Mauritius - things to do with children

[flatmum]

Hi There

We are going to Mauritius in Oct with our 3 kids 9,6 and 3. We plane to hire a car and explore a bit. We are staying at the Lux Belle Mare on the East Coast.

Any recommendations for beaches to visit, trips, places to eat etc?

Thanks

We went there a number of years ago now (before it was LUX) and it was fantastic. An incredible beach and resort which is meant to be even better now (don't know how it could really get any better!!). It is truly paradise.

We did a dolphin trip which was fantastic, great fun to be on a boat for a day and see them up close. The common places like the capital and gand bay were good, nothing spectacular but nice restaurant and ice creams. Don't recommend doing it with such young children but we did an indian market one day which was really fascinating (although slightly scary as it was jam packed). Just driving around and seeing the local cultures and the actual island is really interesting and will be a good experience for your children. Some of the island is very poor and other areas more affluent now but there is a huge contrast between the luxury hotels and reality of life there.

Enjoy- I'm jealous!!

Ooo thanks DD, that's great to hear. Sorry just seen your reply. It does look amazing but almost seemed too good to be true so great to hear you enjoyed it.

The educational/life experience aspect you mention sounds great for my 9 year old - they are lucky a children and I want to start gently highlighting that, so they don't grow up entitled brats I have been to the Indian Ocean before pre-children and thought it was the most beautiful, special place. I never thought I would be able to go back with the dc so am very glad but nervous as is such a big trip and I have such high expectations.

La Vanille Crocodile Park on the s coast is good as an'attraction' sort of place, of which there are not many in Mauritius.

A day trip to Grand Bassin in the centre of the island - it is a fantastic temple- or many temples in a beautiful mountain setting, and a huge, unimaginably huge, statue. The temples are very welcoming to tourists, just be prepared to take your shoes off. Brilliant view of the volcanic mountain interior from the Hanuman temple up the little mountain peak in the centre.

En route or afterward the other sites in this area are the Black River Gorge viewpoint and the Chamerel area - Chamerel falls -v spectacular. The whole Black River Gorge area, and especially the drive down from the top to Black River on the W coast.

Get a ferry from Trou d'eau Douce to Ile aux serfs

Mahebourg and Vieux port is interesting, good historical information about the battles.

The east coast and the south are the most beautiful parts, IMO.

Do try the fantastic and extremely cheap street food from vans and stalls - little samosas, (mild), gateau piment, , bel phoori, farata, (like a roti, with a filling). Food all v safe to eat I Mauriuts. And the ready peeled tiny pineapples to eat whole.

Personally I wouldn't be trekking a 3 yo to port Louis or Grande Baie from the E coast. Traffic, over development etc.

The S Coast road is lovely, from Souillac to Les Mornes.

Thanks Blu - we were thinking we might hang around south and east as looks like plenty to explore. The central temples sound great too. Really looking forward to it - October seems a long time! Are you from Mauritius Blu?

DP is!

The driving takes longer than you think, the roads are windy and not fast, generally.

Casela on the W coast is a bird park, and v v tame, quite a lovely place to wander round, some animals, ponds, fish, birds, but it offers ziplining over massive canyons. We had huge fruit bats circling beneath us. There are two packages, one involving Zip lines and a terrifying rope bridge, and one just with Zip lines. Both good, in fact it is worth doing the bridge as it gives more time to enjoy the scenery. But the two younger kids would be too young. I can't remember the age restriction, I think ds was 10 but they let spectators go on the bus to watch from the canyons edge.

Took our five year olds last year had a brilliant time. Plenty to see and do plus pool and beach time. We stayed in the north but went round a lot of the island.

I second La Vanille Park, not so much for the crocodiles as the giant tortoises which were wonderful. There are hordes of them and they are not penned in, they are free to wander around though they seem to like it in their lettuce strewn paddock. Visitors are encouraged to touch them. They mate a lot, nothing much else to do I suppose, and the males make the most raucous bellowing while at it. Females roll their eyes and wonder what to have for supper.
We are returning in May to a hotel which has its own giant tortoises! Great excitement.

There were lots giant tortoises at our hotel and the kids could feed them.

Which hotel was that, Givemeaclue? I wonder if it is one we are going to, the Maritim Balaclava?

Yes! Loved it there

sounds great - kids will love the tortoises.

I am so glad you liked it, we are looking forward to it. I did not realise they had lots of tortoises, I just assumed it would be one or two. The horse riding there looks interesting, do you know anything about that?

I think there were about 6 big tortoise plus goats etc , get Apple's from reception to feed them. Yes the horse stables is a full on professional stables quite impressive next to the tortoises. You can book riding, guided rides etc. Kids can ride on some little ponies they have. Kids club take them for little rides on the ponies too. People were doing lovely sunset rides on beach

I am getting ever more excited! Just as well as the balance is due next week.

You will have a brilliant time

We've taken our DC to Mauritius several times. Apart from the very long flight it ticks every box; lovely people, gorgeous beaches,brilliant food, great snorkelling & plenty to see if you can drag everyone away from beach & pool. Have a wonderful time.

We go to Mauritius every year. Consider a trip to Pereybere beach, in the North west. Beautiful safe beach, enclosed by a lagoon, so no huge waves or dangerous currents. Showers and toilets are 1 min walk from the beach, as are snack bars and a supermarket. Avoid weekends as it is extremely busy with Mauritialn people enjoying family time, people pitch up at 7 am on a Sunday morning to secure a place. Come Monday and you virtually have the beach to yourself! The sugar cane (l'aventure Sucre) in the middle of the island is very interesting with interactive displays for the kids, and a beautiful restaurant with Michelin quality food.

Ps, once you get to know the island and see how lovely the locals are, and feel confident, consider booking your accomodation and flights yourself. There are quite a few British sites offering Mauritian self catering places for £200 a week for a villa with a pool. You can then eat at local restaurants, boosting the economy, self cater for your own breakfast/snacks saving you money. Your money will go back into the country instead of being paid to investors in the hotel chains.

lazyMizz can you recommend any particular websites?

here's one site

another site
With both of them you can check proximity with google maps.
Pereybere is considered one of the best beaches on the island. There is a good sized supermarket near the beach, or a huge hypermarket a £4 taxi ride away (or 20p on the bus!)

Sorry, LayMizz wrote that! Named changed for a day!

Back with my old name again. Taxi transfers should cost about £30 or so from the airport to the far end of the island!

Great thanks.
We've done the fancy hotels but I think it's time for a change.