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Best Period

The best condition for scuba diving and sailing is in October - March. Most of the larger beach hotels offer dive excursions and lessons and rent equipment. Spearfishing while diving with an aqua-lung is prohibited: spearfishing while snorkelling is allowed, but the catch cannot exceed ten fish per day. There are plenty of scuba diving centres on the islands. The Mauritius Underwater Group (MUG) has given rise to the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society, a group actively engaged in conservation of the reef environment. MUG is linked to the professional Diving Association, and also to the International Diving Confederation. Much of the diving consists of rock formations like overhangs, walls and caverns. Abundant and diverse corals colonise such formations - some 200 species are said to be present. Spearfishing is forbidden.

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  • Diving

    Diving - Mauritius Dive Sites
    The reefs of Mauritius offer excellent opportunities for scuba diving and snorkelling enthusiasts with warm, crystal clear water, calm seas and varied marine life. The 205-mile (330-km) coastline of Mauritius is almost completely surrounded by coral reef, making this an excellent destination for snorkelling and scuba diving. You can dive on the colourful coral reef and over 50 wrecks which harbor a great variety of sea life.

  • Diving - Rodrigues Island

    There are several good scuba-diving locations around Rodrigues, but there is no diving school or public-use compressor on the island, and you need a boat. The best dives are off Pointe Colon and Pointe Roche Noire, on the east coast, and off Pointe Palmiste, on the west. Baladirou, at Pointe aux Comes, is also a good spot. Cotton Bay Hotel has a diving centre which is also open to nonresidents. Henri Tours can also organise diving trips.

  • Advice on Diving

    Advice on diving can be obtained from the MauritiusUnderwater Group, Railway Road, Phoenix tel: 696 5368. The Mauritius Marine Conservation Society functions from the same address. A decompression chamber is available with the Special Mobile Force at Vacoas, Tel: 686 1011; fax 696 4956.

  • The East Coast - Diving

    A bit more affected by mass tourism than other regions, the East Coast offers some excellent diving. One of Mauritius' best dives is The Passe where you drift dive through the passes with the current past psychedelic tapestries of coral and reef fishes. It is at 17m. Also popular is Grouper Hill, three pinnacles in a sand area at 25-31m. Plenty of impressive black coral and gorgonians rock cod and kingfish.

  • Dive Centers

    Dive-Centers mauritius
    The best dive center include Le Morne in the southwest, the west coast of Flic en Flac and north to Grand Bay and Trou aux Biches. In the south, diving is good off Grand Port, some of the very best diving, however, is around the northern offshore islets, like Gunner's Ouoin.

  • The West Coast

    From the la Pirogue, divers are taken to some 20 sites. Very useful for beginners is Aquarium, a rocky reef area with plenty of angelfish, kingfish and butterfly fish plus lots of wire coral. Watch out for the stonefish. It goes to 15m. This is a site where night dives are conducted for experienced divers.

    For some cave diving, try the Cathedral - a huge underwater cave in which lionfish, kingfish and squirrelfish are common. For experienced divers there is Mana - a deep dive of 47m on rock faces. Impressive emperor angelfish, white tipped reef shark and shoals of game fish are present.

  • The Southwest Coast

    All sites visited by the Meridien dive centre at Beachcomber Hotel are about 30 minutes by boat from the hotel. And they are all on the seaward side of the barrier reef, where marine life is abundant.

    You can explore sites like Needle Hall, Jim's Place and Anthony, all of which are shallow dives (14-18m). Magnificent corals, swarms of fish like sergeants majors, goldier and surgeonfish. Excellent visibility makes for exceptional conditions for underwater photography.

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