Mauritius – Top 10 Things You Must See and Do In Mauritius

I would recommend to stay at least 10 days to give you time to explore the many highlights of the magnificent island of Mauritius. I wish I stayed for over 2 weeks as there is so much to see and do on the island as well as flop and drop on the beautiful beaches.

  Top 10 Things you must see and do in Mauritius 1. Stay at a Luxury All Inclusive hotel Most luxury resorts in Mauritius offer some sort of meal plan, half board or all inclusive stay. For the ease of the holiday and to have everything all taken care of before you leave is definitely the way to go. Especially as the cost of food, drinks and activities can add up during a 5 star holiday. World renowned Club Med Resorts, offers a truly all inclusive package. Club Med have two resorts to choose from and both offering a different level of comfort. Club Med La Plantation D' Albion is located on the west coast of the island, a large resort on 22 hectares. beach only 15 minutes drive from the famous Flic n Flac beaches and 10 minutes from the Casela Wildlife Park. The resort is a premium 5 star resort offering the best of everything and the ease and hassle free all inclusive package. As there are so many beautiful resorts to choose from I would recommend to stay at two different resorts and so you get two different holiday experiences. We loved our stay at Club Med La Plantation D’Albion as the resort offered the ease of the all inclusive package and the resort was beautiful and most of all the staff were very friendly and it offered a wide array of land and water sports activities at no extra cost. We were even taken snorkelling out to the reef on a motorised boat and we learnt to sail and capsized the hobby cat haha and the highlight was the flying trapeze lessons, circus school and then chilling out in the afternoons at the Adults only Zen pool - horizon pool to sip cocktails and champagne while watching the sun go down. You can't go past the open bar service... I didn't know which cocktail to try first so I tried them all. Discover the all inclusive packages available at Club Med Resorts - www.clubmed.com.au/cm/resort-la-plantation-d-albion-club-med-mauritius_p-14-l-AE-pe-16H-v-ALBC-ac-vh.html

For a more boutique resort stay I would highly recommend to stay at the Dinarobin Resort & Spa, beachcombers 5 star lovers Paradise is located on the beach front at Le Morne beach. The beach here is spectacular, white sand and and crystal clear waters with the view of the Le Morne Mountain peninsula as the scenic back drop. Dinarobin Resort & Spa offers a luxury experience that is hard to beat and to add to icing to the cake the resort offers waterskiing included in the free water sports activities along with stand up paddle boarding and access to their sister resort Paradis. If you are a little more adventurous Le Morne beach is known for the island’s best area and conditions for kite surfing. One of my highlights was dining at the Le Morne Plage restaurant situated right on the beach. They served amazing food and offered exceptional service all while you are with your feet in the sand and the view of the crystal clear water. It was the most idyllic setting you can ever dream of. Loved it! Check out the amazing rates at  (www.beachcomber-hotels.com/hotel/dinarobin-hotel-golf-spa)

 

2. Hire a car & Explore the island To really appreciate the beauty of the island I would recommend to hire your own car to explore at your own pace and it allows you to stop whenever you want and get lost as much as you want as well.haha. We discovered the best little restaurants, tourist sites and exclusive parts of a few of the idyllic beaches. I hired our car from Maki Car Rental. They delivered and picked up our car from our resort which made it very easy and saved us time trying to find the car rental depot. It was well priced approx $30AUD a day. Note don't park under trees unless you wanted your hire car covered in bird poop and can't see out of the windows and traffic gets a little crazy in the afternoons through the townships. Check out the car hire rates www.maki-car-rental.com

 

Grab your floppy hat, swimmers, sunscreen and hit the many beautiful beaches of Mauritius. My favourite beach was down on the peninsula in the southwestern corner of Mauritius is Le Morne. Stunning lagoon known also for the best part of the island to windsurf, kitesurfing and surfing. A close second is Belle Mare Plage located on the east coast its a nice long stretch of beach. Lying between Grand Bay and Cap Malheureux in the north is the hidden treasure of Pereybere beach. The water here is crystal clear and great for snorkelling and calmer for children. Flic en Flac beach is very  impressive. Located on the west coast black river region Flic En Flac's public beach is beautiful for a full day at the beach as it is close to beachfront bars and restaurants. The water colours were several shades of blue and offered an incredible sunset swim. Grand Bay also offer the best stretch of beach perfect for waterskiing and sailing.

This is A MUST DO while in Mauritius. It is truly the most amazing experience and I still can't believe I got to walk with Lions! This is a unique opportunity to walk with lions in their natural environment and this means you get to walk by the side of the lions and give then a strong pat while walking through the nature park. I never thought I would be able to touch a lion let alone get a photo right next to one and be so close to these beautiful creatures. It is the most unbelievable and exhilarating encounter and a definite highlight of my trip to Mauritius. I have to say a big thank you to the team at Safari Adventures you were brilliant and extremely friendly and professional. You can find the Safari Adventures within the Casela Nature Park located on the west coast 10 minutes from Flic en Flac and open 7 days a week. I loved it and can't wait to do it again. I really enjoyed this experience so much that I will write a separate blog about "walking with the lions".

5. Swim with wild dolphins in Mauritius The wild & energetic bottlenose and spinner dolphins that have chose Tamarin Bay on the West coast as their natural habitat. I organised a private boat from Flic en Flac for a half day tour out to Tamarin Bay to swim and snorkel with the dolphins. It had been raining all night so we were told they dolphin may not be there or willing to play as they are wild animals so they are very unpredictable. In the morning the sun was shining and the skies were blue. We were very lucky with the weather and the dolphins were out and playing in the bay. I was so excited to tick another experience off my bucket list. We immersed ourselves in a great adventure of a lifetime and swam and snorkelled with these majestic mammals. This was done with the largest respect of these beautiful marine creatures and it was surreal to be swimming so close to one of my favourites of the sea.

6. Explore Chamarel Seven Coloured Earth & visit the land tortoises While you are out and about exploring the island in your car, I would recommend to visit the natural phenomenon of seven coloured earth. Located close to the village of Chamarel in south-western Mauritius is the unique attraction of different coloured volcanic rock gullies. Its quite fascinating to see and worth the drive up the mountain. While you are there you can get a photo with the Giant Tortoises. They are worth seeing especially in mating season. 7. Explore outer islands of Mauritius- You need to reserve a few days to explore each of the stunning islets. This is not to be missed and easily arranged by your hotel or tour centres. I would recommend a full day tour to each island and they are easily accessible from all areas of the island. First off the list is Ile aux Cerfs (Deer Island), this is a small paradise island located near the east coast of Mauritius in the Flacq District. Take a catamaran cruise to the incredible lagoon with picture postcard beaches. We hired a private boat with a guide who showed us around the island then showed my partner one of the best kite surfing spots in Mauritius at the tip of the island near the five star resort The Tousessrok Hotel. It was truly a beautiful setting and a perfect day to have a picnic and enjoy the water sports on offer. The Benitiers Island is found off the west coast and is easily accessible from Tamarin Bay, Case Noyale or Le Morne by boat. Its a great half day tour to snorkel the crystal clear waters and visit the large jagged volcanic rock sitting in the middle of the lagoon. Ile aux Benitiers Island, is close to Tamarin bay and you may even spot dolphins on the boat trip. 8. Water sports- Thrill Seekers - kite surfers paradise, divers, surfers Mauritius is a playground for  watersport lovers. The island is surrounded with reef that forms perfect lagoons and waves for kite surfers during winter (May-November) Best spots for kitesurfing are Le Morne Lagoon out the front of the St Regis Mauritius and Luxe resorts in Le Morne. An area with more space and less kite surfers is Bel Ombre and Belle Mare. For Divers there are many dive sites such as cliffs, caverns, reefs, pinnacles and wrecks. Troy-aux-Biches and Blue Bay to name a few and over 22 wrecks in waters surrounding Mauritius. For the surfers Tamarin Bay and Le Morne are the ultimate surf spots to check out. 9. Dine at one of the best beach front restaurants What a find! The Bay Beachfront restaurant and hotel located in Tamarin Bay comes pretty darn close to boutique chic while still keeping prices relatively low. Don't miss the seaside restaurant and pool out the back. The service was fantastic, with amazing fresh seafood and amazing seaside scenery and the best French rose. It was the best way to end our touristy day in Mauritius with a gorgeous sunset at the Bay with an icy cold glass of rose in hand. The great thing is if you have had too many cocktails to drive home you can stay at the The Bay Hotel in Tamarin - beautiful boutique hotel. Check it out! 10. Visit the Sugar cane farm and Rum Distillery Enjoy a visit , tour and Rum tasting at the Rhumerie de Chamarel. Situated in the South West part of Mauritius, their unique fermentation techniques ensure the finest aromas and enhance their local Rum which is produced at the distillery. One of the highlights of the distillery’s guided tour is definitely the Rum tasting. At the end of the tour, unique rum tastings is offered where one can try the selection of the agricultural Rums produced by the distillery.