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Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

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Anse Source D'Argent, La Digue, Seychelles

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Overview

Blessed with superlative landscapes and idyllic beaches, and rich in activities and culinary experiences, Mauritius, Réunion and the Seychelles offer the best cure for the blues. These Indian Ocean islands are some of the most sought-after on the planet, encircled by beaches of astonishing beauty and backed by forested interiors ripe for exploration. The waters that surround the islands have a color all their own – a blend of turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald – and shelter extraordinary marine riches. The food, too, is a highlight of any visit here, alongside the cultural mosaic of life out in the ocean. Throw in some of the most luxurious retreats anywhere on earth, and it becomes clear that this could be one place where the moniker "paradise" doesn't overstate things.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Amazon Water Lily (Victoria amazonica) flower, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens, Pamplemousse, Mauritius

    Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens

    The North

    After London's Kew Gardens, the SSR Gardens is one of the world's best botanical gardens. It's among the most popular tourist attractions in Mauritius and…

  • Mauritius, Anse Jonchée, Vallée de Ferney, landscape

    Vallée de Ferney

    Mauritius

    Protecting a 400-year-old forest, this reserve is an important habitat for the Mauritius kestrel, one of the world's most endangered raptors, and a visit…

  • Blue Penny Museum, stamp museum at Caudan Waterfront in Port Louis, Mauritius, Africa

    Blue Penny Museum

    Port Louis

    Although dedicated to the world-famous Mauritian one-penny and two-pence stamps of 1847, the Blue Penny Museum is far more wide-ranging than its name…

  • Eureka, Colonial House and museum, Mauritius, Africa

    Eureka

    Mauritius

    If you're only going to visit one attraction related to Mauritius' rich colonial history, choose Eureka. This perfectly preserved Creole mansion was built…

  • Pope Francis makes a prayer as he visits the mausoleum of Jacques-Desire Laval in Port Louis, Mauritius, on September 9, 2019, on the final stop of an Africa tour. - Pope Francis visit three-nation tour of Indian Ocean African countries hard hit by poverty, conflict and natural disaster. Francis' visit coincides with the 155th anniversary of the death of Father Jacques Desire Laval, a French priest who died in Mauritius in 1864 and was beatified in 1979. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP) (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

    Père Laval's Shrine

    Port Louis

    The shrine of French Catholic priest and missionary Père Jacques-Désiré Laval is something of a Lourdes of the Indian Ocean, with many miracles attributed…

  • Famous tropical beach of Anse Source d'Argent

    Anse Source d'Argent

    La Digue

    Famed for being one of the most photographed beaches on the planet, Anse Source d'Argent is a sight to behold. Its dazzling white sands are lapped by…

  • Île aux Aigrettes

    Île aux Aigrettes

    Mauritius

    This popular ecotourism destination is a 26-hectare nature reserve on an island roughly 800m off the coast. It preserves very rare remnants of the coastal…

  • Mauritius island, West coast, Rampart mountain at Tamarin

    Tamarin Beach

    Mauritius

    Locals like to wax nostalgic about Tamarin Beach and its surfing heyday, and in many ways this sandy cove still feels like a throwback to earlier times,…

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