Mauritius for Winter Sun: Where We're Booking for 2026
Mauritius has become one of our busiest winter sun destinations, and it earns that position honestly. One island gives you a genuinely different trip depending on the coast: lagoon and watersports in the east, plantation stillness in the south, one of the world's best kitesurfing beaches in the southwest, and quieter, more private corners further north. Christmas and New Year are when it gets serious, and the good rooms go early. Here's where we're looking this year.
One&Only Le Saint Géran
The East Coast: Lagoon Living
Belle Mare is Mauritius at its most sociable, all calm lagoon water and full days outdoors. One&Only Le Saint Géranhas anchored this stretch since 1975, when Sol Kerzner opened it as his first hotel outside South Africa, and it still wears that history well after a serious reworking a few years ago. Further along the coast, Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita is built around thatched villas and an Ernie Els golf course, with a boat shuttle across the lagoon to a private beach on Ile aux Cerfs, and suits families who want room to spread out.
The South Coast: Slower and Greener
Bel Ombre is a different Mauritius altogether, backed by a protected nature reserve rather than a lagoon. Heritage Le Telfair, named after the Irish botanist who once lived on this land, blends French plantation architecture with access to two golf courses on the estate, and moves at a noticeably calmer pace than the east coast resorts.
Heritage Le Telfair
The Southwest: Mountain and Motion
Le Morne is the one part of the island where the scenery does most of the talking. LUX Le Morne* sits at the foot of the Le Morne Brabant, a UNESCO World Heritage mountain, and the peninsula is one of the world's better known kitesurfing spots, which gives the resort a livelier, more sociable energy than most of what's on this list.
Lux Le Morne
The North and Northwest: Quieter Corners
Two hotels here suit travellers who want Mauritius without the resort scale. The Oberoi Beach Resort, Mauritius sits inside Turtle Bay, a protected marine park on the northwest coast, with thatched pavilions and villas built for privacy rather than volume. Further north at Grand Baie, La Maison 20 Degrés Sud is smaller again, a Relais & Châteaux property set in a former coconut grove, and about as personal as Mauritius gets.
Book While It's Quiet
Christmas and New Year fill from the smallest categories outward, and by October the choice narrows to whatever is left rather than what you actually wanted. July is quieter than it looks from here, and still the easiest time to get the dates, the villa and the view you're after.