Indian Ocean Holidays 2025/2026

The Indian Ocean is an area laden with romance, shimmering waters dotted with dreamy tropical islands. There are powder-soft beaches, gin-clear lagoons and blissful seclusion, all key ingredients for the perfect honeymoon for you and your loved one. There are many different honeymoon destinations across the Indian Ocean. The tiny island gems of the Maldives are often considered the ultimate for a honeymoon destination with their incredible selection of overwater bungalows, while the Seychelles adds natural drama to its tropical splendour. Both Mauritius and Réunion mix adventure with relaxation and if you're after more culture and heritage on your honeymoon, Sri Lanka is the ideal choice.

As far as beach holidays go, there are few places better than the Indian Ocean. Its islands harbour some of the finest sands and best beach resorts found anywhere in the world – all of which offer that priceless paradise quality. The Maldives is renowned for its sugar-white stretches of sand, while beaches such as Anse Lazio and Anse Intendance in the Seychelles are consistently voted as some of the best on the planet. Mauritius has a great selection of beach resorts both for couples and families, too.

The great thing about the islands of the Indian Ocean is that you can easily combine two or more in one holiday. The Seychelles and the Maldives are both vast archipelagos whose individual islands, especially those within the same atoll or island group, can be combined by boat or a short flight. Mauritius and Réunion also lie very close together and while a lot of people wouldn't consider the pair together in holiday, their beautiful beaches and wild interiors make for an irresistible combination.

The Indian Ocean isn't just a fantastic destination for holidays and honeymoons, it's also a place with plenty of unique features. Here are some of our favourite facts about the Indian Ocean:

• The Indian Ocean amounts to 20% of the Earth's seawater and 14% of the planet's entire surface.
• With land masses nearly on every side, it's considered a 'closed' ocean, with Africa, the Arab Peninsula, Asia and Australia all surrounding it.
• It's also home to a submerged continent, the Kerguelen Plateau, which is believed to be of volcanic origins.
• It's the youngest of the world's oceans.
• It's thought the Indian Ocean actually grows by 20cm a year!
• The deepest point of the Indian Ocean is the Sunda Trench just off the southern coast of Java in Indonesia, which is around 7.5km deep.

Whether you're a family or honeymooners, we appreciate the ease and simplicity that an all-inclusive plan can bring. Many of the resorts we feature across the Indian Ocean, including those in Mauritius, the Maldives and the Seychelles, all have an all-inclusive option. While it's a bigger upfront cost, it removes the worry of a rising food and drink tab while you're away! We don't sell hotels or resorts that only have all-inclusive packages, so if it's something you're not interested in, you still have the same great selection of places to stay.

We sell five destinations across the Indian Ocean: the Maldives, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Réunion.

Again, it entirely depends on where you're visiting! For example, the best time to visit the Maldives is between October and April, while the dry season in the Seychelles is from May to October. However, we regard the pair as year-round destinations as even the 'off season' in both places can still be a great time to visit.

Like its Indian Ocean island sisters, we'd recommend visiting Mauritius at any time of year, with the peak summer season from November to April. Mauritius' near neighbour, Réunion, shares the same weather patterns.

Sri Lanka is a law unto itself, with several areas of the island experiencing different weather throughout the year entirely. We'd advise checking our main Sri Lanka page for the full breakdown of the country's climate.

It depends where you're visiting. Most destinations in the Indian Ocean don't require a visa for you to visit, with the exception of Sri Lanka, while we'd also implore you to buy travel insurance as soon as you have booked with us. As all of our destinations in the Indian Ocean experience hot weather for most of the year, plenty of light clothing and protection against the sun (hats, sunglasses and sun cream) are essential. Even on an overcast day, the tropical sun is still strong!

Most people are drawn to the Indian Ocean for one thing: the incredible beaches. While they definitely are stunning (the sparkling sands of the Maldives and the Seychelles are regularly mentioned as the best in the world) and live up to the billing they get in brochures and on Instagram, many people find they come for the beaches but stay for an altogether different reason. In the Maldives it's the rich sense of isolation, in the Seychelles it's the otherworldly tropical landscapes and in Mauritius it's the sense of adventure the island's interior promises.

What Sri Lanka lacks in world-class landscapes, it certainly makes up in an abundance of wildlife, culture, eye-popping landscapes and drool-worthy food, all in an island only a little larger than Ireland.

It depends where you are, but temperatures in the Indian Ocean don't typically drop below 22°C, unless you're in the southern polar regions. It goes without saying that if you're staying on one of the islands around the tropics, like Mauritius, the Seychelles or the Maldives, you'll likely experience warmer sea temperatures than in Sri Lanka.

If you're a British passport holder, you don't need a visa to visit the Maldives, the Seychelles, Mauritius or Réunion. For Sri Lanka, you will need to apply for an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) online before you travel.