Beaches, lagoons and inlets around the coast offer plenty of opportunity for safe swimming, supplemented by hotel swimming pools. Grand Baie, north of Pamplemousses Gardens, is a popular beach for diving. Further good dive sites can be found around Flic-en-Flac on the west coast of Mauritius, and on Rodrigues Island. The Mauritian Scuba Diving Association can provide further information (tel: 454 0011; website: www.msda-cmas.org). There is good coastal and inland deep sea fishing around the island. Tamarin Bay is an ideal place to see black and long-beaked dolphins. At Belle Mare there is a Waterpark.

This is becoming increasingly popular on Mauritius, with an annual Golf Open held in December. Golf courses offering 18 holes are at Belle Mare Plage in the northeast and the Le Paradis at the Le Morne in the southwest, and the Ile Aux Cerf golf course. Smaller rounds can be played at St Géran Hotel, Trou aux-Biches, La Pirogue, Sugar Beach and Maritim which offer nine holes.

There are many opportunities for trekking in the interior of the island. Many of the best walks are in the Réserve Forrestière Macchabée and Rivière Noire National Park. Rodrigues Island also has some lovely hiking country, with coastal and mountain walks, notably to the island’s highest points, Mount Limon and Mount Malartic. The Hippodrome at the Champ de Mars has meetings at the weekends between May and October where spectators can watch horse racing (website: www.mauritiusturfclub.com).