A cluster of relatively unknown (at least outside of France) islands between Madagascar and the East African coast, Mayotte is a proud French department (two separate referendums have confirmed loyalty to Paris) with a taste of the Malagasy and the Arabic.

Its real pull is its handsome veneer. Beaches of white and yellow sand fringe its coastlines from Sada to Bandele (Plage de Moya is a particular fav), some speckled with endangered sea turtles, others lined with bobbing Mahorais fishing boats, spotted with salt-wash seafood joints or dressed in a cape of crawling tropical vines. Mont Choungui crowns the southern reaches like a needle of jungle green, and many travelers will head here to scramble the summit and see sweeping panoramas of the isle unfold on all sides. Resorts, (and pricey ones at that) have begun to vie for space with the traditional villages in recent decades, while there are still swathes of dense lemur-inhabited forest to explore lining up around Grande-Terre – the biggest island. Boat trips to smaller Pamandzi and the neighbouring Comoros are popular too, while Scuba diving in the great coastal lagoon here is a must!