Mauritius

📍 South-east coast, near Mahébourg

Mauritius' best-known protected reef: a sheltered bay off the south-east coast where coral heads, reef fish, seagrass and turtles sit in calm, shallow water inside a marine park. Glass-bottom boats and snorkel trips run from Blue Bay village, and the park's shelter makes it the island's most reliable snorkel day.

A marine-park fee and park rules apply, with anchoring and collecting regulated — confirm current fees and rules locally. The coral inside the park has been through warming events and is recovering rather than pristine.

📍 North-west coast

A long, sheltered north-west beach with coral patches, seagrass and reef fish a short swim out — the easiest genuinely good snorkel on the island from a wade-in entry, and a dive-school favourite for exactly that reason.

Boat and dive-school traffic shares this water, so stay inside the lagoon and watch for marked channels. Check the day's conditions and any local marker guidance before you swim.

📍 Off Trou d'Eau Douce, east coast

The shallow lagoon around Île aux Cerfs is the postcard Mauritius: a day-boat hop from Trou d'Eau Douce to clear, calm water over sand and scattered coral, with a sheltered lee side when the south-east trades are up.

Honest framing: it is patchy coral rather than a dense reef, and the lagoon is busy with day boats. Pick an operator who keeps clear of the reef, and expect the water to cloud after heavy rain or runoff.

📍 West coast

A long west-coast lagoon with easy shore entry straight off the beach, coral heads and good fish life close in, and a string of dive centres working it daily — the accessible, low-effort end of Mauritian snorkeling.

The reef flat is genuinely shallow in places, so keep your body and fins off the coral and watch the tide. Ask locally which entry point is clearest and calmest on the day.

📍 South-west, beneath Le Morne Brabant

The south-west coast under Le Morne's basalt peak: shallow reef and lagoon water on the calm days, with the peak's UNESCO-listed landscape above it. On the right day it is one of the most striking places on the island to get in the water.

Honest caveat: this is the island's wind-and-swell coast — Le Morne is a world kite-surfing spot — and the shallow reef flat can be exposed at low water. Pick the sheltered side, check the tide and the day's conditions, and treat local advice as final.

Mauritius eats at its market. The food stalls around the Central Market serve dholl puri — a thin yellow split-pea flatbread rolled around bean curry and chilli paste — alongside gato pima and chilli bites, eaten standing up for the price of a coffee. It's Creole, Indian, Chinese and French cooking pressed into one snack, which is exactly what the island's food is.

Tip: Ask for mazavaroo, the crushed chilli and lemon paste, on the side rather than on top until you know how hot it is. Go before noon — the best stalls sell out and close.

Oursins and octopus — ourite in Mauritian Creole — are the island's signature seafood, cooked down with turmeric and coconut into a rich curry that arrives with rice and farata. The beachside restaurants along the west coast do it best, which is convenient when your snorkel day ends at Flic en Flac.

Tip: Order it with a side of rougaille — a fresh tomato and ginger sauce — and ask what came in that morning. Fish is bought daily here and off-menu specials are the norm.

The evening food carts and small snack shops along the northern and eastern coasts sell the island's everyday food: farata, mine frite, boulettes and bhajia, fried to order and handed over in paper. It is the cheapest and most Mauritian meal you will eat after a day on the water.

Tip: Ask for boulettes in broth rather than dry — the clear chilli broth is the point — and carry small cash, since carts rarely take cards.