Why Mauritius is on our Wish List

There are some places in the world that when you say their name just feel right, places that capture that sense of tranquility, exploration, relaxing and in short paradise on earth and Mauritius is certainly on of those.

It sits firmly on our list of places we want to visit before the kids get too big as there are so many fantastic things to do on this Island nation more than 1000 miles off the southeast coast of Africa. Mauritius has always been a very popular destination with not only the British but also South Africans as  it's fairly easy to get to without having to fly to Europe first for connections and I remember hearing tales of white beaches and palm trees from friends who had visited the island when they were young.

So what makes Mauritius different to other island destinations? Well for one it's a very diverse multicultural, multilingual nation which is highly ranked for it's democracy and economic freedom making is a safe and culturally exciting destination for people of all ages. It's also has a variety of natural and man made sights as well as a huge variety of different floral and fauna and of course not forgetting the beautiful beaches and luxury hotels that cater to the whole family.

So what would we get up to in this beautiful place if we had the chance?

Here are our top 5 things to do with kids in Mauritius

1. Visit the Blue Penny Museum - most will not know this about me but I love collecting stamps and the Blue Penny Museum is the home of the worlds most expensive stamp, for me personally this would be a must visit museum as well as offering an interesting introduction to stamp collecting for kids.

2. Meet a 100yr old Tortoise - you can have the chance to get up close and personal with some Giant tortoises at the Crocodile and Giant Tortoises Park and Nature reserve which is set in a beautiful rain forested valley with natural freshwater springs.

3. Introduce them to watersports - if you find yourself in such a place one should naturally embrace the exciting water sport activities available and going for something fairly slow paced but still very exciting such as paddle boarding or snorkelling is the perfect way for kids to develop a life long love for the ocean.

4. Street markets and local food - the one thing we always do as a family when travelling is try out as much of the local cuisine as possible and hopefully developing a broader palate and love for different species and world dishes. The cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Chinese, European and Indian meaning here is something for everyone.

5. Embrace Island Life - one of the main reasons for visiting a place like this is to slow down, recalibrate and enjoy the simple pleasures in life. For us that would mean spending long lazy days roaming white beaches looking for shells and building sandcastles, easy, simple and the perfect way to spend a day with kids in paradise.

This is an associated post