Mauritius

Andy Tooth on 03 November 2006
I went to Mauritus with my family and some friends. We flew out from Heathrow via the Seychelles so that I could experience Air Seychelles and came back direct using Air Mauritius. I have to say that it would be hard to choose between the two airlines as they were both very good.

We stayed at the North of the island in a resort called Anse la Rai at the Marina Resort Hotel. A very good hotel with high standards and this is typical of Mauritius. We stayed on an all inclusive basis as we thought this would be more cost effective with children. Although we got good value for money, food, drinks, and excursions outside of the hotel were not expensive. We got out and about most days, whether this was jumping on a local bus to Grand Baie - a few minutes away, or doing a full island tour. We went to the waterpark down on the East coast of the island at Bella Mare and had a great day out with the children. We hired a minivan and a driver for the day and he took us to all the places on the island that we wanted to see. Once you get inland it is very lush with treeclad mountains and waterfalls around the Black River Gorges. We saw wild monkeys and looked down into a volcano at Grand Bassin which is home to a natural lake. He took us to a small zoo and a beautiful beach. We criss crossed the island from North to South and all in a day.

On the West coast we visited Chamarel where 7 different colours of earth occur naturally, and is home to some giant tortoises. The best excursion for me though had to be Ile aux Cerfs. This is a lagoon on the East coast and it is like paradise. Here we did a full day excursion and at lunch time we were taken by speed boat to see a waterfall where locals were jumping into the sea, before been whisked away for lunch on the beach. Back at Ile aux Cerfs the beach is amazing. I took the opportunity to take my 6 year old daughter parasailing. The views of the lagoon from the air are stunning and her first experience of parasailing will stay with her forever. The backdrop of the mountains and the beach coupled with the azure blue water of the Indian Ocean make this location 'Paradise on Earth.'

Back at the hotel, the benefit of being all inclusive meant that watersports were included in the price. I took the opportunity to try waterskiing and found it to be much more difficult than expected. Even though I managed to get upright I didn't stay that way for long, but I had great fun trying. We also joined in the sailing, canoeing, glass bottom boat ride and took out the pedalos with the kids. As far as children are concerned Mauritius caters very well for them. Our hotel had all the usual kid's clubs and disco's at night for them and wherever we went the children were always made a fuss of. Although Mauritius is aimed more towards couples and honeymoons it is certainly a place worth visiting for everyone. It's a small island which only takes about an hour to travel from North to South, but has a massive array of things to see and do. It is also very diverse in it's natural beauty from white sand beaches to blue lagoons and it's lush green interior. Well worth the 12 hour flight and an excellent choice for a 2 centre holiday.