Honeymoon in Mauritius - help me pack, please!

[vitaminC]

Believe it or not, I've never actually been on a real holiday before (and I'm 40 this year), other than interrailing round Europe when I was 19 and a few week-long camping trips with my kids a couple of hours from home!

Neither my DH nor I had a honeymoon with our previous spouses, so we really wanted to do something special this time. We fly to Mauritius next month for 10 days and I have no idea what to pack! I'm told average daytime temperatures in June are 20-25°C...

Also, I've put on a bit of weight recently due to some medication I'm on - was a 10/12, but now a 14 (VERY hourglass), so not sure what I really have that still fits for summer as still in winter clothes due to crap weather here or what really suits me now. I may need to buy a few pieces, I think.

I have shoes covered . Could you lovely ladies please suggest a capsule wardrobe (and an idea of number of items) I could take, that will be suitable for
a) beach
b) touristy stuff
c) dinner (the resort has a formal dress code for dinner)

Thank you all for your help.

stunning!. I must go now,, have a great time..

Thanks. I have work to do, too... I'll update when I get the dresses.

The chartreuse silk Hobbs dress arrived today and it's absolutely gorgeous!

So far, my "trousseau" includes:

Clothes:
3 bottoms (denim shorts, pinstripe denim mini-skirt, knee-length floaty floral skirt)
5 cami/vest tops (black, white, turquoise, navy/white stripe, camel)
2 sleeveless silk blouses (1 navy/turquoise, 1 beige) - both need a cami underneath
3 short beach dresses (1 strappy khaki w/royal blue accents, 1 strappy yellow/coral floral, 1 yellow/turquoise belted t-shirt dress)
4 maxi dresses (1 lime green silk, 1 black with lime/coral/royal blue paisley, 1 coral, 1 royal blue) - the latter 3 can be dressed up/down
3 knee-length shift dresses (1 beige, 1 grey/cream, 1 black/ivory) - all can be dressed up/down
2 cardigans (royal blue, coral)
2 jackets (1 cropped denim, 1 smart beige (matches shift dress))

Shoes:
2 pairs flats (tan suede thongs, black sparkly flip-flops)
1 pair heels (patent coral sandals)
1 pair wedge sandals (tan with lime green heel)

Bags:
1 tan leather hold-all
1 coral suede clutch
1 grey satin clutch

Accessories:
4 scarves (1 gold & 1 turquoise pashminas with beading etc from UAE, 1 oyster linen/silk long scarf, 1 90cm silk square (ivory/taupe/black)
3 belts (1 yellow, 1 turquoise, 1 coral)
Assorted bits of jewellery in turquoise, ivory/gold and coral)
Swimming costume + sarong (coral/taupe)
5 bra/knicker sets (1 black, 2 white, 2 nude)

Is this all too much? Everything is fairly mix & match, I hope...

I was also considering buying: these shoes for evening wear, these 2 wraps (1 long, in light sage, 1 shorter, in teal) and [[http://www.hobbs.co.uk/index.cfm?productvarid=0113-8312-9092L00-WHITE-14&productid=0113-8312-9092L00&element=&page=product/display these white linen/silk trousers . WDYT? Would that be overkill? I have a cream/gold backless jumper that would look great with the trousers...

Grrrr, preview not working so of course I messed up the links!

That Hobbs dress is gorgeous, and will look amazing with the lime heel sandals I bet!

Did you say before you already have linen trousers? would either of them go with your cream & black jumper?

I wore dresses pretty much every night when we were there a few years ago so the dress list looks good.

Are you planning on going sightseeing or staying in resort? If you are not going out you could probably cut down on the tops/bottoms as you will be in a bikini/sarong all day I would definitely up the swimwear. I took about 4/5 different costumes or bikinis and swapped wraps/overdresses. Chiffon great for not looking crushed after packing too!

Can't find the white linen trousers I thought I had. I do have a beige pair but they don't go with much. The jumper is quite dressy and they are not

We will probably do quite a bit of siteseeing as DH will get bored after 10 minutes on the beach...

I think you need at least 2 swimsuit/bikinis and you are taking far too many other clothes!
one clutch is enough
hotel will have a laundry service

Oh, thank you! Like I said in my OP, I've never been on a package holiday abroad before and packing is stressing me out!

My normal (camping) holiday kit is a swimsuit, a couple of sundresses, flipflops and a cagoul! It's the dinner wear I'm most worried about getting right for this trip :-/

I'll definitely add another bikini, but I don't know how much swimming we'll be doing, as it's winter down there (max temperature around 25°C), so I think I'll need more sightseeing clothes than beachwear.

What would you leave out?

I think you should plan the actual outfits you will wear for evening, beach and sightseeing.
Eg for evening do you have 1 pair of shoes that will go with everything? And if you have 4 maxi dresses and a hotel laundry service that is enough for 14 days. There is no need to wear a different outfit every night.
For sightseeing 3 different outfits is enough and 1 pair of shoes.
And 3 beach outfits is also enough.
I would advocate having a google at Project 333 - about capsule wardrobes. They have to choose 33 items to wear for 3 months. You have planned more than 38 items (it includes jewellery) for 2 weeks and are considering buying more.
I hope you have a lovely lovely lovely time. If you enjoy wearing something different each night then do ignore my advice but still check out project 333!

Definitely get protective shoes for the sea - the beaches can be quite rocky.

Take a cross over bag for trips as there is a high rate of pick pocketing in touristy areas. I also took a small umbrella to use as a sunshade while out. It sounds strange but lots of the Mauritian women were out and about with big brollies to protect them from the sun!

It was v hot when I was there so I lived in maxi dresses. I took quite a few bikinis and wore them as underwear.

Hope you have a lovely time :)

Thank you both! Going to look at Project 333 and plan my outfits for the trip.

I don't think the weather will be all that hot in June, as it's winter in Mauritius (and temperatures should be similar to the S of France, where I live), but I will take a small umbrella, just in case.

Will definitely take waterproof shoes for the sea, and a couple of maxi dresses.

Bikinis as underwear is a great idea

Do beware that although it's their winter and the actual temperature may not be that high, the sun is fierce and will burn you far faster than any southern French sun.
And 25° in that humid heat will feel warmer than a similar temperature anywhere in France; I moved from the Indian ocean to Provence and the dry heat here is nothing like the damp, muggy climate out there.
Have a great time; it's a fascinating island and very beautiful.