Mauritius vs Seychelles vs Zanzibar with kids: which to choose

The comparison at a glance

Why Mauritius wins with children

The reason is simple and distinctly unglamorous: it copes best when things do not go to plan.

Children tire of the beach before adults do. It rains. Somebody gets ill. A teenager decides paradise is boring. In those scenarios — which are the norm, not the exception — Mauritius has answers: mountains, botanical gardens, markets, temples, museums, distilleries, karting, a shopping day, serious hospitals and roads you can drive without fear.

It is a volcanic island with relief, with history, and with a local population living its own life beyond tourism. It is not a stage set.

Seychelles: better beaches, worse family fit

The Seychelles beaches, with their granite boulders and clear water, are probably unmatched anywhere. Even so, with children there are three drawbacks:

• It is expensive, at price levels above Mauritius for a thinner family offer.
• There is little to do beyond the landscape itself. With children aged 8 to 14 that tells.
• Moving between islands — Mahé, Praslin, La Digue — consumes whole days by ferry or light aircraft, and those transfers tire young children.

The Seychelles is a superb destination as a couple, or with independent teenagers who enjoy hiking and snorkelling.

Maldives: the island-resort problem

In the Maldives, a resort is literally an island. With children that has two consequences:

• The experience is excellent but closed: whatever that resort offers is everything there will be for the whole stay. There is no plan B and no way out.
• Cost per night with a family is the highest of the four, and seaplane transfers add a figure that catches people out.

It works beautifully for a honeymoon, or for families who want exactly that. As a two-week family holiday with school-age children, it falls short.

Zanzibar: price and authenticity, with trade-offs

Zanzibar has genuine appeal: Stone Town is fascinating, the north-east beaches are superb and the price is clearly lower. The trade-offs with children are serious:

• There is malaria, requiring prophylaxis — something not every family wants to take on with young children.
• Healthcare infrastructure is limited; a serious paediatric emergency means evacuation.
• Accommodation standards are more variable and kids clubs are scarce.
• Roads and transfers are harder work.

It is a great option for experienced travellers with older children. As a first family tropical trip, Mauritius is a considerably calmer decision.

The factor few people weigh: the flight

With children, how you get there matters as much as where you go.

Mauritius has a concrete advantage from the UK: British Airways and Air Mauritius fly direct from London Heathrow, around 12 hours and usually overnight, so the long leg is slept through and you arrive with the day ahead. The time difference is only three or four hours, so there is barely any jet lag to manage — something anyone who has flown to Asia or the Americas with children appreciates immediately.

The Seychelles also has direct services but a thinner schedule; the Maldives and Zanzibar generally involve connections.

When to choose something else

To be fair to the alternatives:

• If you want the cheapest possible tropics and your children are older, Zanzibar.
• If you are travelling without children, or with independent teenagers, and beaches are the absolute priority, the Seychelles.
• If you want to disconnect entirely in one place without moving, the Maldives.
• If you want beach and more than beach, with infrastructure that works, Mauritius.