Warm Year-end Destinations in the Indian Ocean

Where I live in Switzerland, it is already a cold, snowy winter! This brrrr-cold weather made me think of warm places I’ve traveled to for the year-end holidays. Before Covid, we would normally take one or two weeks close to Christmas and New Year’s to escape to a warm destination.

We’re staying home this year, our first Christmas holiday in our new home. I love the snow, but I also miss escaping to warm destinations in the winter.

To bring the sun and warmth to me, I decided to write a blog post to remember my favorite warm year-end destinations in the Indian Ocean!

The Indian Ocean offers several warm destinations in winter. I recently wrote about one of these in my ‘Maldives Magic‘ post. If you’re looking for more ideas in this part of the world, keep reading!

Mauritius

One of the reasons I decided to write this blog post is because friends of mine just went to Mauritius for a two-week golf vacation. It made me remember my trip here for the 2014-2015 year-end holiday.

What initially drew me to Mauritius was a photo of an underwater waterfall on the island. I saw this picture on the internet and wanted to see this phenomenon for myself!

Of course, it’s not real but an optical illusion created by the movement of sand pulled by the ocean’s currents. I decided to look for a hotel in this area called Le Morne so that I could manage to get a glimpse of this illusion.

We stayed in the very nice LUX Le Morne hotel right next to the Morne mountain. The area of Le Morne Brabant is a peninsula at the extreme southwestern tip of the island on the Indian Ocean.

The majestic Le Morne Brabant mountain is 556 meters (1,824 feet) above sea level and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mountain backdrop of the hotel was amazing.

So, what is there to do in Mauritius? There are many nice areas to visit on this 65-by-45 kilometer island, but we chose to stay in the Le Morne area for the whole week. We found many activities here to keep us entertained.

Kitesurfing

The most important activity for my partner was kitesurfing. This was another reason we based ourselves in this part of the island. The kitesurfing options were plentiful in this area. Mike took a one-week course to learn how to kitesurf.

Paddle Boats, Boards, and Kayaks

Our hotel offered many water sport activities and I believe we tried all of them! The view of the mountain made it extra special when we were out on the water.

Biking

We rented bikes one day to check out the local area. It was warm every day (max temps 29c/85f), so this was definitely an early morning activity.

Snorkeling with Wild Dolpins

We booked a trip on one of our days to snorkel with dolphins. We had no idea what to expect, but the experience was mind-blowing!

We could see the dolphins from our small boat, but we saw many more when we got in the water and looked down. They were swimming just below us!

Our boat captain would follow the dolphins and then tell us to jump in quickly! We did this several times to get the maximum time snorkeling with the dolphins. This was an experience I will never forget. I included it in my blog post ‘18 Most Adventurous Things I’ve Done‘.

Here is a video of our dolphin snorkeling adventure!

Climb Le Morne Brabant

As I mentioned, I wanted to see this underwater waterfall illusion if possible. I learned that we could climb the mountain to see the popular water site. We booked an excursion at our hotel with a local hiker that regularly took groups up the mountain.

We had to leave very early in the morning to avoid the intense heat later in the day. The 3-4 hour hike wasn’t difficult but there was a steep part at the end where we had to grab onto rocks. Our guide was very good and explained to everyone how to descend safely without sliding down the mountain. We were a group of 20 people of all ages, but I think I was the oldest at 52!

I was so excited to get to the top to see the illusion. It was a perfect day for the hike. I could see the underwater waterfall effect, but unfortunately, it was not as impressive as the internet photos. We still enjoyed the climbing excursion, physical workout, and beautiful views!

Romantic Sunset Dinner

Another fun thing to do in Mauritius is a romantic dinner on the beach. We did NOT do this but I took the below picture of another couple doing it near our hotel. Next time, right?

Relax

Last, but not least, the best thing to do in Mauritius is to relax. We loved our hotel room views of the beach, straw huts, and turquoise water.

We also spent time in the many pools they had at the LUX, some with swim-up bars. For my partner, it was a great way to unwind at the end of the day after kitesurfing lessons. I did a few water aerobic classes in the pools.

We took relaxing walks on the beach and enjoyed our meals overlooking the crystal clear water. Neither of us is the type of person to lie on a beach all day, but we tried to relax as much as possible in our own active way.

The sunsets on this side of the island were awesome. I couldn’t stop taking photos every night of the colorful skies.

One of the nice things about traveling at year-end is enjoying the New Year’s Eve parties! This hotel put on a fabulous party with elaborate decorations and live music. It was a great way to bring in the new year!

Seychelles

Another great warm year-end destination in the Indian Ocean is Seychelles. This place had been on my bucket list for a while before we finally booked a two-week trip there over the 2016-2017 year-end holiday.

From the first photos I saw of Seychelles with the huge smooth rocks, I knew I wanted to see these beaches up close. Because of the magnificent beaches in Seychelles, I included this destination in my blog post ‘Best Getaway Beaches‘.

Seychelles is made up of 115 islands. I planned our own itinerary here to see three of the largest islands.

Praslin Island

We arrived at the airport on Mahé Island but went directly to the neighboring island of Praslin for the first part of our trip. We had a nice hotel on the southwest coast with lovely views of the ocean.

As there was not much to do at our small hotel, we knew we would rent a car to tour the island. I was surprised at how few tourists were here at this time of the year. The roads were easily passable with no traffic.

We drove each day to a different side of the island to check out the beaches and scenery.

If there were nice waves, my partner would spend time doing body surfing. I’m not a big swimmer so I would walk along the beach and take photos.

We found a beach with the signature rocks (called Anse Lazio beach) and spent a couple hours enjoying the views there.

One of our stops was at a nature park called Valley de Mai. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a well-preserved palm forest and the island endemic coco de mer. The coco de mer is a monocot tree in the Arecaceae (palm family) and has the largest seeds of any plant in the world.

 La Digue Island

My priority in Seychelles was to get to La Digue island where they have huge granite boulders on the beach. While staying in Praslin, we did a one-day excursion to the nearby island.

We arrived by ferry boat and rented bikes in the small town. The weather wasn’t ideal this day, but it didn’t stop us from making the most of it.

We put on our rain jackets and headed down the dirt path on our bikes. We stopped at a few beaches along the way to walk around and take pictures.

I loved the rock formations and had never seen so many on a beach. There was no one around, especially on a rainy day. We enjoyed the privacy during our self-guided tour.

I loved this island and could have spent more time here.

We were surprised to find huge tortoises in Seychelles. They were enormous and interesting to watch.

Mahé Island

Our second hotel and island destination was on Mahe for several days. We stayed in a large hotel on the west coast (near Grand Anse Beach) called Avani Barbarons. It was in a central location to do day tours and hikes around the island.

The hotel was situated in a pretty bay. Our room had a gorgeous view. We spent New Year’s Eve at this hotel.

I knew I wanted to do some hikes on this island, so I had researched ahead of time the ones we would do. The terrain was hilly but not too steep for us. The first hike was the Morne Blanc Trail in the Morne Seychelles National Park. It offered a 180 degree view over the west side of the island.

The second hike we did was the Anse Major beach, which is only accessible by foot or boat. We drove first to the northwest Beau Vallons beach and then hiked from there for a couple of hours to Anse Major Beach.

Many of the hikes offered views of the coastline and water. We drove south another day to Petite Anse Beach which was also very scenic. I was happy with the complete trip itinerary that I put together and really enjoyed visiting Seychelles.

You can read more about these types of independent tours (pros and cons) in my blog post ‘Tour Packages – Pros and Cons’.

Here is a video of our time in Seychelles.

Sri Lanka

For the last warm destination year-end getaway in the Indian Ocean, I will share our two-week trip in Sri Lanka over the 2017-2018 New Year.

We did an organized group tour but only had a family of four in our group. It was perfect. If you are looking for plenty of variety and many different activities, Sri Lanka is the place to go!

I provided some details about this trip, including the YouTube video I made, on my Sri Lanka page. Be sure to check it out for additional information. In this post, I will include my favorite photos and the highlights of the trip.

Safaris

There are several safaris in Sri Lanka to do. We did two different ones, Minneriya National Park and Udawalawe National Park. They were both great and we saw a wide variety of wildlife.

Most of the safaris leave early in the morning before sunrise to increase the chances of seeing animals before the daytime heat. We saw many elephants very close to our safari van!

Sigiriya

Sigiriya (also called Lion Rock) was on my list to see while in Sri Lanka. Sigiriya is located in the north-central part of the country and has a long history. We walked up many steps to reach the top, along with the many tourists doing the same thing.

Once at the top, you can walk around the area and see the remains of the fortress. You will get a fantastic 360 degree view of the hillsides in the distance.

Temples

If you like history, you’ll love discovering the many temples in Sri Lanka. We visited quite a few in the area of Polonnaruwa. You will no doubt see many wild monkeys around the temples.

Tea Plantations

Sri Lanka is known for its production of teas. There are many tea plantations and factories. We took a tour of one of the factories and learned a great deal about the making of tea. We even saw the local women picking the tea leaves.

The Blue Train

You must do a ride on the famous blue train from Kandy to Ella. Many locals use the train for transportation. It’s unbelievable how the people sit or stand at the openings and literally hang out of the train. The train passes through many tea plantation areas, forests, and hillsides.

Waterfalls

There are many waterfalls to see in this country. We visited several plunging and scenic waterfalls. We also did a fun river raft trip as an optional excursion while in Kandy.

Whale Watching

Another fun thing to do on the south coast of the country is whale watching. We signed up to do a boat tour from the town of Mirissa.

We were surprised to find that the boat ride would take eight hours! They were committed to staying out there until we finally saw some whales! In this area, there are mostly blue whales.

Markets

The local markets all over the country are a true sight to see. You will find all sorts of fresh food and different household items. I found it fascinating to see all the goods sold in the markets and watch how the locals sell their wares.

Beach and Surfing

If you’re more into beach life and want to try surfing, you will find many options for this in Sri Lanka. We stayed in the southern town of Weligama for a few days where my partner surfed right off the beach in front of our guesthouse.

We enjoyed walking along the beach in this area and seeing the many colorful fishing boats. The coastal side of the country is quite different from the mountainous terrain in the central part.

We had hoped to see the famous men on the fishing stands in this area, but only saw the stilts in the water. The locals stand or sit on these structures to catch fish.

Sri Lanka was a very interesting and diversified travel destination. For this reason, I ranked it in my top 5 destinations for my blog post ‘Here they are… my Top 5 Destinations‘.

Summary

What are your favorite warm destinations? I would love to hear about other places I could put on my bucket list!

If you are not going away during the year-end holiday, I wish you joy and happiness in your own surroundings. We are learning more each day how to appreciate our own surroundings and make the most of any holiday at home.

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!