Thank you Samuel,
unfortunately I was already there when you posted your message, and I read it just now when I am back in stockholm. It would have been fun to meet you in flic en flac, it will be for another time.
But let me now tell you all my impressions of Maritius or Ile Maurice as they call it there (as trux already said):
1) climate: wonderful! hot, rather windy 30 celsius in the air and 27 in the water. A little humid but good for the skin.
IF you remember to protect yoursel from the sun: don't worry in many supermarket you can easily find solar creme with sun factor 60 (not 6.. 60!). We bought it and used it and we didn't get sunburned.. none of us, which is already something at 20 degree latitude south in January.
2) In the water:
snorkeling very good, probably the best place is flic en flac (the coral grow in the lagoon 50 m from the beach) and of course Blue Bay which is a marine park and since the depth is up to 15 m then you can even do some recreational freediving.. but remeber to always consider the tide and wind conditions that can make the water turbid .. usually early mornig is good, but ask before. Nearly everywhere you can find boats the can bring around in the most beatiful spots but agree on the price before. I got the chance to dive on on the oceanside of the coral reef (outside the lagoon then) with a supporting boat following me: very nice.
Diving (or scuba diving) as much you want: there is plenty of diving center and nearly everywhere in the island there are spots worth a trip. Nearly all of them are outside the lagoons so prepare yourself to jump on a boat.
Other activities: you can walk on the bottom, or you can ride a U-scooter, or you can even go to -30m inside a U-boat if you like to. Underwater promenades might not be the best for the corals so I would avoid it.
Inside the lagoons ther are all the small tropical fish you can imagine (and a little more) outside the reef you can meet sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, sea rays (as samuel said).. you won't be bored.
3) On the water:
Surf, windsurf, Kitesurf, hobiecat, I would suggest The Morne where the mistral club is located (indian resort). You can go in and hire everything even take some lessons.. 27 degree in the water will make any tiring lesson less tiring. Be careful with the wave surfing: the reef is some 600 800 1000 m from the beach.. I wouldn't go alone. If you have problems a boat can fetch you up for 10€ (inside) or 30€ (outside the lagoon) but remeber to tell them you are out.. On the other hand Tamarin have a beatiful beach brake ..
It is even possible to go for a ride with big catamarans which will bring you in beatiful spots and offer you a lunch on board.. they tend to anchor on the same place wich was a little ruined by the anchors itself before, I have no idea now.
4) On land:
if you have kids it is a must to go to vanille park where they can ride on giant land turtles (tortoises?) among other things. If you are looking for nightlife, I have no idea in the north, but in the south (we were in la gaulette , close to The Morne) there is no such thing. We actually loved to go to bed around 10 pm and wake up at 6, 7 in the morning (as locals do).. the landskape of a sub-tropical island at 7 am is unforgettable.. you will miss no nightlife. Very good food everywhere, even if not as cheap as tailand.
5) medical assistance:
Very good. Of course after all my diving and too much wind in my ears I got Otitis.. (ok ok I know..) I didn't bother and got worse to the point I had to go to the hospital to meet a doctor. Sunday morning at 11 they called a specialist for me which arrived after 30 minuter just to take a look at my left ear.. got antibiotics and got better .. no more diving of course.. A ear drop two days earlyer would have been enough (it had antibiotics as well and one can buy it from a farmacy with no prescription) but I didn't know. The ear drop costed 1.5€, the clinic charged me 50 € and the 10 days cure the doctor prescribed costed 10€.. amazing price quality rateo.
6)Where to stay:
The resorts are word famous for the things they offer, but are not exactly cheap.. well, there are pachages with the air companies that could build up a very nice vacation for a reasonable price.. check if you want. On the other hand if you don't like the resort life, then you can hire apartments and you can even have a car included in the pachage, which is very nice since if you hire yourself you may pay twice as much (cars are three times more expensive there than europe).
7) language:
official is english but since most people speak creole, they would prefer to speach french than english especially in the creole areas like the south west for example. In the hotels restaurants and "important" places everybody speaks english, so no worries.
8) driving:
like england.. good for you, not really good for me, which had problem there and then here to go back to the right side.. The road are rather recent, so in a good state, but often rather narrow.. watch out for bicycles and walking people ESPECIALLY at night.. you simply don't see them, the countryside is dark.
If you have more questions ask,
Ciao. Matteo.
