After having visited Curacao a little bit more than 2 months ago, we got a taste of how it feels like being again far away from home. The nine hour flights to the dutch caribbean, differed from the closer european trips we did the last two years during pandemic times.
Checking the traveling updates on daily basis, we were patiently waiting for the news that North America would open its borders again for travelers. And they did, Canada and America started welcoming Europeans again. However December wouldn’t be the best season to get into a holiday mood. Asian countries were still shut down for tourists.
As Mauritius popped up on the list, it just felt like a match to what we were expecting on a last big trip, before Vanessa would start working again, after her 1 year lay off, after giving birth.
Mauritians were enjoying their summer season, the islands looks and feels very tropical, the hindu culture was widely spread throughout the island, street markets, a different cuisine,… everything that we were missing in Curacao, Mauritius Island had it.
It was quite surprising to notice that Mauritius is located on the african continent, not too far away from Madagascar. “Ile Maurice” is the only african country, where Hinduism is the most dominant religion. And while wandering across the island, we didn’t feel like being in Africa, as the locals reminded me so much of indian people… speaking french. As we speak french, it was quite helpful to get into instant conversations.
Grand Baie & Pereybere.
We booked our first hotel in Pereybere, as it was located close enough to Grand Baie, which was supposed to be THE town of the island. It definitely wasn’t the case. Pereybere was cosier, cleaner, and offered the most beautiful beach we experienced on the island. Nothing amazing, but very relaxing with a right mix of tourists and locals.
Food trucks were very popular among the crowds, and they were spread out all over the beaches and city centers. The served food was usually a mix of creole, indian and thai food. Cheap and delicious!
There was actually nothing in both villages, that would cost you more than 1 or 2 hours of your time. We needed to rent a car, to start discovering the rest of the island.
Our first hotel “Bleu de toi” in Pereybere was absolutely wonderful, and it made us feel like being back in Thailand (exotic garden, cosy pool, endless palm trees, coconuts, colorful birds…). They helped us booking the car for our two-weeks-stay.
However…. this was my first time driving on the left lane, with a steering wheel on the right side.
It was really something that I tried to avoid for ages, as I expected my brain not to cope too well with the lane switch. To be honest, it was actually quite easy, because we were renting an automatic car.
Driving a scooter in Bali, was easy… driving a car here in Mauritius, wasn’t equally easy, however after surviving the first 30 minutes, you kinda got used to it.
Next to our hotel, was the hippest spot we witnessed on the island, it was a coffee & breakfast bar called “Bloom”, very stylish with great food, however super horrible service. Besides “Bloom”, the beach and a bunch of average restaurants, there wasn’t much to discover in Pereybere, but we did enjoyed the quietness and simplicity of the area.
Grand Baie was less charming, it was loud, dirty, and everybody tried to sell you something. We randomly discovered the Grand Baie Bazarr on our last day. The shop keepers were trying so hard to make us buy something, that we literally ran off.
Where to stay on Mauritius Island ?
Prior our holidays, we were googling to find the best area to book our accommodations. Most bloggers were writing about Grand Baie and Flic-en-Flac being the hippest spots, and the most lively at night. Were these bloggers right? Hard to agree, however traveling during a pandemic makes every city completely different, compared to what it used to be years ago.
Like on a compass, you can clearly divide Mauritius into 4 main areas, the North, the South, East and West.
North & South
We informed ourselves with blog posts and figured out the northern part of the country would be the more entertaining area. However it turned out that we enjoyed the south much more. The main attractions of the island would be located around the capital Port Louis, and on the southern part of the map.
North sounded more fancy, but it wasn’t. The least enjoyable city would be Grand Baie, that everybody is talking about.
All the beaches we visited were equally mediocre. The surround palm trees made the beaches look spectacular, however the dirty waters, the tons of seaweeds, the rough sand, diminished the whole experience.
East & West
West clearly wins. The major attractions were located on the west side. Inbetween, but further on the west side, you would find “Goodlands”. The most authentic city we had witnessed, as we were the only tourists among the locals for a couple of hours. Temples, food markets, pooja shops, and all kind of shops that actually don’t attract the typical tourists… we loved it. It felt authentic, and completely different than the big resorts, or fancy places that visitors tend to attend.
The West coast definitely is worth the ride to discover its natural beauty, however expect to pass drive many big hotels and golf fields.
Mauritius actually isn’t that small
As we booked 12 nights on the island, we first panicked that it would get boring for spending that much time on the same island. We initially had the idea of visiting Reunion Island during the same trip. We were so wrong. Mauritius has so much to offer, that it keeps you easily busy for 2 weeks.
Our first taxi ride from the airport to Grand Baie lasted around 70-80 minutes (2700 rupees = 54 euro). It felt like an never ending journey, as I expected to reach the hotel within half an hour.
Driving form the very north to the very north will take an hour. Driving from the very east side to the west end side, will take you another 30-40 minutes. On daily basis we spent comfortably 2 hours driving around.
Mauritus can be affordable
Before heading to the island, I was told, that I should expect prices like in Curacao: overpriced food and drinks, and that I should hire a taxi for 100 euro a full day. Here’s a list of some expenses:
taxi to airport - 2700 rupees - 54 euro
sim card - 400 rupees - 8 euro
price of a local meal - 270 rupees - 5,50 euro
a fresh cut pineapple at the beach - 150 rupees - 3 euro
car rental for 12 days - 18500 rupees - 373 euro
local veggie roti (street-food) - 30 rupees - 60 cent
dinner for 2 people with drinks 900 rupees - 18 euro (2 people!)
My personal must-sees
Without a doubt I enjoyed “Ile Maurice” as a whole. The whole package made it a unique experience, that would always make us wanna go back. The memories would consist, of the great weather during the european winter season, the beauty of the island’s nature, cheap food (actually most things were kinda cheap), super friendly citizens, the endless amount of palm trees, the right amount of tourist attractions, learning about their culture while following our journey, safety, rum culture, …
However if I would have to recommend something, it would be these following attractions:
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden (in Pamplemousses)
sunset bathing at Pereybere Beach (it’s a simple, but cosy & beautiful beach)
Vanilla Nature Park (tortoises, tortoises and even more tortoises… mind blowing!)
Cap Malheureux
Goodlands
To keep it short, I will just summarize these previous favorites.
The botanical garden in Pamplemousses is quite an eye-catcher… it’s huge, it’s green, colorful, and so photogenic. Wanna post some great shots on Instagram? Expect to spend at least 2 hours at the park.
What we did like about Pereybere Beach: it was clean, the bottom of the sea wasn’t muddy, as many other beaches. Barely no seaweeds in the water. People from all cultural and religious backgrounds were bathing at the same time. And by the way, it’s definitely a pretty beach, if you ask me.
Have you ever fed a tortoise? A big tortoise… one that is over 100 years old. These lovely and impressive animals are just laying around at the Vanilla Nature Park. They ask a small entrance fee. The petting and feeding is free (if you find some greens on the ground). Otherwise you can buy some plants for a couple of cents. I would say spending time with the tortoises really made it a happy day. Such cool animals!
As soon as you are driving by the chapel/church “Notre-Dame Auxiliatrice” at Cap Malheureux, it pulls your car aside to the closest parking, because the whole place is just crazy beautiful. The long stretched island in the background, in between blue-greenish water and trees, in the foreground a chapel with its attractive red colored roof. It’s a fest for your eyes. For my taste it’s a little bit too touristic, as the locals are trying to make you spend money for souvenirs or taking photos of the fishermen. But it’s still worth it.
Wanna experience the authentic city life? Go spend some time at Goodlands. Is it pretty? No. Is it cool? Most definitely.
The kindness of the local Mauritians
What impressed us quite a lot, was the kindness of Mauritius people. Arriving at every hotel, we got a free welcome drink. Always without alcohol, but they looked fancy, and tasted delicious. Have you ever tried ice cold & sweetened lemongrass tea. So good!
While we were having breakfast at the guesthouse “Bleu de toi”, the lady who was preparing the food, carried and played around with our daughter, so we could enjoy the breakfast for 5 to 10 minutes. Our baby girl loved discovering the surroundings with her.
At the restaurant at night, same story. The manager took our daughter and showed her around, while we were eating our dishes.
It was just 5-7 minutes, however long enough to just eat without taking care of an excited baby.
Many locals wanted to have her on their arms. They seemed very touchy towards little kids.
This was also a nice opportunity to get in touch with locals, or ask them questions about their country and daily life.
When we checked out from the guesthouse, the lady offered us a cute little dress for our daughter. Priceless!
At our last hotel, the super welcoming manager, threw in a couple of free rums, offered us two cans of Mauritius tea brands, and took some photos with our daughter behind the bar.
We were spoilt with the hospitality of Greek people during our summer trips in Greece. We thought this couldn’t be topped, but look here, Mauritius was just even crazier in that sense.
Vanessa, Valentina and I… we enjoyed our time in Mauritius and would certainly recommend to everybody to visit this gem of an island.
While leaving the country, I forgot my credit card in the rental car, that I parked at the wrong spot, as we were quite late, and we couldn’t see the traffic sign for the drop-off parking. Later, as we were sitting on the airplane, I texted the contact person, and apologized for not making it to the drop-off zone. The gentleman informed me that I had forgotten my credit card in the car. He asked me if he should bring it to the terminal. As it was too late, he sent a proof that he had cut the card in tiny little pieces. A final proof just before take off, how helpful the locals are. Thank you Mauritius!