Long haul destination

[RaraRachael]

OH and I are looking for a once in a lifetime holiday to celebrate several big events. We're going in February and have narrowed it down to Mauritius, Seychelles or Maldives. We'd like to go all inclusive with a total budget of £5K. We don't want somewhere that we'd just be lying on a beach for 10 days doing nothing - we like to explore a bit of the local culture and go on a couple of trips.
Anyone been to these places and can give me a bit more information?
TIA

If you want beach and culture I can highly recommend Penang in Malaysia. We went in Feb over CNY and stayed at the Rasa Sayang resort.

It was AMAZING. We stayed in they adults only wing and at the time that included breakfast, afternoon tea and hot snacks and drinks in the evening. There was also an adults only pool that gave you cold towels, fruit kebabs and unlimited soft drinks during the day. It wasn't all inclusive but that was a lot of food. The afternoon tea and evening snacks were very very plentiful. Breakfast could either be in the main restaurant or in a more grown up restaurant.

Across the road was a wonderful local restaurant that served amazing food and so cheap. We went there lots.

Easy to walk in Batu Ferengi and near by was a nature reserve for hiking (be warned it's hot and humid at that time of year) and George Town for the museum and street art.

Really can't recommend this place enough.

Only been to Maldives. In your typical resort you won’t have any local culture, most islands are holiday resorts only and locals don’t live there. The capital Male is not that interesting, you can spend half a day there max.

generally the beaches, sea and views are amazing and out of this world. People typically spend time snorkelling (chose a resort with a good house reef), diving, kayaking, paddle boarding, by the pool. If you don’t like water sports I wouldn’t recommend it.

for the snorkelling alone I think it’s worth it, you will see sharks, turtles, stingrays, and a million type of fish and corals.

you should get a good AI deal with your budget unless you want a water villa.

Trips in the Maldives tend to be things like dolphin cruise, turtle safari, snorkelling expeditions, sunset cruise etc. no sightseeing as such.

I have been to the Seychelles and the Maldives.

I think the Seychelles might just be out of your budget. It is lovely but a nature rather than culture holiday. The capital city is a couple of hours max.

Likewise as pp poster says the Maldives is also much more about nature, snorkeling or diving.

Neither location has significant culture, there really isn't anything to see. Cambodia maybe?

I would have suggested Sri Lanka to you but probably not currently.

I've been to all 3 destinations although not recently.
Mauritius is by far my favourite, been 5 times and stayed on both East and West Coast. Prefer West. In Feb, it's hot, only thing to watch out for is the odd cyclone.
Beaches are dreamy, food amazing , a melting pot of cultures. Hotels are generally very well run and designed. Plenty to do. My idea of heaven for a beach holiday with added watersports/days out/seeing the island which is just the right size. I usually split stay into 2 resorts on island .
Seychelles ( been to all 3 islands ) was pretty, lush but it felt way more boring, less culturally diverse, service and food not on par with Mauritius at all .Glad I saw it but didn't make me want to return.
Lots of honeymooners.
Maldives ( 2 islands , stayed on one near airport= short transfer , 1 sea plane ride away ).
Stunning , glad I saw them but was after I'd been to Mauritius and Seychelles. Got cabin fever especially as 1 island = 1 resort. Crazy crazy expensive. 5000k doesn't get you far.
Maldives is if you only want beach, zero culture , go diving and walk around barefoot all day ( loved that ) . Do research it in depth as every resort attracts different nationalties / has it's own vibe because of that. Attracts lots of tourists who only stay on short trips ( e.g 4 nights ) esp from Asia and Middle East. Lots of instagrammers posing type of place if you pick the wrong island.
Maldives is only place I'd go to a specialist tour operator to pick right one.
Check out also state of coral, beach errosion and if
resort overlook a service ( rubbish plant ) island.

There isn’t really all that much to do in the Maldives. It felt all about gourmet dining, infinity pools and spas.
The Seychelles is very eco-conscious and unspoilt. The atmosphere was serene and it was much more about spotting wildlife, island hopping, hiking and relaxing on the beaches. The Seychelles is more rustic than the Maldives.