Having been to both I'd say the Maldives are much nicer.
If you're travelling with young children do a lot of research on the resort you choose. Not many have any facilities for children. Off hand places like Bandos, sun island or meeru are the ones I can think of that are more geared up towards families.

That's great thank you for the info yorkieone

Hi,
i would say Maldives, i've been to mauritius, very nice, but not paradise like the maldives.
i've been to meeru,first trip...excellent, then went back to meeru in 2007...got married in a registry office over here, flew to meeru next day, then had the renewal of vows on the beach 3 days later.
that day was fantastic and is our wedding anniversary, not the registry office.
the ceremony on meeru was beautiful and private as meeru is large, so it has deserted parts.
our second week was on bandos, not as beatiful as meeru, but better snorkeling.
this year we went to reethi beach, again lovely with excellent rooms,service and snorkelling, but to do the wedding vows..definitely meeru..especially as it's one of the cheapest resorts to stay on, and mainly english...avoid the noisy italian resorts!!!
we're looking at which island to go too next..tough choice.

Oh no I have spent 2 weeks reading all brochures and trying to decide between maldives or Mauritius and had just made up my mind on Mauritius as love maldives but allready been. Now I dont know again its doing my head in. The toss up was between Sun Island maldives or palmar beach mauritius.

Sorry for the confusion, i've been to the maldives 3 times and going again next year to a 4th different island.....i guess it depends what you want from a holiday.
Mauritius,we went to the Maritim.
good points...luxury 5 star food.
beautiful hotel and swimming pool.
great trips on big catamarans along coast.
taxi trip to capital for shopping.
History, ie plantations etc.

not so good..sand not powder white,more grainy.
snorkelling ok, but not as good as the Maldives islands i've been to.
each hotel has it's own beach, so you are not free to walk past it's boundaries.
some Hawkers selling goods along the beach.
As guests are not divers the beaches are busier than on the Maldives .
you feel as if you have to dress up for dinner.

obviously i'm biased, but i go to the Maldives for " the desert island" feel, "the snorkelling", "the overwater spa",the "relaxation" and the friendliness of the locals...but if you want ,"days out",real "5 star hotel", "lush grass lawns","golf courses", "scenic mountains",etc,then Mauritius won't dissappoint.

Hope you are not too confused now !!
Steve.

Thanks Steve,

I know what you are saying as I too love that feel of the maldives. If I could afford the Maritim I would have no hesitation of mauritius it is the fact we can only afford Palmar beach but I have now been reading the reviews on it and have decided to try it. I can save up and do maldives again next year.
If I dont go I wont know, I just didnt want to get there and be disappointed as it is for my 40th but I thought that when trying my 2nd maldive island, what if it is not as nice as the first I shouldnt have worried.

Thanks for the advice I will take bull by the horns and book it today.
Karen