Mauritius vs Bahamas

Cost

Both sourced, and not close.

Mauritius, checked August 2026: an inexpensive restaurant meal Rs300, range Rs150-600. A three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant Rs2,000, range Rs1,200-4,000. A pint Rs100, with some upmarket restaurants adding a 10-15% service charge.

Bahamas, checked 7 September 2026: an inexpensive meal $48.75. The same mid-range dinner for two $165. A pint $5 — notably the one line where the Bahamas is cheap. The Bahamian dollar is pegged to and interchangeable with the US dollar.

No sourced accommodation rates for either. On food, the Bahamas is among the most expensive in this directory and Mauritius among the more moderate.

Getting there

This is the deciding section for most readers.

Mauritius: non-stop from London, Paris CDG daily, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Geneva, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Antananarivo, Saint-Denis, Kuala Lumpur and Perth, Dubai under a codeshare, and nothing from the Americas. Tourist visa on arrival for up to 180 days cumulative in a calendar year, plus an All in One travel form before departure.

Bahamas: Nassau as principal gateway, several Out Islands with their own airports and some direct US service in season. Entry needs a passport valid six months, a return or onward ticket, hotel confirmation or an address, and proof of funds. Visa rules track the period of leave to land; US citizens entering as bona fide visitors may stay up to eight months without a visa, and Canadian landed immigrants with Form 1000 may enter visa-free for up to 30 days.

The beaches

Mauritius' reef ring is the practical advantage: flat water almost everywhere inside it, most days. The counterweight is the wind that makes kitesurfing season April to November, windiest July and August on the east and south coasts.

The Bahamas' distinguishing feature is its shallow banks, which give very large stretches of pale water. The quiet sand is in the Out Islands, one domestic flight beyond Nassau, and many visitors never make that hop. We have no sourced beach-level data for either country yet.

In this directory: Mauritius has 2 beaches listed, 2 rated calm for swimming. Bahamas has 1, 0 calm.

In the water

Mauritius runs roughly 23.7°C to 28.5°C — warmest in March, coolest in August and September at about 23.7°C — and is swimmable year-round at the main resort coasts.

The Bahamas is warm for most of the year and cooler in winter than the equatorial destinations in this directory; it sits well north of them. No sourced monthly figures, so no numbers claimed. The two have a similar shape — a real cool season at opposite ends of the year.

When to go

Counter-seasonal, and that is often the whole decision.

Mauritius is best May to October, its drier breezier winter at around 25°C. Cyclone season runs November to 15 May.

The Bahamas is best December through May, outside a hurricane season that runs June through November. Many Bahamian hotels carry hurricane cancellation policies giving a full refund if a storm disrupts the trip.

May is the only month comfortably inside both. A July trip is Mauritius; a February trip is the Bahamas.

Beyond the beach

Mauritius has more behind the beach and it is easier to reach — an interior, a capital, four cuisines, all within an hour and a half by road.

The Bahamas is more concentrated on the water and the islands themselves, with the developed end at Nassau and quiet by design further out.