Mark Twain once wrote, 'Mauritius was made first and then heaven, heaven being copied after Mauritius'. He was right.

Mauritius (French: L’île Maurice, Mauritian Creole: Moris) is a small, multi-cultural island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, NorthEast of Reunion and southeast of the Seychelles. Mauritius also controls Rodrigues Island and the remote, sparsely populated Agalega and Cargados Garayos (Saint Brandon) islands. Due to its strategic position, Mauritius was known as the "star and key" of the Indian Ocean.

Tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May); Natural hazards : tropical cyclones (November to April), most cyclones usually occur from the end of December until March. Mauritius has only two seasons, winter and summer. There is not much temperature difference between the two seasons of the year. The climate on the central plateau is cooler than on the coastal areas.

Mauritius is one of the world's top luxury tourism destinations. It possesses a wide range of natural and human-made attractions, enjoys a tropical climate with clear warm sea waters, attractive beaches, tropical fauna and flora complemented by a multi-ethnic and cultural population. These tourism assets are its main strength, especially since they are backed up by well-designed and run hotels, and reliable and operational services and infrastructures.

Mauritius received the World Leading Island Destination award for the third time and World's Best Beach at the World Travel Awards in January 2012.

What to do? Lie on a beach all day? Or enjoy the wonderful range of activities on offer? Either way, you can't really lose and there's not much you can't do here on the water – highlights include kitesurfing, boat excursions to the beautiful islands of the lagoon, and the full suite of paddling activities offered by hotels and beach operators. But the diving and snorkelling here is terrific, encircled as Mauritius is by shallow waters, a coral reef, sublime underwater topography and a dramatic ocean drop-off. On land, you’ll need to decide between fabulous hiking, horse riding and even championship-standard golf courses. Of course it’s up to you to decide…