Mauritius Grand
Island Discovery

Arrive at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport and transfer north by private luxury vehicle to LUX* Grand Baie — roughly an hour and a half across the island.

The resort sits on a crescent-shaped beach in the heart of Grand Baie, with 116 suites and villas designed by Kelly Hoppen and architect Jean Francois Adam. Spend the afternoon settling in, then walk out into Grand Baie itself — boutiques, waterfront cafés and the most energetic stretch of the north coast.

Dinner over the lagoon: Beach Rouge for Mediterranean cooking, or the rooftop Bisou for sunset.

A private guided morning in Port Louis. The Caudan Waterfront is the modern face of the capital — shops, restaurants and marina views. The Central Market is the older one, stacked with produce, spices and craft. Between them sits Aapravasi Ghat, the UNESCO World Heritage immigration depot where indentured labourers first stepped ashore, and where a great deal of modern Mauritian identity begins.

Midday is given to street food, which in Mauritius is a serious cuisine rather than a snack: dholl puri, gateaux piments, and whatever the stall in front of you is doing best.

The afternoon returns north to the resort — the rooftop infinity pool, a treatment at LUX* ME Spa with its Turkish hammam and multi-sensory water path, or simply the beach.

The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden at Pamplemousses was established in 1770, making it the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere. Thirty-seven hectares hold more than 650 plant varieties: baobabs, indigenous bottle palms, medicinal collections, a spice garden, and 85 varieties of palm — among them royal palms and the talipot, which flowers once in its life and then dies.

The giant water lilies are at their best in the warm months from December to February. Go early; it is more pleasant before the heat, and the mosquitoes are fewer. Bring repellent and closed shoes. Golf-cart tours are available for anyone with limited mobility.

The afternoon runs to Trou aux Biches for calm water and easy swimming, then back to Grand Baie for dinner.

A full day at sea on a private yacht or catamaran out of Grand Baie, which sits directly opposite the offshore islands and is the natural launching point for them.

The day shapes itself around conditions and preference: island hopping across the northern waters, snorkelling over coral gardens, swimming in secluded coves, and a private lunch served on a remote beach.

Return in the late afternoon for sunset, and dinner at Ai KISU — contemporary Asian cooking with Warayaki straw-fire grilling and a soy sauce sommelier, which is not a sentence one writes often.

A private transfer across the island to the east coast after breakfast.

Check in to One&Only Le Saint Géran, on a private peninsula flanked by the Indian Ocean on one side and a sheltered lagoon on the other. Suites come with butler service, and the complimentary water sports — kayaking, pedal-boating, waterbiking, snorkelling — are all available straight from the beach.

The afternoon is yours across two shorelines, five tennis courts and a fully equipped gym. Dinner at PRIME, La Terrasse or the Indian Pavilion.

A full-day private boat excursion to Île aux Cerfs, off the east coast — a lagoon cruise through turquoise water, snorkelling over a marine-rich seabed, and swimming from white sand that has been photographed to death for good reason.

Lunch is a barbecue on the island. For anyone wanting more, parasailing over the lagoon and the underwater-walk experience — walking the seabed in a helmeted air supply — can both be arranged, subject to operator availability.

Return to the resort in the afternoon.

Inland and up, to Grand Bassin — Ganga Talao — a crater lake at roughly 550 metres in the mountainous southwest district of Savanne, and the most sacred Hindu pilgrimage site in Mauritius.

A shoreline temple and a collection of smaller shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva and other deities ring the water, alongside the large statues that mark the site from a distance. Local belief holds it was discovered by a Hindu priest around 1897; in the 1970s water from the Ganges was poured into the lake, which is how it took its name. Dress respectfully — shoulders and knees covered.

The afternoon continues through the central highlands and its viewpoints before returning east.

A slow luxury morning, and then a private horse-riding session along the beach and coastline — part of the resort’s own activity programme, and best taken early before the sand heats up.

The afternoon is entirely open: the One&Only Spa, the uncrowded private beach, diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing or snorkelling, the Gary Player nine-hole par-33 course, or a private sunset cruise. Dinner at the resort.

A private helicopter flight over the underwater-waterfall illusion off the southwest coast near Le Morne. It is worth being precise about what this is: an aerial phenomenon created by sand and silt moving over the edge of the coastal shelf, which reads from above as an enormous cascade plunging into the deep. It cannot be seen from the ground or from sea level at all.

The flight also passes Le Morne Brabant, the UNESCO World Heritage mountain, and takes in Chamarel village and the Pouce and Pieter Both peaks. Minimum two passengers to book and four to operate, and the schedule follows the weather.

The afternoon returns to Le Saint Géran for a final swim, and the evening is a private dinner over the lagoon.

A final session at the One&Only Spa, followed by a late breakfast and last moments on the peninsula.

A private transfer to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport follows in the afternoon, roughly an hour away.