To get to Mauritius, you fly from London, with flying time approximately 12 hours. Air Mauritius offers reasonable flights, about €950 (£650) for the round trip. Air France also offer good deals.

Mauritius is only four hours ahead of GMT. No vaccination is needed and the island is malaria free. No visa is needed either unless you are staying longer than six months. Driving is on left hand side of the road. Nudism is not allowed on beaches.

Mauritius - popular with Irish and English people as as a honeymoon destination - is in the western Indian Ocean, in a group of island knows as Mascarenes. It was uninhabited, save for the Dodo, when discovered by Portuguese in 16th. century, became a stopover on the spice route to India and was settled by the Dutch (who brought slaves from Africa), the French and then the British (who brought Indian labourers).

It has been independent since 1968 and is multicultural: Languages are French, English, Creole and Hindi.