Four reasons why Mauritius is perfect for family holidays, right now

2/4  Take your pick of wonderful national parks

For all its neat size, Mauritius packs in a lot of environmental protection, and has no less than three national parks, more than enough to satisfy the spirit of adventure in most kids.

Pretty Bras d’Eau in the north east is where to head for rambling round ancient ruins and chance sightings of the rare and colourful Day Gecko. Or, to respect island sailing traditions, take a cruise round the archipelago park of Islets.

But if you only have time for one national park, make it Black River Gorges down in the south. Almost 17,000 acres of untamed forest and home to macaques, echo parakeets and fruit bats, it contains over 300 different species of plants and trees too, and sounds almost as wild as it looks. Don’t be put off exploring; several great hikes are well-marked, graded in order of difficulty, and one or two are even easy enough for littler legs to manage.

Kids stay and eat free at Tamassa all-inclusive resort in Bel Ombre, just 20 minutes from Black River Gorges National Park. If you can tear kids away from all the resort activities, UNESCO World Heritage Le Morne Brabant is just to the west, and the rainbow rocks of Seven Coloured Earth are nearby too.