Mauritius is well known as a relaxing beach destination: think lazy days lying on the white sand, pineapple cocktail in hand. But if you\u2019re visiting the island with children, it\u2019s unlikely that they\u2019ll want to lie horizontal for most of the day (even if you do!). Of course, there are amazing kids clubs attached to most of the bigger resorts that will keep them occupied, but if you want to spend time with them, this doesn\u2019t help much.<\/p>\n
Luckily, Mauritius has a huge range of child-friendly things to do and is the perfect destination if you want to stay active. As a family, it\u2019s also highly convenient to travel here from South Africa: it\u2019s a quick four-hour direct flight, not to mention that if you fly Air Mauritius<\/a>, kids under 12 fly for free (Ts and Cs of course apply) as part of their Travel Smart programme.<\/p>\n Here are five reasons why it\u2019s the perfect holiday destination for the active family.<\/p>\n With over 300km of sparkling blue coastline surrounded by a reef-protected lagoon, the sea is calm, warm and mostly safe, so it\u2019s absolutely ideal for family friendly watersports. Take your pick from swimming, kayaking, surfing, windsurfing, sailing, parasailing and diving, or go snorkelling on the coral reefs and swim among the tropical fish. You could also try your hand at kite surfing if the wind is right \u2013 though younger kids may need to watch rather than participate, due to safety reasons. If you holiday with Club Med at one of their All-Inclusive resorts on the island, you’ll have access to a wide range of water sports in the resort, all included in your holiday package.<\/p>\n If you want a break from the water, Mauritius has an impressive number of golf courses considering the island\u2019s small size. Plus, the island\u2019s lush mountainous terrain and sparkling sea make for some of the most picturesque course backdrops in the world. Most golf courses are within easy reach of the major resorts, and some notable ones include Heritage Golf Club in the south, Ernie Els-designed Anahita in the east, and Mont Choisy in the north. If your children are too small to play 9 or 18 holes, there are also chipping and putting greens, and golf lessons for all ages. A handy thing to note: if you fly with Air Mauritius<\/a>, golf bags fly free.<\/p>\n Mauritius features several nature parks that offer the perfect opportunity for you and your kids to get up close and personal with the island\u2019s indigenous animals \u2013 plus those being rehabilitated from further afield. La Vanille Crocodile Park is involved in captive breeding programmes for a number of threatened species including crocodiles, giant tortoises, monkeys, lemurs and more. Then there\u2019s the Mauritius Aquarium in the village of Point au Pimentes showcasing the island\u2019s rich aquatic life, and the Casela Bird Park, with more than 2500 birds and 140 species from across five continents.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re up for hiking, there are plenty of spots to choose from. The Le Morne Brabant mountain in the south-west is a Unesco World Heritage Site and is a fairly tough hike to summit, taking around 3-4 hours. For younger kids, there\u2019s a far gentler 3km walk you can do around La Vall\u00e9e de Ferney, a 200-hectare forest and wildlife sanctuary for rare and endangered indigenous tree species, which also has wonderful views of the south-east of the island. Domaine de l\u2019Etoile is a 1200 hectare private nature reserve with trails to the top of the Bambou mountain range, while the Black River Gorges National Park with its thick forests offers a window into what the island was like before it was inhabited.<\/p>\n Some of the best views of Mauritius\u2019s coastline are by boat \u2013 so book a day trip to one of the many surrounding islets. Choose from short trips of just a few hours to longer day trips where you may visit several islands, as well as stop for lunch along the way. In the north you can see Gabriel Island and Flat Island where you can snorkel, swim and wander along the pristine beaches. To the east, off Trou d\u2019Eau Douce, Ile aux Cerfs lies within the island\u2019s largest lagoon, offering breathtaking beaches, five restaurants and a bar, plus kayaking, paragliding and even golf (Bernard Langer designed a 18 -hole championship golf course here). Off the West Coast is the much quieter Ile aux Benitiers, named after the rocky outcrop resembling a clam shell (benitier).<\/p>\n With all this on offer, this really is the perfect location for families with a thirst for adventure, and a passion for being active.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mauritius is well known as a relaxing beach destination: think lazy days lying on the white sand, pineapple cocktail in hand. But if you\u2019re visiting the island with children, it\u2019s unlikely that they\u2019ll want to lie horizontal for most of the day (even if you do!). Of course, there are amazing kids clubs attached to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3934],"tags":[3574,4986,4426,3863,4987,4427,3575,4991,3063,4989,4988,3755,4990],"class_list":["post-6643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mauritius","tag-beach","tag-beach-destination","tag-diving","tag-kayaking","tag-kids-clubs","tag-parasailing","tag-resorts","tag-sailing","tag-surfing","tag-swimming","tag-travel-smart-programme","tag-watersports","tag-windsurfing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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