Under 5's

If you have a lively little one, who loves constant interaction, then the beaches of Mauritius are an ideal place for a daily beachcomber with the bucket and spade! The island of Mauritius is almost completely surrounded in a coral reef, a few hundred meters off the beaches. Therefore the waves which come into the island break on the reef, leaving most of the beaches with gently lapping waves. They are also gently sloping, with soft golden sand, making it ideal for those first cautious steps into the ocean!

Each of the Beachcomber Hotels have Bob Marlin Mini Clubs for children aged between 3 and 12 years, and are open all day, every day of the week. Most of the mini clubs have facilities which are suitable for younger children under supervision of a parent. Activities include use of the play room for colouring and DVD's, fun trips around the hotel treasure hunting for shells and flowers. Lunches and dinners can also be arranged in the mini clubs, where your little ones will be treated with the same elegant service that you would expect.

Babysitters are also available at each of the Beachcomber hotels, both during the day as well as in the evening. If you would like to book one for most of your holiday it's probably worth doing this before you leave, and they can then meet you on arrival.

5 ? 12 year olds

For the more independent children the mini clubs offer activities which will keep them busy all day. Sports lessons are often popular with tennis courts, golf (in those with golf courses), glass bottom boat trips and sailing lessons all available. If adrenaline is what they are after, water skiing, snorkelling and the bubble maker scuba programme (for age 8+) are also available at selected hotels.

The staff at each of the hotels are all extremely friendly, and for football loving boys, there is often a football match happening somewhere in the background of the hotel!

Over 12's

If it's important to keep the teens occupied and they like a bit of a sporting challenge, then Mauritius is the place to hone their skills. Tennis, golf, water skiing, sailing, scuba diving, snorkelling, kayaking even pedalo's are all available from most of the resorts. Dinarobin and Paradis are particularly good for the older children as there is an 18 hole golf course, and plenty of tennis courts and water sport facilities for them to use. There is also a wide range of restaurants so if they were feeling a bit independent one evening it's easy for them (or you) to escape to a different restaurant!

No matter what the age of your children, the main reason it's such a good destination for families is no doubt the friendly welcome you will all receive. The child minders in the mini clubs deal with the multi lingual mix of children with ease, and the staff from the hotel managers to the waiters and room service will treat the whole family like royalty.