BEACHES
Barachois restaurant, Mauritius
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Yachts in Tobago Cays
Dine at a floating Mauritian restaurant
If you’d like an intimate dining experience for a special occasion, or simply an indulgent and unusual treat, this is it. Constance Le Prince Maurice, a luxurious resort with a laid-back ambience, is on a private peninsula on Mauritius’s west coast. This is the sort of place where the staff give your sunglasses a polish as you laze by the beach and the bartender remembers your preferred choice of digestif after the first night. You can expect the service at Mauritius’s only floating restaurant, Barachois, to be just as discreetly personal. The restaurant is reached via a walk through mangroves, where a sheltered lagoon looks out across the Indian Ocean. A series of gently lit pontoons are linked by a walkway and while you’re waiting for food, gentle reef sharks and fish swim below. The menu showcases Mauritius’s mixed heritage of Indian, Creole and French influences, from gourmet samosas to fresh fish.
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A private yacht charter from Petit St. Vincent
Deserving of its title, Petit St. Vincent is the smallest island in the Grenadines chain. It has been touted as one of the best private island stays in the world, and with just a handful of luxury cottages tucked between white-sand coves and thick jungle, it’s easy to see why. It’s also just a 90-minute sail from Tobago Cays, a pristine horseshoe reef that boasts some of the best sailing and snorkeling in the Caribbean. You can visit from other islands, but from Petit St. Vincent you’ll sail in a privately chartered yacht, pausing to enjoy a barbecue of freshly caught fish along the way. Your captain sails around the cay’s five uninhabited islands and calm lagoon, dropping anchor wherever you like. There’s ample time for snorkeling or swimming, and you can look out for sightings of dolphins, turtles and flying fish.
Contact your local independent travel agent
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