Mauritius - Any tips?
Discussion
Looking for some tips regrinding a visit to Mauritius at the end of September. We have the hotels booked staying a few days in the hills then a week on the East coast, but looking at pulling on other people experiences. Trip is a special one as its to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Thanks
We went there a couple of years back. Mostly a beach holiday, but we did some sightseeing in the interior. The flooded volcano crater at Trou aux Cerfs, the forest and waterfalls at Black River Gorges National Park, the weird multicoloured sand at Seven Coloured Earths, the statues and temples at Ganga Talao. All worth seeing, though I thought the multicoloured sand was a bit less dramatic in reality than in the photographs.
Visited a few years ago, and enjoyed it very much. Plenty to see as per pictures above...
One word of caution to offer - Around September/October when we were there, huge difference in weather east to west - We stayed on the west and it was fine, drove round to the east and it was windy and cool, much rougher seas.
One word of caution to offer - Around September/October when we were there, huge difference in weather east to west - We stayed on the west and it was fine, drove round to the east and it was windy and cool, much rougher seas.
Lovey1 said:
Looking for some tips regrinding a visit to Mauritius at the end of September. We have the hotels booked staying a few days in the hills then a week on the East coast, but looking at pulling on other people experiences. Trip is a special one as its to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Thanks
Hire a car for a day or two and drive around. It's a really easy place to drive and you can visit the attractions on your own timetable.We went at the end of October into early November and stayed at the Lux Belle Mare on the east side. The weather was just about perfect apart from a couple of rain showers.
Great. Thanks for the tips all. It does look as beautiful as i thought. We do have 2 very nice hotels booked.the first in Chamarel (so thanks for the tip regarding the Rhumerie!) and the second on the East coast (thanks for tip tip re the weather). Definitely think i will hire a car for a couple of days to explore.
Did anybody take to the sea for any of the cruises and are they worth the time and effort?
Did anybody take to the sea for any of the cruises and are they worth the time and effort?
Lovey1 said:
Great. Thanks for the tips all. It does look as beautiful as i thought. We do have 2 very nice hotels booked.the first in Chamarel (so thanks for the tip regarding the Rhumerie!) and the second on the East coast (thanks for tip tip re the weather). Definitely think i will hire a car for a couple of days to explore.
Did anybody take to the sea for any of the cruises and are they worth the time and effort?
We did a cruise from Flic en Flac. They picked us up from the hotel and it was a lovely day out. We were supposed to swim with Doplhins, but as in lots of these types of trips the pressure of boat number makes the animals to be observed move on quite quickly. In spite of that it was still a good day.Did anybody take to the sea for any of the cruises and are they worth the time and effort?
I can very highly recommend Samir from Le Transporteur for the three island trip from Grand Baie in the North.
It’s a private trip on his speedboat and he leaves well before the cats and other boats do. We had Flat Island and Gabriel Island completely to ourselves for two hours. Walking on footprintless white beaches and snorkelling with nobody else around but the fish. We were eating BBQ and enjoying a cold Phoenix when the next boat turned up.
Not cheap but would absolutely do it again.
https://www.getyourguide.co.uk/grand-baie-l2072/th...
I’d second avoiding any of the dolphin watching trips. We tried a very early morning kayaking one out of Tamarin to avoid the glut of motor boats that descend as soon as a pod appears later on. We didn’t see them.
If you want some adrenaline filled fun I would recommend the zip wires at La Vallee des Couleurs. Great fun and the guides are a laugh.
It’s a private trip on his speedboat and he leaves well before the cats and other boats do. We had Flat Island and Gabriel Island completely to ourselves for two hours. Walking on footprintless white beaches and snorkelling with nobody else around but the fish. We were eating BBQ and enjoying a cold Phoenix when the next boat turned up.
Not cheap but would absolutely do it again.
https://www.getyourguide.co.uk/grand-baie-l2072/th...
I’d second avoiding any of the dolphin watching trips. We tried a very early morning kayaking one out of Tamarin to avoid the glut of motor boats that descend as soon as a pod appears later on. We didn’t see them.
If you want some adrenaline filled fun I would recommend the zip wires at La Vallee des Couleurs. Great fun and the guides are a laugh.
went in mid Sep and was told that the east coast was windy so picked a hotel on the west.
Chose SUGAR BEACH and had a great time in Flic n Flac.
Had a car whilst ther and drove to a number of places (mostly mentioned above).
Also went ot Grand Baie and went deep sea fishing with a local charter (about half the price that the hotel was offering).
We were at the hotel for 2 weeks and they offered us 3 nights at a sister hotel on the west coast. As we had the car, we took them up on the offer and enjoyed the luxury of Le Touessrok. A much smaller hotel that you are 'kept' in the grounds - it was a great spot, but not sure I'd want to spend 2 weeks there (or indeed I could stomach the cost!)
A lovely island with lovely people and so easy to move about in. Would happily go back.
Had a friend who was asking about it last month and they are booked to go Easter 2025 so will live vicariously through them and instead pay VAT on school fees....
Chose SUGAR BEACH and had a great time in Flic n Flac.
Had a car whilst ther and drove to a number of places (mostly mentioned above).
Also went ot Grand Baie and went deep sea fishing with a local charter (about half the price that the hotel was offering).
We were at the hotel for 2 weeks and they offered us 3 nights at a sister hotel on the west coast. As we had the car, we took them up on the offer and enjoyed the luxury of Le Touessrok. A much smaller hotel that you are 'kept' in the grounds - it was a great spot, but not sure I'd want to spend 2 weeks there (or indeed I could stomach the cost!)
A lovely island with lovely people and so easy to move about in. Would happily go back.
Had a friend who was asking about it last month and they are booked to go Easter 2025 so will live vicariously through them and instead pay VAT on school fees....
djc206 said:
Rent a car. Chamarel Rhumerie was enjoyable for my wife, not so me as the Nissan Sunny chauffeur. It’s worth having a little explore for the island, beautiful place, don’t consign yourself to the hotel like most people do, even if it’s just for a couple of days.
Another vote for the rum distillery but nearby there is also a restaurant called Le Chamerel which people in our group (destination wedding) went to and raved on about so might be worth checking out since OP has said they are staying locally.I quite enjoyed the Bois Cheri tea factory which is rounded off with a tea tasting session. We stayed at the Heritage Awali and really enjoyed the island in general. As others have stated, easy to drive around. In our group, others tried the zip line and sea plane flight whilst we took to sea in the seakarts - I don't think jet skis are allowed in Mauritius - all of us had a great time.
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