Thinking of Mauritius in July - help please!

[Bubugum]

We’re thinking of going to Mauritius in July, which isn’t peak season, but I’m a bit nervous that the sea won’t be warm enough to swim in.

Has anyone been before in July and if so, is it worth going?

We've been in August and the sea was gorgeous. The weather was mostly sunny and mid to high twenties, but cooler at night. They say to go North or West at that time of year as the South and East can get high winds.

That’s so helpful to hear, thank you! Did you fly with air Mauritius by any chance? They are the only direct option for our dates at the moment but some of the reviews are less than promising

We've been in August and had a lovely time - mostly sunny (30 mins of rain whole time) around 26C each day. Stay to the north or west ideally. Stayed at Long Beach and Sugar Beach hotels.

We flew Air Mauritius and was on time and clean and got a nice overnight bag with toothpaste, brush and socks. But seating was crampt especially on way back where I was in the middle. I would use again but try and get extra legroom or different seats. Way out were on back row and that was better.

Sea was fine for swimming though I went in outdoor pools a lot.

Activities best to book as early as possible once at hotel as get booked out like snorkelling etc.

We flew Air Mauritius code share with Emirates when we went to Mauritius and it wasn't the greatest. DH is tall and he was really cramped and the plane was quite old. Can you shift your dates by a day or so to give you different flight options?

We went direct with British Airways from Gatwick.

The weather is fantastic in July/August. We had 26-30 degrees everyday, sun, blue skies. The sea was warmer than the pool! We did snorkelling, sea bed walk, watersports etc. We flew via Dubai with Emirates. Stayed in Beachcomber hotels and I recommend going All Inclusive!

Hi, direct BA flights from Gatwick, been early September and mid October, lovely time to go, not sure about July. Take swimming shoes for the sea as the coral is sharp, get them on amazon or a cheap sports shop before you go. Don’t buy in the hotel shop or they will cost a small fortune.

I’m getting cold feet (no pun intended!) because some comments online are saying it can be a bit chilly to swim in July and that would be a large part of what we’d want to do!

It could either be the perfect temperature (26-30) or too cold to enjoy a beach holiday, and obviously no one can predict which it’ll be.

I’ll have a look at BA flights but I think they might be significantly more in terms of cost.

@travelmadmum23 I’ve got a quote for a package holiday that include half board in the Victoria beachcomber so that’s good to hear you had a great time!

We went in July and the weather was ideal for us. We are very into snorkelling and had 2-3 outings a day of around an hour. One longer trip I felt a little chilly after about 80 minutes so moved a bit more! If you are keen sunbathers it may not be hot enough plus you may get occasional rain shower.
We flew with air mauritious and had no delays or issues.
We booked beachfront self catering accommodation which was great value and had lots of great meals out as well as bbqs and French bread and cheese with our lovely view.

Been several times in July and the weather was fine and the sea was warm. It's never to cold for a holiday in Mauritius you might just have more rain showers. Never understand why people won't swim in the rain, wet is wet.
At that time of year stick to the west coast, it gets less rain. Avoid Bel Ombre year round, some lovely hotels but strong sea currents. Le Morne is lovely with brilliant snorkeling but often sits under a cloud. You will be fine in Balaclava.
We've always flown direct, BA used to be better than Air Mauritius but last time BA was awful, broken toilets both ways and people from Premium having to fight their way through Economy to use filthy toilets. I was in economy and was livid on their behalf.

I went at the end of June last year and the weather was perfect. Warm enough to swim and sunbathe but not so hot to make sightseeing uncomfortable. Stayed at Beachcomber Shandrani and would agree with a PP that it's worth doing AI at Beachcomber to get the a la carte dining - food was very good.
I wasn't sure I'd like Mauritius as I'm not much of a beach person but we found plenty to see and the hotel was good for watersports and tennis etc. so suited me just fine.
It did get dark fairly early at that time of year but wasn't an issue, was nice to enjoy sundowners at the bar!

We go regularly as FIL is Mauritian. It can be wet in July/August but the rain doesn't last long. I've never known the sea to be cold!
Look for hotels in the north of the island, the weather is usually better than the south.

I think I’m going to book it! It’s a lot of money for us (£6000) but that’s at a beachcomber hotel with half board, direct flights and more importantly, for two whole weeks! As the weather sounds like we can still swim in the sea, I think I’m going to take the plunge (pun fully intended this time).

Thanks for all the help and information!

Hi Bubagum. I’d be grateful to hear how it went if you ended up going to the west coast of Mauritius. We are looking to go next August (BA direct). We have great options in Bel hombres but looks like we should avoid that area due to the wind combined with low temperatures. So we’re assessing west coast villas and resorts like beachcomber trou aux biches. Half Board and AI look super expensive and we’ll hardly drink so not sure it’s worth it. But meals look pricey too so hard to judge. Would welcome any feedback from anyone who’s been to south and west coast with kids in early August. And views on Beachcomber Trou Aux Biches. Thanks!

We were at beachcomber trou aux biches last August. The weather wasn’t great for a few days, but we stayed at Paradis later in the trip and had phenomenal weather. Like everything it’s pot luck. We were all inclusive at roux aux biches, but only because we’d been moved from Shandrani. If you are near an anniversary ending in a 5 or zero beachcomber have an offer which gives free lunches if you book half board, so that is worth checking. The food was fabulous, but the beach at Paradis (and the snorkelling) was much better.
Next year we’re going for Shandrani, we loved the location 15 years ago and the all inclusive differential is much less than at Beachcomber’s 5 star resorts. There’s more of a weather risk, but my son loves all of the activities so there’ll be plenty to do.

Also agents can split the bookings across beachcomber hotels, so I’d highly recommend going to 2 different areas. If you want to pm me I have a travel agent (Uk protected) who lives in Mauritius and has a brilliant relationship with lots of the beachcomber management

The sea is warm enough to swim all year round. Its gorgeous. I lived there for 5 years.

If the alternative is indirect flights, I’d avoid that if you can. We did indirect as booked late / was cheaper and it was fine on the way out but my God it was a brutal homecoming and wiped us out with 20 hours door to door travelling. Never again!!

We went to Long Beach hotel and Sugar Beach hotel in August a few years ago and weather was about 26C every day, about 1/2 an hour of rain whole time there. Fine for swimming in sea or outdoor pools. Didn't notice much difference in weather between the two. But that could be just the week we were there. We flew direct with Air Mauritius and did two centres and it included taxi from airport and taxi between. Water activities like glass bottom boat best to book day arrive if you are just there a few days for each one, otherwise can book later.

We were AI at both but half board plus paying for extras would have been slightly cheaper but my DD was a young adult and I think under 8s are free so you may be better with AI.

Wow! Thanks for the insights. I had ruled out BC Paradis for being too southerly and exposed but maybe I need to reconsider. We’re very interested in the quality of beach and snorkelling. I think maybe the pools and accommodation didn’t work so well for us too as we’re a tricky group of 7 including 3 young kids and two grandmothers!… but I’ll check it out again. I had already considered trying two locations too so good to hear that that can work well. And might take up the offer of the contact with a good relationship withBC mgmt! Thanks all 👍👍