Mauritius is easy with children: the lagoons are shallow and warm, distances are short, and there is always shade. The things to know are which beaches have showers and food, which animal parks are worth the ticket, and what to do on the two rainy days you will get.
01 · West
Dunes of volcanic sand in seven distinct colours that never mix, inside a geopark with a waterfall viewpoint and giant tortoises on the same ticket.
NatureWith childrenRainy days
02 · West
The tallest single-drop waterfall on the island, around 100 metres, seen from a viewing platform inside the Seven Coloured Earth geopark.
WaterfallsViewpointsWith children
03 · West
The long public beach of the west coast: calm lagoon, filao shade, food stalls at weekends and the island's most reliable sunsets.
BeachesSnorkellingSunsetsWith childrenFree
04 · West
A large safari-style park under Rempart mountain: zebras, giraffes and rhinos on a drive, ziplines over the gorge, and a good rainy-day option for families.
With childrenWildlifeRainy days
05 · South
Giant Aldabra tortoises by the hundred, Nile crocodiles, an insectarium and a rainforest walk under the canopy at Rivière des Anguilles.
With childrenWildlifeRainy days
06 · East
The best snorkelling reachable from the shore: a protected lagoon near the airport with corals metres from the beach and a public beach behind it.
SnorkellingBeachesWith childrenFree
07 · East
A wide waterfall where the island's longest river meets the sea, visited by boat from the river mouth and included in most Île aux Cerfs day trips.
WaterfallsWith children
08 · East
The east coast's island day trip: sandbars, a shallow lagoon, parasailing and a lot of other people. Go early, go on a weekday, walk away from the jetty.
BeachesSnorkellingWith children
09 · North
A small, deep, sheltered cove between Grand Baie and Cap Malheureux: the best swimming beach in the north, good snorkelling off the rocks, and food vans on the road.
BeachesSnorkellingWith childrenFoodFree
10 · North
The north's resort town: the base for boat trips, the bazaar, the bars and most of the island's nightlife. Not a beach you come for, but the place everything leaves from.
FoodMarketsSunsetsWith children
11 · North
The longest beach in the north, a crescent of white sand under casuarina trees between Trou aux Biches and Grand Baie. Calm, shaded, and best in the late afternoon.
BeachesSunsetsFreeWith children
12 · North
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, founded in 1770: giant Victoria water lilies, a palm that flowers once and dies, and 300 years of the island's plant history.
NatureCulture & historyWith childrenRainy days
13 · Centre
A dormant volcano crater in the middle of Curepipe, with a road around the rim. Drive up, walk the rim, look down into the crater lake and out across the whole plateau.
ViewpointsFreeWith childrenRainy days