The island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is often referred to as a “Paradise location”. It is an ideal destination for couples and families alike and has retained its popularity over the recent years. Although there are many activities in Mauritius, it is very closely associated with scuba diving as a result of its magnificent lagoon and the superb coral reefs that surround the island. Moreover, most 5 star Mauritius hotel bundles now offer their own scuba diving packages and there are also many companies entirely devoted to these.
The noticeable thing is that the sea conditions in Mauritius mean that scuba diving there is accessible to both beginners and seasoned veterans. There are indeed many foreigners who go to Mauritius almost every year only for the scuba diving. The North of the island is particularly suitable for scuba divers thanks to the marine fauna there and the clarity of the lagoon (the North is also known for boasting the best beaches of the island). There are several diving sites that are critically acclaimed and that people who are into the sport must absolutely visit.
Mauritius also offers a full range of diving conditions, which pretty much makes it the ideal spot for divers with varying degrees of experience. While the north coast of the island allows for extremely easy conditions, divers with more experience can thus head to the south where the conditions are a bit more difficult. The west coast should be visited by those with at least one year of scuba diving experience under their belt as the sea can be quite rough there and some parts are not actually accessible to the general public.
Although you may very well use your own scuba diving equipment, it is not very difficult to rent some equipment in Mauritius. Divers have a stunning choice as there are always a handful of scuba shops from which you can rent or purchase the regular equipment to incredibly expensive sets. Obviously, if you are just going to enjoy the activity for the couple of weeks in Mauritius, there is no need to invest a lot of money in the equipment. However, if you plan to make scuba diving one of your hobbies, it is better to go for the best equipment as soon as you can. This allows you to spend less money in the long run.
One thing you can count on is that you will not be buying poor quality equipment. Tourism is a very important, if not the biggest, industry in Mauritius and is thus tightly regulated. These shops are thus subjects to frequent checks and can only sell equipment that has been verified and approved by the authorities. Skippers and operators must also be issued licenses by the authorities, and these are verified regularly to ensure that everything is up to standard and to make sure that the tourists’ lives are not being put to unnecessary risks.