Mauritius with a toddler?

Turquoise waters, white sand, luxury hotels, honeymooners, romance... these are the words that enter one's head when someone mentions "Mauritius". Not so much an image of a family holiday with a toddler. However, owing to an incredibly good deal spotted on Travel Zoo, we set off on the 11 and a half hour overnight flight with our toddler in tow and the promise of 5 star luxury awaiting us at the other end.

We were not disappointed. Contrary to the usual assumptions that would be made about Mauritius, it is actually an incredibly family friendly destination. The locals love children and I was impressed by the warmth and kindness shown to our 14 month old by everyone we met, whether inside or outside of our hotel. They spoke softly and directly to him, made him laugh, asked to hold him, asked his name and remembered him if we bumped into them again. In fact, he became something of a celebrity in our hotel playing up to the attention with his coy winning smile and even had to pose for photos with some Chinese tourists! Nothing was too much trouble, everywhere had high chairs and he was more than catered for. We even managed to have some relatively quiet meals whilst he was fully entertained by the staff in restaurants. He also loved the food, as did we. A lovely mix of fresh fruit and fish plus Indian influences add variety.

The island is beautiful and even in out of season June, it was pleasantly warm and perfect for running around with a toddler. Not too hot and not too cold. Warm enough to sit by the pool and be without a jumper in the evening but not sticky. This makes for pleasant sight seeing. There are stunning mountains, landscapes, ocean and wildlife to see.

A particular favourite for Thomas was a trip to see Giant Tortoise. Whilst for me, the waterfalls and scenery.

It definitely helped having a car for a couple of days. The island isn't huge but traffic around the capital can be heavy and we were able to go at our own pace and stop for food when it suited us.

The whole trip was incredibly easy and even though its a long flight, with small children the lack of a large time difference from the UK made it very easy. Thomas slept most of the overnight flight out there and on the way back we took turns to entertain him when he wasn't napping. He even made friends with some other children on the flight so it really wasn't difficult. I do recommend booking a bulk head seat though as the extra leg space made a real difference and he sat on the floor playing happily with the bag of toys we took. Just be prepared.

The ease of the destination, the local entertainment and having our food prepared made life very simple for a change. I would definitely recommend a minimum of half board in hotels if not full board. We had half board with executive club (which gave us free lunch and drinks between 5 and 7 on top of breakfast and dinner) which saved us a lot of money. Mauritian hotels are not cheap and most are not walking distance of other restaurants so you are more than likely to make a saving if your food and drink is included. We absolutely would visit this beautiful paradise again.