Middle East · United Arab Emirates
Twelve days with Emirates flights: three nights in Dubai and seven at an all-inclusive resort in Grand Gaube, in northern Mauritius.
Quick facts
Indicative price from
€2,499
per person
This itinerary is a starting point: we'll adapt it with you in your tailor-made proposal.
Request informationDesert and warm sea in one trip. Three nights in Dubai to discover both sides of the city: the lanes and souks of Deira on one hand, the Museum of the Future, the Dubai Frame and the Ain Dubai wheel on the other, with a sunset trip into the desert.
Then a week in Mauritius, at an all-inclusive resort in Grand Gaube, on the north coast. From here you can explore the island: the seven-coloured earth of Chamarel, Le Morne mountain, the ebony forest, the waterfalls and Île aux Cerfs.
Emirates economy flights included.
12 days in the programme
Emirates economy flight from Italy to Dubai, about six hours. Arrival and check-in at a 3-star superior hotel, with breakfast. Compared with Italy, Dubai's clocks are three hours ahead in winter and two in summer. In the evening, if you still have energy, Downtown Dubai is the place to start: from the lakeside promenade you can watch the fountain show, with music and lights, at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, with no ticket needed. The Dubai Mall is right next door.
A free day between old and new Dubai. One idea: in the morning, Deira, among the lanes of the spice souk and the windows of the gold souk. Then you cross the Creek by abra, the commuters' wooden boat, to the historic Al Fahidi district and its wind towers. In the afternoon, the Museum of the Future, opened in 2022 on Sheikh Zayed Road: a ring-shaped building covered in Arabic calligraphy. Tickets bought separately, best booked well ahead.
A free day. One idea: in the morning, the Dubai Frame, the huge 150-metre picture frame in Zabeel Park, with a glass-floored bridge at the top: old Dubai on one side, the towers of the new city on the other. Then the public beach at Jumeirah, with a view of the Burj Al Arab, the sail-shaped hotel built on an artificial island. In the afternoon, the optional trip into the desert dunes, with tea at sunset, booked separately.
After breakfast, Emirates flight to Mauritius, about six and a half hours over the Indian Ocean. Mauritius is in the same time zone as Dubai. The airport is in the south-east of the island, while Grand Gaube is at the northern tip: about an hour and a half by road, across the central plateau and the sugar cane fields. Check-in at the resort, where the all-inclusive stay begins. The rest of the day is for a first swim in the lagoon.
A free day at the resort, all inclusive. Grand Gaube is a fishing village at the northern tip of Mauritius, on a lagoon sheltered by the coral reef, with calm, shallow water close to shore. Offshore you can see the northern islets, such as Coin de Mire. About ten minutes away by car is Cap Malheureux, with its little red-roofed church by the sea, and a little further on Grand Baie, with shops and restaurants for a late-afternoon stroll.
A free day. An optional excursion, booked separately, takes you into the green heart of the island, about an hour and a half from Grand Gaube. Grand Bassin is a crater lake sacred to Hindus, with the huge statue of Shiva, more than 30 metres tall, at its entrance. Further south, at Bois Chéri, a plantation with its tea factory and a tasting. On the plateau you also find the seven waterfalls of Tamarind Falls, reached on a hike.
A free day. An optional excursion to the south-west, booked separately: Chamarel, with its seven-coloured earth, dunes of volcanic sand in shades from red to violet, and the waterfall of about 100 metres plunging into the forest. Nearby is the Ebony Forest, where the island's original ebony forest is being replanted. Then Le Morne Brabant, the 556-metre mountain by the sea, a UNESCO site since 2008 as a refuge for escaped slaves. From Grand Gaube it takes about two hours by road.
A free day to discover more beaches, with transport arranged separately. One idea: on the east coast, about 45 minutes from the resort, Belle Mare is one of the island's longest beaches, with white sand and a wide, shallow lagoon. To the west, Trou aux Biches has calm water, good for snorkelling, and rows of casuarina trees giving shade right down to the shore. Further south, Tamarin Bay is known for its surf and for the dolphins offshore.
A free day. One of the most popular outings in Mauritius, optional and booked separately, is Île aux Cerfs, on the east coast: from Trou d'Eau Douce, about an hour from Grand Gaube, the boat takes a quarter of an hour. The island has white sand beaches, a shallow turquoise lagoon and an 18-hole golf course. Many speedboat or catamaran trips also go up the Grande Rivière Sud-Est to the waterfall near the river mouth.
A last free day, all inclusive: one more swim in the lagoon and time to pack calmly. If you still feel like exploring, Port Louis, the capital, is about 45 minutes away: the central market, the Caudan Waterfront and the Aapravasi Ghat, the depot where indentured labourers, mostly from India, came ashore, a UNESCO site since 2006. Alternatively, the sunset on Flic en Flac beach, on the west coast.
Check-out from the resort and Emirates flight back to Italy, with a stopover in Dubai. Night on board.
Arrival in Italy and end of the trip.
