Mauritus in May
Discussion
We were there second half of April '22.
We had a really good holiday. We had a few rainy days, but also a lot of good weather.
We were able to walk out of the hotel complex and wander round locally. Didn't feel unsafe at all. They speak French, but a lot of people speak English too. We got a local driver to give us a tour of the island, which did happen to be a rainy day, but still very enjoyable and interesting.
I would happily go there again at that time of year.
We had a really good holiday. We had a few rainy days, but also a lot of good weather.
We were able to walk out of the hotel complex and wander round locally. Didn't feel unsafe at all. They speak French, but a lot of people speak English too. We got a local driver to give us a tour of the island, which did happen to be a rainy day, but still very enjoyable and interesting.
I would happily go there again at that time of year.
Went to Mauritius and then Dubai in mid June for honeymoon back in 2012.
Thought Mauritius was a lovely country and well worth seeing. The resort we stayed in (Heritage Awali, South coast) was excellent - rooms were terrific, food was good, staff courteous and polite. Great beaches and nice weather (a little wet a few times but mostly warm and sunny). Lots to do on the island itself. Few highlights for us were the Catamaran tour, going to see waterfalls, and hiring quad bikes and doing a bit of off-roading in them.
However I was under no illusions that when you're in the resort you're only seeing one side of things, when we were getting the taxi to and from the airport there's a lot of poverty to be seen - shacks for houses, tin roofs and all that. Being from Northern Ireland, we were also very conscious of the highly publicised murder of Michaela McAreavey on the island the year before, which made my wife a little nervous about being in the hotel room alone at times - but she did realise this was a very isolated incident and could have happened in any country so tried to ignore it. Hundreds of thousands of other tourists have been there without incident.
Thought Mauritius was a lovely country and well worth seeing. The resort we stayed in (Heritage Awali, South coast) was excellent - rooms were terrific, food was good, staff courteous and polite. Great beaches and nice weather (a little wet a few times but mostly warm and sunny). Lots to do on the island itself. Few highlights for us were the Catamaran tour, going to see waterfalls, and hiring quad bikes and doing a bit of off-roading in them.
However I was under no illusions that when you're in the resort you're only seeing one side of things, when we were getting the taxi to and from the airport there's a lot of poverty to be seen - shacks for houses, tin roofs and all that. Being from Northern Ireland, we were also very conscious of the highly publicised murder of Michaela McAreavey on the island the year before, which made my wife a little nervous about being in the hotel room alone at times - but she did realise this was a very isolated incident and could have happened in any country so tried to ignore it. Hundreds of thousands of other tourists have been there without incident.
Edited by carguy45 on Monday 12th January 15:29
We stayed here - Preskil Beach Resort - but all of the places we visited were nice.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kn7Ub4wMtkbsZqRv7
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kn7Ub4wMtkbsZqRv7
Just got back from Mauritius.
Well it started 15th Dec to Cape Town, then cruise ship on 20th, got off on the 4th in Mauritius. Then 4 days Mauritius in the Seapoint Boutique Hotel in the north. The hotel was awesome, beachfront location and infinity pool.
Not only will we go back, we even looked at the for sale signs as its such a lovely place.
We did a tour of the island using the hotels car & driver. Some lovely places there.
Well it started 15th Dec to Cape Town, then cruise ship on 20th, got off on the 4th in Mauritius. Then 4 days Mauritius in the Seapoint Boutique Hotel in the north. The hotel was awesome, beachfront location and infinity pool.
Not only will we go back, we even looked at the for sale signs as its such a lovely place.
We did a tour of the island using the hotels car & driver. Some lovely places there.
We got married in Mauritius in May some years ago. The weather was lovely as was the resort we stayed in for the 2 weeks. It was actually the first time I’d ever been all-inclusive and I can’t imagine ever being better catered for. We were based in the north of the island but did travel around a bit.
I agree with the comments above about it a place of 2 halves with the poverty side being out of sight if you never leave the resorts. We never fell unsafe at any time and found everyone to be enthusiastically friendly.
I agree with the comments above about it a place of 2 halves with the poverty side being out of sight if you never leave the resorts. We never fell unsafe at any time and found everyone to be enthusiastically friendly.
Can I jump in please, as Mauritius is on our short-list for holidays over the next couple of years?
- Is it like the Maldives where you effectively have to go FB / AI at the hotel, or are there towns where the local restaurants are worth visiting and you can go B&B / HB? (And with reference to comments above, visiting safely with a wife and 2 kids?)
- Is August doable? I've noted that the weather seems different on the two sides of the island in their 'Winter', but not sure whether the right side weather-wise is the family-friendly side?
- Is it like the Maldives where you effectively have to go FB / AI at the hotel, or are there towns where the local restaurants are worth visiting and you can go B&B / HB? (And with reference to comments above, visiting safely with a wife and 2 kids?)
- Is August doable? I've noted that the weather seems different on the two sides of the island in their 'Winter', but not sure whether the right side weather-wise is the family-friendly side?
havoc said:
Can I jump in please, as Mauritius is on our short-list for holidays over the next couple of years?
- Is it like the Maldives where you effectively have to go FB / AI at the hotel, or are there towns where the local restaurants are worth visiting and you can go B&B / HB? (And with reference to comments above, visiting safely with a wife and 2 kids?)
Just returned from Mauritius, staying in self catering accommodation so no FB/AI is not required and there are numerous local restaurants, quality varies from poor to excellent. Not every area is equally well supplied though, so a car or willingness to pay for taxis can be helpful. ATMs can also be thin on the ground and can have large queues at busy times. Credit cards are widely accepted.- Is it like the Maldives where you effectively have to go FB / AI at the hotel, or are there towns where the local restaurants are worth visiting and you can go B&B / HB? (And with reference to comments above, visiting safely with a wife and 2 kids?)
No kids but never felt unsafe even during a drunken stagger along the beach after a New Year’s Eve party.
havoc said:
Can I jump in please, as Mauritius is on our short-list for holidays over the next couple of years?
- Is it like the Maldives where you effectively have to go FB / AI at the hotel, or are there towns where the local restaurants are worth visiting and you can go B&B / HB? (And with reference to comments above, visiting safely with a wife and 2 kids?)
- Is August doable? I've noted that the weather seems different on the two sides of the island in their 'Winter', but not sure whether the right side weather-wise is the family-friendly side?
If you want to eat out, family friendly etc choose a hotel around the Grand Baie area in the NW of the Island, pretty safe and a few restuarants. We've only ever done Jan / Feb / March but then binned it off for the Maldives, not worth it for the flight duration we found. It's an Island of extremes to be honest, Grand Baie is deffo more civilised, some parts are positively third world, massive stray dog issue. - Is it like the Maldives where you effectively have to go FB / AI at the hotel, or are there towns where the local restaurants are worth visiting and you can go B&B / HB? (And with reference to comments above, visiting safely with a wife and 2 kids?)
- Is August doable? I've noted that the weather seems different on the two sides of the island in their 'Winter', but not sure whether the right side weather-wise is the family-friendly side?
I can't speak for August I'm afraid.
renmure said:
We got married in Mauritius in May some years ago. The weather was lovely as was the resort we stayed in for the 2 weeks. It was actually the first time I d ever been all-inclusive and I can t imagine ever being better catered for. We were based in the north of the island but did travel around a bit.
I agree with the comments above about it a place of 2 halves with the poverty side being out of sight if you never leave the resorts. We never fell unsafe at any time and found everyone to be enthusiastically friendly.
I sometimes wonder what it’s like now: we got married there in over 30 years ago!I agree with the comments above about it a place of 2 halves with the poverty side being out of sight if you never leave the resorts. We never fell unsafe at any time and found everyone to be enthusiastically friendly.
Hotel Ambre, which I see is still there: took 8 with us, & 2 Aussie relatives rocked up uninvited
A fabulous time: we hired a driver most days for trips out to various places.
They had some coloured sand area, & the fella even knew about the IOW coloured sands at Alum Bay
Grand Baie was cool - some of us did a funky undersea walk off a boat there, & we stayed at Le Cannonier for a couple of nights after our honeymoon to Reunion and Rodrigues.
Lovely people. I doubt that has changed too much.
Some poverty, esp in parts of Port Louis, but we all had a blast.
Helluva time for us.
Can’t vouch for May - we were there November.
I’m sure it would be amazing.
mikeiow said:
I sometimes wonder what it s like now: we got married there in over 30 years ago!
Hotel Ambre, which I see is still there: took 8 with us, & 2 Aussie relatives rocked up uninvited
A fabulous time: we hired a driver most days for trips out to various places.
They had some coloured sand area, & the fella even knew about the IOW coloured sands at Alum Bay
Grand Baie was cool - some of us did a funky undersea walk off a boat there, & we stayed at Le Cannonier for a couple of nights after our honeymoon to Reunion and Rodrigues.
Lovely people. I doubt that has changed too much.
Some poverty, esp in parts of Port Louis, but we all had a blast.
Helluva time for us.
Can t vouch for May - we were there November.
I m sure it would be amazing.
I've got 10 days booked at Ambre in June!Hotel Ambre, which I see is still there: took 8 with us, & 2 Aussie relatives rocked up uninvited
A fabulous time: we hired a driver most days for trips out to various places.
They had some coloured sand area, & the fella even knew about the IOW coloured sands at Alum Bay
Grand Baie was cool - some of us did a funky undersea walk off a boat there, & we stayed at Le Cannonier for a couple of nights after our honeymoon to Reunion and Rodrigues.
Lovely people. I doubt that has changed too much.
Some poverty, esp in parts of Port Louis, but we all had a blast.
Helluva time for us.
Can t vouch for May - we were there November.
I m sure it would be amazing.
I've been once before in 1999 and Stayed at the Belle Mare Plage back then.
Sheetmaself said:
We re going in May as well!
We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
Mate did it last year, no real issues. You'll be fine just watch out for speed checks..and stray dogs, especially down south. One walked in front of our coach on one of our visits, driver didn't even brake, straight over it, bumpety bump, carried on as normal. The women sat at the front of the coach went nuts and wanted to lynch him, tears, hysterics the lot. Got to the airport and seriously thought someone was going to deck the poor bloke. We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
It's one reason the missus isn't really that keen to go back.
Sheetmaself said:
We re going in May as well!
We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
Hired a a car when we were there.We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
Stayed at Sugar Beach and then a few nights at Le Touessrok.
Also drove to Grande Bais and did some deep sea fishing off the north coast.
Some great memories made.
A wonderful place and will head back again some time.
nikaiyo2 said:
Cool sounds like ti will be worth a risk.
are any parts of the island "better" than others?
North seems dryer. We arrived in the airport in the south and it was chucking it down. As soon as we crossed the North South line it was dry and sunny. Same when we went back to the airport 2 weeks later! Cab drive said its always like that! Friends also stayed in teh South and had a wet holiday.are any parts of the island "better" than others?
You DO get quiet isolated in resort depending where you are. We were in Zilwa Attitude and we could do a short walk to a restaurant up the road but that was it.
DT1975 said:
Sheetmaself said:
We re going in May as well!
We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
Mate did it last year, no real issues. You'll be fine just watch out for speed checks..and stray dogs, especially down south. One walked in front of our coach on one of our visits, driver didn't even brake, straight over it, bumpety bump, carried on as normal. The women sat at the front of the coach went nuts and wanted to lynch him, tears, hysterics the lot. Got to the airport and seriously thought someone was going to deck the poor bloke. We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
It's one reason the missus isn't really that keen to go back.
Sheetmaself said:
We re going in May as well!
We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
I hired a car for a few days last time I was there (as I mentioned up the thread) and remember the driving to be easy.We are thinking of hiring a car for the week as less than £200. Is this a stupid idea?
I'm now wondering if I should just hire a car again for the entire stay (as opposed to paying £80 for airport transfers) and have the flexibility of a the car again for the whole time I'm away for an extra £120.
I'll check it out, thanks!
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff