Global Gary

For the first time ever, we had an early family Christmas. We spent Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve away. We chose Mauritius, a jewel of an island southeast of Madagascar. One of our boys who honeymooned there recommended it to us. The weather was sublime, around 29 degrees Celsius. The skies are sea were gloriously blue. There was lots to see and do both inland and on the sea.

Magnificent 7 // Mauritius

1. Relax under palm trees and swim in the warm seas
2. Take a five-island speedboat tour
3. Visit the Botanic Gardens
4. Indulge in a taste of L’Aventure du Sucre
5. Explore Port Louis and the Odysseo Oceanarium
6. Escape the resort and take a local bus
7. Linger by the sacred Hindu Lake, Grand Bassin

Getting there –

We flew Emirates from Heathrow via Dubai. To Dubai, we were in premium economy. We were very impressed with the size of the seats. There was ample space around the seats to store what we needed. From Dubai, it was economy class, and we booked a twin seat on the upper deck. This was more cramped than the first leg though it was much better than flying EasyJet! Once we had landed in Mauritius, it was a breeze. Our bags came through quickly and there was a short queue at customs and the health check desk. Virgin quoted us €70 to get to our hotel. However, Sue managed to book a taxi online with Welcome Pickups for €39. Our driver was waiting for us outside the Terminal exit, and it was a pleasant 60-minute drive to the Tropical Attitude resort on the eastern side of the island

Where we stayed –

Tropical Attitude is an adult-only 3-star boutique hotel on the East Coast with a strong eco theme. No single-use plastic bottles, even the bin liners in our room were made of cloth. The hotel is situated on the lagoon in Trou d’Eau Douce, a fisherman’s village. It offers free shuttle access to Île aux Cerfs. 

We had one of the many seafront rooms with a fabulous view. This hotel is not Sandals, but to be fair, doesn’t pretend to be. Our room was spacious and uncluttered. Great shower with plentiful hot water. What is a massive bonus is the friendliness of the staff. Nothing was a problem, and everyone seemed to be relaxed. Fabulous. 

Food was buffet style and was varied and plentiful.  We had no difficulty finding things we liked. There was an on-site restaurant that needed to be booked. On arrival we tried to book this, alas it was booked out for the first week of our holiday. If we had known before leaving the UK we would have booked in advance. When we finally had a meal there it was an anti-climax as it was average at best. There are other special meals you can book.  The one we enjoyed the most was the seafood BBQ which included lobster and was at an extra cost.

First impressions –

We landed at 5 pm and waited to disembark for 20 minutes or so. We were on our way by 6:30 pm. Once in the car, we were driven through fields of ripening sugarcane and swaying palm trees. The island seemed very green and lush. It was easy to spot the Dutch, French and English influences. We also saw many different places of worship from churches to mosques to temples. The roads were good and traffic was light. A great first impression.

Magnificent 7

1. Relax under palm trees and swim in the warm seas

Mauritius has beautiful beaches.  Some resorts have their own private beaches.  Ours did not. Apparently it had its own beach in the past but this was washed away in a storm.  We walked along the coast to swimming areas in front of other resorts and nobody seemed to mind.

Alternatively, you can escape to Île aux Cerfs for a beach day

Île aux Cerfs is a privately owned island near the east coast. It lies off Trou d’Eau Douce in the largest lagoon of Mauritius. It is easy to get to; our hotel offered daily speedboat rides to the Island which took about 20 minutes. You can also get to the island from a public jetty at Trou d’Eau Douce. This is a large island and has lush vegetation and beautiful, white, sandy beaches.

You can easily spend a day on the island. There are restaurants and a wide array of water sports. Activities include parasailing, speed boat rides, water skiing, wakeboarding, and banana rides. There is also a Bernhard Langer-designed golf course. We found a shady spot under the trees and had a fabulous day. Be wary of the sea urchins and stone fish; it is advisable to wear beach shoes you can swim in.

2. Take a five-island speedboat tour

The islands on this tour were almost incidental. This tour, run by Sirena Cruises, was by a fast speedboat. It included feeding monkeys who come to the water’s edge. We also visited a waterfall and spotted dolphins. The tour offered snorkeling and a communal BBQ. The snorkeling was very good. There were lots of fish to view. Still, take your own equipment because the supplied gear was not particularly new. The BBQ was also very good. Our skipper, Danilo, was very liberal with the local rum and ensured we all had a good time. This was an excellent tour that we booked with a representative we met on the beach.

3. Visit the Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens are huge. They include many types of palm trees and plant species from around the world. The gardens also feature plants native to the island. An undoubted highlight is the pond containing the giant water lilies. It is worth your while spending a modest Rs.75 (about £1.30) per person to hire a guide to explain the origins of the various species and the history of the gardens. Some giant tortoises were making a great impression of being asleep and ignoring the people walking past their enclosure! The Garden also houses a chateau and a funerary monument to the first Prime Minister of Mauritius.

4. Indulge in a taste of L’Aventure du Sucre

The museum is situated close to the Botanic Gardens. You can spend all day there. This old sugar factory museum provides a wealth of information. You can download an app with everything you want – and some things you do not want – to know! Take AirPods if you have them as it can be off-putting to hear the commentary from other visitors’ mobiles. Everything is in French and English and there are great graphics for children. At the end, your ticket entitles you to a sampling of various types of sugar. This was a first for us. You can also sample Mauritian rums.

5. Explore Port Louis and the Odysseo Oceanarium

Port Louis is the capital city of Mauritius built around an impressive harbour. Port Louis is the financial centre of Mauritius and has a busy, cosmopolitan feel. Upmarket shops, galleries, craft centres and a street market make this an interesting city. From there you can walk to the Oceanarium. It is a short drive to the Botanic Gardens and L’Aventure du Sucre.

The Odysseo Oceanarium sets out to be a place of “discovery, education and awareness” and in the main achieves this. The Oceanarium has a strong conservation theme. For example, you cannot take plastic water bottles into the building.  There are many tanks showing fish from various habitats inside the building as well as some outside tanks. Nicely presented and very child-friendly.

6. Escape the resort and take a local bus

On any resort it is easy to enjoy what is on offer and simply stay put. We really enjoyed a morning when we caught a local bus to Flacq, our nearest town. There, we shopped for gifts to take back home. The buses run on “Mauritian time.” We were lucky. We only had to wait 15 minutes for the bus to Flacq. The return bus arrived after just 5 minutes. Buses stop when they see people who want to get on the bus. This may or may not be at a bus stop. The roads are narrow, the buses are well-used, and the cost is minimal. Flacq has a bustling market as well as a large Super U mall.

7. Linger by the sacred Hindu Lake, Grand Bassin

This large lake is sacred to the Hindu population. It is also the location of the Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Nearly half Mauritius’s population pilgrimage to this lake annually, mainly on foot. Once there, pilgrims can make offerings to the Hindu shrines there, including a 33-metre-high statue of Lord Shiva. This is a major tourist site and at the edge of the lake are many statues dedicated to Hindu gods. It is spectacular. Visitors are welcome to enter the temple; just leave your shoes outside

Of Note

You will need local currency for buses, tips and street markets. We exchanged money at the airport and at an ATM in Port Louis. Most shops take cards, though there may be a surcharge.

Many tour operators offer separate tours of both the northern and southern parts of the island.  The northern tour was particularly good. It included a visit to the capital Port Louis, and the Oceanarium. The tour also included the Botanic Gardens, L’Aventure du Sucre and the Citadel overlooking the capital.

You will spend all day on a tour. So, it’s important to get a driver fluent in a language you understand. Not all drivers are multi-lingual.  We liked our driver on the first tour so much that we requested (and got) him again for our second. We booked these tours through our Virgin Holidays rep.

Our holiday was booked through Virgin Holidays. Travel time was quite long, having to stop (and wait to change ‘planes) at Dubai airport. Several other guests booked direct flights from Gatwick to Port Louis with Air Mauritius.

There are eight Attitude hotels in the chain. The Attitude chain is very open to guests visiting other sites, just ask reception to let the other resort know. We visited the Friday Attitude resort for a day (a short walk along the beach). This was a family hotel with a lovely beach. Tropical Attitude where we stayed was Adults only.

Tropical Attitude offers two 30-minute opportunities to look at the local fish. The first is a glass-bottomed boat that travels about halfway to Île aux cerfs. On this trip we saw many different fish as well as a sea snake and colourful coral. We also took a 30-minute snorkelling trip to a similar area as the glass-bottomed boat. This was not as successful. It was very shallow. You must make sure that there is enough clearance above the coral where you are snorkelling.

Fun Fact

The main island was the only known home of the dodo, which, along with several other avian species, became extinct soon after human settlement