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A half-term dash to Mauritius with two nine-year-olds? It's definitely worth it!

It's a long old hike to chase bone-warming sun in the last week of October when summer seems far behind and the prospect of opaque tights for the next six months is looming.

But the thought of one last burst of sunshine before hunkering down for the winter has me reaching for the globe and wondering:

How far is too far to go for half-term? When Einstein was pondering thoughts on relativity, did he ever come up with a workable ratio of hours in a plane with young children to nights in a hotel?

Family fun: Alice Beer managed to drag the girls 6,000 miles each way during their half term for some quality time together

With little ones, no matter how much you are craving winter sun, it defeats the object to spend the holiday feeling jet-lagged and the week after you get back feeling as if you've never been away.

So the destination had to be pretty special to have me grabbing the girls from school the second they broke up and heading to Heathrow to tackle a 6,000-mile journey involving two six-hour flights and a middle- of-the-night transfer.

Mauritius is a special family destination. It ticks every holiday cliche, from white sands and azure sea to consistent sunshine and unwavering service.

And my fears of a shocking journey were unwarranted – I had underestimated the ability of my nine-year-old twins to stare at a small screen for hours on end.

If anyone had got bored mid-flight, I was ready to suggest they work on their pronunciation of the airport to which we were heading.

Golfing greats?: Alice's daughters Phoebe and Chloe tried out a few new sports while on their break

Late afternoon is the perfect time to step off a plane in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam airport. The sun was still warm enough to invigorate us and there was time to get to the hotel, explore and eat before hitting the sack.

The journey to the Paradis hotel on the South Western tip of the island takes 90 minutes along basic roads. Passing fields of sugar cane, rain forests, villages and vast beaches, our cheery driver gave us a wonderful sense of this island plopped in the middle of the Indian Ocean 1,200 miles from Africa and a hop from Madagascar.

Beach babes: Phoebe and Chloe loved spending their days playing on he golden sands

Over the years it has been ping-ponged back and forth between the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the British to such an extent that it is amazing that when it finally became independent in 1961 it had any idea who it was. The people of Mauritius unite the cultures of India, China, Africa and Europe.

I didn't confess when I was asked to write this piece that we had stayed at the Paradis before: we had come as a huge gathering of the other half's family. On our latest flight, we realised that Paradis is one of the few hotels in the world that we have returned to. We always think there is somewhere else to be explored. But in this case; if it ain't broke...

From the minute you are handed your welcome cocktail you are in safe hands: the rooms are a good size, the beds the right side of comfortable and there is everything you need. Above and beyond the necessities, there are very special ingredients that make the Paradis a perfect family location.

I loathe huge hotels and the feeling you have been shipped in with half of the UK to experience an identikit beach holiday. Paradis disguises its size well in a beautiful location where you build your own individual experience. One path links all the rooms, suites, bars, reception, restaurants, pools and, further up the beach, the waterski dock and kids' club. You are never out of sight of the sea, which keeps a busy, big hotel feeling very calm.

A protective coral reef runs for miles around this tip of the island making the beaches special. There are no stones, no waves, just clear water and neon fish. It was wonderful to see Phoebe and Dora content themselves with buckets and spades and just be happy being little.

  More... Let's go fly a kite on Mauritius...(just don't watch the YouTube 'kitesurfing' clips first) Let's go fly a kite on Mauritius...(just don't watch the YouTube 'kitesurfing' clips first) Discover more about magical Mauritius

We had settled into inertia rather easily so I felt a little guilty nudging my generally over-timetabled children into action on the second day. Parents are always searching for someone to uncover an amazing talent in their children, and I admit that the thought had crossed my mind when I signed them up for the Paradis Junior Golf Academy.

My plan was Phoebe and Dora would get to a standard where we could all stroll on to a local course and have fun without swiping and swearing and irritating other players. The Paradis Golf Club is stunning, running along the beautiful Le Morne peninsula against a backdrop of the majestic mountains.

Indian Ocean idyll: The Le Morne Peninsula in Mauritius

There is no more enjoyable way of spending the hour before sunset than watching your children laughing and grinning as a coach gently introduces them to the basics of golf. After two lessons, the coach had them out on the course. I would say raw talent was scarce but they had quickly got good enough to enjoy progressing from tee to hole, perhaps with a little too much emphasis on how fast they could go in the buggy in between shots.

I loved the independence the girls gained as our week progressed. 'Meet you in the restaurant, Mummy!' 'Can we go to breakfast on our own this morning?'

Whatever adventures were in store, it all started and ended in the large bustling restaurant where exotic birds tried to steal your breadcrumbs and waiters competed for the award of friendliest chap on the island.

Schools may deal with the academic necessities in life, grandparents the manners, parents the general nagging, but there is nothing that equips a child more with a set of life survival skills than being faced with an empty plate and a magnificent buffet. The girls loved trotting off to find plates and puddings, and would be backwards and forwards with updates of new discoveries.

They quickly learned to come back with taster plates loaded like artist palates with a little of everything. Without a little self-control I could quickly have gone the way of the Mauritians favourite icon.

The dodo was known to man for less than 100 years, but the most emblematic of creatures still reigns supreme on the island... Its demise apparently due to bulking up in preparation for times of hunger and quickly losing its muscles and ability to fly... Hmm a couple more days of that buffet and it was an understandable fate.

People say one grows on holiday. Well after a week, I had gained about 5lb, but there was no end to our collective family talents. The girls had learned to waterski, snorkel, swing a golf club and balance an admirably stacked plate at the buffet.

On the last morning, my husband Paul and Dora left Phoebe and I to our books and I laughed as I glanced up to see my little girl waterskiing past, confidently crossing the wake of the boat. It was a very happy week.

Like the Mauritian people, Paradis is very uncomplicated. There are no pretensions or unnecessary frills. Its simplicity helped us relax and to stay relaxed for sometime after the long flight home and we were firmly entrenched in our woollen tights.

Travel Facts

Beachcomber Tours (01483 445 685, www.beachcombertours.co.uk) offers seven nights at Paradis Hotel & Golf Club in a Junior Suite for two adults and two children under 12 sharing from £1,285pp. This includes return flights from London, half board accommodation and private hotel transfers.




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