Underwater scooter submarine excursions in Grand Baie reveal the
wonders of the deep - from 3m (10ft) down, anyway, the ideal depth for
viewing corals and fish. Drive the scooter yourself or be driven.
Experienced guides accompany each trip. Double scooters costs £72 to hire,
singles £55. A sevennight half-board stay at The Residence, with flights,
starts at £1,598. Harlequin Worldwide (0845 4506433,
www.harlequinholidays.com).
Club Med is going back to basics at the new £34 million Club Med
Albion Village, south of Port Louis, the capital. The 266-room resort,
expected to open in August, will be aimed at people travelling without
children - there are no clubs or activities for them. On offer are two
restaurants, two pools, two bars, two beaches and a spa. Prices start at
£1,993 a week, which includes flights and transfers, meals and drinks,
watersports, tennis, archery, golf and use of Turkish bath and sauna. Club
Med (0845 3676767, www.clubmed.co.uk).
If your youngsters are potential Andy Murrays or Ian Woosnams, head for the Paradis
Hotel & Golf Club, in the south of the island, where they can have
free lessons (with mini-clubs and rackets) on the 18-hole golf course or
tennis courts. Other sporting activities are provided at the excellent
children’s club. Special family suites come with connecting doors, teddies,
mini bathrobes and lots of kids’ paraphernalia. At the Beachcomber flagship,
the Royal Palm, children can learn to cook delicious Mauritian dishes
with the chef. A sevennight package, with flights, in a family suite at
Paradis on half board, starts at £1,524 per adult and £897 per child. At the
Royal Palm the prices are £2,030 per adult, £1,210 per child. Beachcomber
Tours (01483 445690, www. beachcombertours.co.uk).
Bored with beach basking? The Parc Aventure Chamarel in a tropical
forest in the southwest has aerial ropes, trapezes, walkways and ladders
(attached to a safety lifeline) - thrills for all the family. Make a detour
to the 100m-high Chamarel Falls and the strange landscape of seven
differently coloured earths. Parc Aventure Chamarel
(www.parc-aventure-chamarel.com).
A new touchy-feely experience from the Oberoi Hotel explores the
cultures that have shaped the island. The hotel offers classes on
aromatherapy, yoga, t’ai chi and cooking. Attendance at a Hindu ceremony can
also be arranged. The “Touching Senses” packages are free for hotel guests.
Children from 3-12 can learn sailing, water-skiing or take glass-bottomed
boat trips. A week’s B&B at the Oberoi with flights starts at
£2,079. Carrier (0161-491 7610, www.carrier.co.uk).
A water-ski slalom training school, the first in the Indian Ocean, will be
launched by One & Only Le Saint Géran. As well as offering
guests complimentary water skiing, the hotel will also introduce a special
programme for 8 to 12-year-olds, and structured learning courses (from
£100). Children from 2 to 11 have a Peter Pan themed clubhouse with fancy
dress and games. A week’s B&B stay with flights starts at £2,323.
Elite Vacations (01707 371000, www.elitevacations.com).
An 18-hole championship course will woo golfers at Tamarina Bay in Flic
en Flac. The Tamarina Golf Club has five tees on every hole. Guests at the
nearby Taj Exotica hotel can sign up for golf packages starting at £174pp
for three rounds, including green fees and warm-ups at the range. Seven
nights’ B&B with flights at the hotel start at £2,200. Tropical
Locations (020-7229 9699, www.tropical-locations.com).
Mauritius has a collection of small family museums to visit if the weather
turns grouchy. The Blue Penny Museum in Port Louis has one of the
world’s most precious stamps, the Blue Penny. Discover the fate of the dodo
at the Natural History Museum, also in Port Louis. L’Aventure du
Sucre in Beau Plan explores the island’s sugar industry. Mauritius
Tourism Promotion, www.tourism-mauritius.mu
Virgin Atlantic www.virgin-atlantic. com) will fly to Mauritius for
the first time on November 2, with lead-in fares of £682. Tourist numbers to
Mauritius dipped late last year following concerns about a mosquito-borne
disease called chikungunya that affected the region. Nearby Renunion Island,
popular with many French tourists who flew on to Mauritius, was struck by
the virus a year ago. However, the disease is believed to no longer be a
problem and visitor numbers to Mauritius grew by 3.6 per cent last year to
788,276. For information on tropical diseases, contact Medical Advisory
Services for Travellers Abroad (0113 2387500, www.masta.org).
