What's new in Mauritius?

With upgraded hotels and new activities, the Indian Ocean destination continues to hit the spot, finds Nigel Tisdall

", advises the website of Taste Buddies, a plucky little company that offers street food tours at four locations across Mauritius. It's a good tip, I discover, when our cheery guide Adrien C"We're finding guests want cultural experiences as much as water-based activities and time on the beach. Nineteen new hotel projects have been approved for the next five years, but we're concentrating on quality, not volume and the average size of resorts on Mauritius is about 200 rooms."

How to Reach Rodrigues
Change is in the air for Rodrigues, Mauritius's 'other' island, which lies a 90-minute flight east. Ringed by a bewitching turquoise lagoon, Rodrigues is extremely safe, good value and making a name for itself as a sustainable destination, with impressive nature reserves and a ban on plastic carrier bags.

The airport's runway is being extended to accommodate aircraft larger than the 78-passenger Air Mauritius ATR 72s that currently link the island to the outside world, and, in December 2023, the first cruise ships returned to Rodrigues in more than a decade, operated by Ponant on a wider Madagascar/Mauritius/ Réunion itinerary.

The Indian Ocean hospitality giant Constance Hotels & Resorts, meanwhile, recently took over two of Rodrigues's best beach resorts, now branded as C Rodrigues and Constance Tekoma.

Sugar Beach Mauritius

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