In February 2016 I might say that I discovered the heaven on Earth, which has a name: Mauritius Island. I was forced to agree with Mark Twain who said in his book Following the Equator that Mauritius was created the first, then heaven as a copy of it. This place fascinates you from the first step, a wave of energy and welcoming people just everywhere, a peaceful vibe.
Here, the taxi drivers are also autodeclared guides so I found out from them that Mauritius is a safe place, no corruption and a place of democracy, with a woman as a president, a scientist who doesn’t belong to any political party. A country where you can find rich people, middle class and also poor people but there is no allowance for unemployed people. The government is helping the poor people with subsidy for electricity or gas. School is free, tablets provided in the 5th grade with restricted internet acces (can be used only for educational purposes).
Mauritius is a volcanic island, located in the Indian Ocean and has to offer to the turists from beautiful beaches, large lagoons protected by reefs to rainforests, with waterfalls and incredible landscapes. Mauritius is the land of the sugarcane, rum, Dodo bird-the symbol of the island. The 12th of March is the national day of Mauritius, in 1992 Mauritius became a republic.
Getting there: by plane is the most common way to reach the island. The international airport Ramgoolam (also known as Plaisance) is located in the west of the island: 48 km far away from Port Louis (the capital), 70 km away from Grand Baie, 45Km away from Fic-en-Flac and 40 km away from Belle Mare.
From airport to your point of interest, if you do not have a transfer included from your travel agency, I strongly recommend you to book a taxi in advance. The taxi driver will wait for you at the airport, the payment can be done directly to the driver. You can find many companies that provides shared or private transfers with many different prices. The one that I used not only for airport pick up and drop off is Taxi Mauritius: 29 euros/one way/car airport to Belle Mare (half of the price provided by the hotel).
Grand Bay -Mauritius
Tel: +230 – 5777-0256
Tel: +230 – 5478-3933
Email: booking@taximauritiustours.com
Visa requirements: depends of the country of residence, you should ask your tour operator/travel agency about any details regarding this. Citizens from countries where visa is provided in the airport will answer to a few questions asked by immigration employee and visa will be applied on the passport, also my case, granted for 30 days. In the most cases the passport should be valid at least 6 months starting the date of entry in Mauritius. In the plane the crew will provide special forms to fill in for visa (is required the hotel name and address), forms that you can also find in the airport. After you will be asked to fill in a health form – a yellow card and that is all for getting in Mauritius, legally.
For details you should visit: http://passport.govmu.org/English/Passport%20and%20Visa%20Requirement%20in%20Mauritius/Pages/Visa-Requirements-in-Mauritius.aspx
Currency: MUR- rupee. Most places accepts card payments. The best exchange rates you will find at the exchange houses 1 EUR is about 38-38.5 MRU. Personally I didn’t exchange at all- card payments and also in euro- most of the tours, excursions or taxis can be negociated in euro (a fair rate applied).
Language: most of the habitans speak fluent English and French. The native people speak creole and French.
Weather: The weather varies from coast to coast. There are: summer, winter, rainy and cyclone season. The warmest perriod is from December to March, when the possibility for a cyclone to appear is high. Humidity may reach 80%. The temperature of the sea : 25-29 Celsius degrees.
Electricity and Voltage: 220V. Type G electrical plug which has 3 rectangular blades in a triangular pattern.
Tipping: extra money are always appreciated especially for exceptional services; may be applied in the resort, hotel, you will find tip boxes which you can use.
Drinking water: the tap water is perfectly safe to drink so you can save some money during your holiday, no need to buy water.
Smoking public places: is forbidden
Particularities:
Time zone: 4 hours should be added over GMT
Driving is on the left side of the road, but on the most cases the drivers use the middle of the road, especially on a road where you can see pedestrians, dogs, hens and so on on its sides (a lot of them).
Is forbidden to take/to bring sugar cane plants or parts of this plant.
Marriage in Mauritius is possible for non residents, the next day after the marriage announcement is published. Before that some formalities need to be done, in order to obtain a special certificate (10 days prior), marriage can be officiated at the hotel also. For detailed informations and documents usefull numbers in Port Louis (230)2011727; (230)2112420
Transportation: public transportation means busses. The distances are quite short, so a convenient way to travel inside the island is by taxi, which you should book prior to your arrival. Also you have the possibility of renting a car during your stay.
Places to visit/highlights:
Mauritius can be visited all if you split it in 4 tours, which I will describe below. Of course you can mix it as you wish in order to ger what fits you perfectly.
North coast tour
In this tour you can discover beaches, lagoons and some historical ruins. The most common way to do it is booking it. As I said before taxi drivers are travel quides so I find a convenient way to solve this issue. You can also use public transportation but you have to plan carefully your trip especially that busses stop operating late afternoon.
The North tour should include:
Grand Gaube, Calodyne and Anse la Raie – quiet and laid back
Cap Malheureux – visit the famous red roof church
Bain Boeuf – stop to admire the view
Pereybere – popular beach- might be too busy sometimes
La Cuvette – small and quiet- enjoy a swim
Grand Bay – stop for a creole lunch at Dalon
Mon Choisy – a 2 km long quiet beach
Trou aux Biches – lively beach
Pointe aux Piments – quiet and laid back
Pointe aux Piments Aquarium – watch shark feeding at 3pm or 11am
Balaclava historical ruins – explore and enjoy
Balaclava – watch the sunset from the beach
West coast tour
In this tour you can discover beaches, lagoons, nice sunsets, mountains and its beautiful landscapes. That tour should contain:
Tamarin Salt Pans – be there at 9 am for salt harvesting
La Preneuse – visit the Martello Tower
La Preneuse Beach –
Le Morne Mountain – UNESCO Site
Le Morne Beaches – watch kite surfing and swim
Tamarin Bay – scenic and laid back
Flic en Flac – famous 6 kilometres long beach
Albion – quiet and laid back beach
Albion lighthouse – sunset from the high cliffs
South coast tour
This is a tour where you can combine beaches and mountains:
La Prairie Beach – watch kite surfing
Baie du Cap – stop for the scenic view
ilot Sancho – explore the tiny islet
Saint Felix and Riambel – quiet and wild, have a swim
Rochester Falls – nature’s paradise
Souillac – lunch at Chez Rosy
Gris Gris – high cliffs and crashing waves
Riambel – ride a horse into the sunset
East coast tour
A short guide of what you can do:
Ile aux Aigrettes –a piece of paradise
Blue Bay – swim and lunch
Mahebourg Naval Museum – old world charm
La Cambuse Beaches – feel like Robinson Crusoe
Scenic Coastal Drive – Mahebourg and beyond
Belle Mare – East coast best beach
The tour that I took was called South Tour, which was a tailor made tour for me, one day tour with beautiful places to see and had also swimming and sun tanning. So my South Tour includes visits to Chamarel, Grand Bassin, Curepipe-volcano, Black River Range with National Park, a hindu temple, the tallest Shiva statue. You can add to this the dolphin watching. This will be one full day tour.
If you decide to take the dolphin watching then the pick up time will be at 6 a.m. The dolphin watching is a speed boat tour about 2 hours and a half, it will also be possible to swim and with a little bit of hope you will get lucky enough to swim with dolphins. The price it will be around 30 EUR.
The price that I payed was 79 EUR, that means the transportation( if you are 2 or 3 that means you can split the cost) and the taxi driver it will be your guide.
7 coloured Earth-Chamarel is an unique place where land has many colours (I found out that responsible is the volcano roks and the magnesium). The Chamarel can be visited acces fee is 200 MRU ( around 5 EUR) –card payment accepted. Chamarel is also a place where you can buy real coffee, produced in Mauritius.
Here you can also watch Alexandra waterfalls- free of charge. Also you can see pineapple gardens.
Places to stay: East coast is the best option because you will find amazing beaches and regarding accommodation my recommendation is Veranda Palmar Beach Hotel in Belle Mare. Main reason: stuff and their will to make you feel comfortable and to have no worries just enjoy your time there.
To have an idea about this place here is my review:
After many flying hours spent, to see the smiles of the employees and to be welcomed as a customer should be, is quite a special big plus that this hotel has. When you arrive you get a welcome drink and refreshing towels and also you provide informations regarding your stay, that kind of informations that help the employees to make your stay a memorable one. In case of special events you will be surprised with birthday cakes, wedding cakes, on the house.
Hotel has 2 restaurants: one on the beach- reservation required and the other one where meals are served daily basis.
The hotel has own beach with sunbeds provided (free of charge) and also towels (free of charge) which you exchange every day at the beach house. At check in you receive a special card for the beach house -towels, no deposit. You have a pool, also pool for kids near the bar.
Also there is a bar on the beach, is opening everyday at 11. For all inclusive guests, free of charge: beer, water, rum, cocktails, menu provided.
Rooms are big enough, you should be prepared to see lizards, but there is no worries, they stay only on walls. Quite a problem are ants, disinfection made periodically. The rooms are provided with AC and fridge, minibar free of charge.
Food is very good, Chef Vikash is the real asset of this hotel because he is making a lot of efforts to please all kinds of guests.
Lunch boxes available, one day prior needed to be announced.
Also during day a lot of events organized at the beach or at restaurants. No chance to get bored.
Entertaiment every night near the pool.
Infomation about trips that you can make you can obtain from the reception, also you can exchange money there. But I recommend the exchange houses from the village nearby- better rates or pay by card (I payed only by card where necessary or in euro for the trips booked- fair rate). On the beach you can find better prices for trips.
I booked the trips with the same company that I used for airport transfer.
The village nearby is very easy to reach just walking on the beach. Go to the beach and go to the left and after the buildings (hotels) you will reach an area with trees, exit left and you are into the village, where you find some local shops, pharmacy, minimarkets.
There is a little store inside the hotel, a spa, a little gym, kids area and some entertainment area.
More informations here: www.veranda-resorts.com/en/hotel-veranda-palmar-beach/welcome.aspx
Shopping: for details you can use this link https://mauritiusattractions.com/shopping-in-mauritius-i-91.html
Tax Refund: details here http://www.taxfreeshopping.mu/en/vat-refund.aspx
For any further details please don’t hesitate to ask!
Usefull links:
http://www.tourism-mauritius.mu/en/discover-mauritius.html
www.veranda-resorts.com/en/hotel-veranda-palmar-beach/welcome.aspx
https://mauritiusattractions.com/shopping-in-mauritius-i-91.html
http://www.taxfreeshopping.mu/en/vat-refund.aspx
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