Mauritius and Seychelles

Two island groups, two ways of doing the same thing. Mauritius runs on the grand resort: long beaches on the east and west coasts lined with houses that have their own golf courses, children's clubs, spas and reef lagoons calm enough for a first snorkel. The Seychelles keep it smaller. On Mahé, Praslin and La Digue the best addresses are villa estates and a handful of private islands where the count of keys stays in double figures and the granite boulders do most of the decorating.

Both are fine from May to October, when the south-east trades keep the air dry and the temperature in the high twenties. Regulars pick their coast by the wind: in Mauritius that means the west and north between June and September, in the Seychelles the sheltered north of Mahé. Families lean towards Mauritius; couples wanting quiet and a private pool go on to the Seychelles.