is €55 to €65.
Your money goes about twice as far as it does in the Seychelles, and several times further than in the Maldives. It’s the only one of the three where eating out is a pleasure rather than a budget decision.
The honest downsides. The beaches are lovely but don’t quite match the Seychelles, and the snorkelling straight off the sand isn’t the Maldives. In Mauritius you go out to the reef for that, which is better anyway, but it means booking a boat rather than walking into the sea.
Book Mauritius if you want a holiday with things in it: beaches, mountains, markets, proper food, and a bill you can look at without wincing.
The Maldives: one island, one hotel, no decisions
The Maldives is roughly 1,200 low coral islands, and the model couldn’t be simpler. One island, one hotel. You land in Malé, take a seaplane or a speedboat, and arrive somewhere you won’t leave until the day you fly home.
For a honeymoon that’s close to perfect. Nobody plans anything, the water is bath-warm and clear, and the snorkelling straight off the beach is the best of the three by a distance. In the right season you can swim with manta rays and whale sharks.
The catch is the bill. One restaurant, one bar, one shop, and the hotel owns all three. Dinner for two with wine can cost what three days of eating costs elsewhere, and a seaplane transfer runs into the hundreds per person each way. By day six, some people start looking at the horizon.
Book the Maldives if you want to do nothing at all, with someone you like, and the budget isn’t the deciding factor.
The Seychelles: the best beaches, the most planning
The Seychelles has the beaches that win the polls. Those huge granite boulders sitting in the sand, worn round and smooth, look like nowhere else on earth. Anse Source d’Argent on La Digue is the one you’ve seen, and it earns it.
There’s more behind the beach than people expect. Mahé has a green, hilly interior with hiking trails. Praslin has the Vallée de Mai, a palm forest where the coco de mer grows, a nut so suggestive the Victorians refused to photograph it. La Digue has almost no cars, so you cycle, which is half the pleasure.
You move between islands by ferry, and that takes planning. It’s expensive, though not Maldives expensive, and you can bring the cost down with guesthouses and self-catering instead of resorts. Restaurant choice outside the main islands is thin.
Book the Seychelles if you want the best beaches anywhere; you’ll cycle and hike, and ferry timetables don’t put you off.
Mauritius vs Maldives vs Seychelles at a glance
| Mauritius | Maldives | Seychelles | |
| Best for | A proper holiday with variety | Doing nothing, in private | Beaches and scenery |
| Beaches | Very good | Excellent | The best |
| Snorkelling off the beach | Go out to the reef | Excellent | Good |
| Food | The clear winner | Hotel only | Good, expensive |
| Things to do | Lots | Almost none | A fair amount |
| Getting around | Hire a car, around €30 a day | You don’t | Ferries and bikes |
| Cost | Cheapest | Most expensive | In between |
| Families | Best of the three | Workable, pricey | Harder with small children |
| Honeymoon | Good, with variety | The classic | The prettiest |
Which Indian Ocean island is cheapest?
Mauritius, by a wide margin. Street food for a euro or two, restaurants at €10 to €18 a head, car hire from €30 a day, and hotels at every level from guesthouse to five-star.
The Seychelles sits in the middle and becomes reasonable if you self-cater. The Maldives is in its own bracket, and the transfer costs catch people out before they’ve even had dinner.
Which one is best for families?
Mauritius. The lagoon is shallow and calm, the drives are short, and there’s enough to do that nobody gets bored of sand by day four. Nature parks, boat trips, a waterpark, markets and hikes.
The Maldives works for families if the resort has a kids’ club and the budget allows. The Seychelles is harder with small children because of the ferries and the hills.
Is Mauritius better than the Maldives?
For most trips, yes, unless seclusion is the entire point of your holiday. You get more to do, better food, much lower prices and the freedom to drive around. The Maldives wins on snorkelling off the beach and on that specific feeling of being the only two people for miles.
When to visit each island
Mauritius: October and May are the sweet spots, with light winds, warm water and little rain. Cyclone season runs officially from November to mid-May, so book any boat day early in your trip where it can be moved.
Seychelles: good most of the year. April to May and October to November are the calmest, between the two monsoons.
Maldives: the dry season runs roughly November to April, which is also when prices peak.
So which would I book?
One week and a normal budget: Mauritius, without much hesitation. It’s the only one of the three where you get a beach holiday and a real trip in the same week, where a hire car makes sense, and where dinner doesn’t need a family meeting.
Just married, someone else paying: the Maldives, for four or five nights rather than ten.
Chasing the most beautiful sand you’ll ever stand on: the Seychelles, with a bike and realistic expectations about restaurant prices.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Mauritius or the Seychelles?
Mauritius for food, value, and variety. The Seychelles for beaches and scenery. If you want to fill a week with more than swimming, go to Mauritius. If you want the most beautiful coastline of your life, go to the Seychelles.
How many days do you need in Mauritius?
Five at the absolute minimum; seven is comfortable. That gives you a day on the water, a day inland, and enough beach time to feel like you’ve had a holiday.
Is Mauritius expensive?
Less than you’d expect. Street food costs a euro or two, local restaurants €10 to €18 a head, and a hire car around €30 a day. Hotels span everything from guesthouses to famous five stars.
Can you swim with dolphins in Mauritius?
Yes, on the west coast, and the law only allows it between 6am and 9am. Any operator offering a mid-morning dolphin swim is offering something they aren’t permitted to do.
Which island has the best snorkelling?
The Maldives, straight off the beach. Mauritius has excellent reef snorkelling once you take a boat out to it.
More beach inspiration: these bucket list beach destinations are worth the long flight, and before booking anything far away, this guide to buying travel insurance covers what you actually need.
