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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Anyone been to Mauritius

44 replies

byebye2022 · 02/01/2023 23:26

Have the possible option of going with the 2 teenagers and dh in July.
Anyone been? It looks amazing, and would be a once in a lifetime trip for us.
Hints, tips and thoughts please.

OP posts:
ButterBastardBeans · 02/01/2023 23:30

I've been. Circa 1994. It was amazing. Very hot. I remember lying in a rock pool looking up at the stars in the Southern hemisphere and feeling completely happy. I went for free as a friend of mine had won a competition and it was effectively a package holiday. It's a sub tropical paradise and I will never forget it.

reallyneedtosleep · 02/01/2023 23:35

I've been, fabulous place. Big enough island to do some interesting day trips, gorgeous beaches, friendly people. Definitely recommend you go!

Sunnyshoeshine · 02/01/2023 23:35

Yes! Went on my honeymoon in 2019 for ten days. Had an amazing time. We did half board at the Sugar Beach hotel in the south west. Every other day we arranged a day trip out somewhere and just spent the other days on the beach or in the pool. Really recommend the island as a whole. If you are considering staying on the east, you need to be really careful about the time of year, as it can get very windy.

reallyneedtosleep · 02/01/2023 23:36

Avoid the day trips that include 'shopping', you'll be taken to some crap place that does crap knock offs, it a waste of your day.

NewIdeasToday · 02/01/2023 23:51

Check the weather carefully. That’s winter time in Mauritius and likely to be too cold for a real beach holiday. The sea will also be quite cold.

OllyBJolly · 02/01/2023 23:59

We were in Sugar Beach in 2012 @Sunnyshoeshine . Loved it! And no mosquitoes - I’m usually a magnet but apparently not an issue on the west of the island. It was a 4 star resort then. I see it’s now 5 star.

Lovely chilled out place for a holiday.

nationallounger · 03/01/2023 00:02

When is the best time to go?

Original poster
byebye2022 · 03/01/2023 00:02

NewIdeasToday · 02/01/2023 23:51

Check the weather carefully. That’s winter time in Mauritius and likely to be too cold for a real beach holiday. The sea will also be quite cold.

I really am not good in heat. When I have checked it says about 22-24 and the water is in 20s too.
Thank you though.

OP posts:
Original poster
byebye2022 · 03/01/2023 00:03

nationallounger · 03/01/2023 00:02

When is the best time to go?

All research suggests October is best, but if not good in heat 😆

OP posts:
Relaxd · 03/01/2023 00:49

Yes, we enjoyed it although I think we were expecting beaches/sea life more akin to the Maldives when we went and our first hotel had a pretty small beach so we ended up moving to another part of the island in the south as we would have gone stir crazy in our first one as no where to walk (north part of island, quite remote). We have found all inclusive packages at cheaper Maldivian islands which I think we’d pick over Mauritius but it very much depends on what you are looking for - plus the Maldives may be too hot for you. Easy to drive/hire car for day. Some hotels are more remote than others. Port Louis and the botanical gardens both stick out as enjoyable trips from memory. We did a mix of half board and all inclusive. The latter was better value as was roughly same food/drink anyway.

Sunnyshoeshine · 03/01/2023 08:24

OllyBJolly · 02/01/2023 23:59

We were in Sugar Beach in 2012 @Sunnyshoeshine . Loved it! And no mosquitoes - I’m usually a magnet but apparently not an issue on the west of the island. It was a 4 star resort then. I see it’s now 5 star.

Lovely chilled out place for a holiday.

@OllyBJolly yes, it has been completely renovated. We were some of the firsr gueats to stay after it got its 5 star rating. Absolutely gorgeous now 😍

hotdiggetydog · 03/01/2023 08:35

It's great! Check out the Irish Bar, just off the main square!

Original poster
byebye2022 · 03/01/2023 09:55

Which side of the island is best to stay in? We will have 2 teenagers with us but they aren't into bars or clubbing. We love water sports and seeing new places but aren't experienced travellers.
It will be their first long haul flight.

OP posts:
LocoInLockdown · 03/01/2023 11:55

I go to Mauritius often to visit family. It's a tropical island so always relatively warm.

In July the weather is the coolest time on the island but nothing like our winter. However you should avoid staying on the East Coast as it would be quite windy. West Coast is ideal.
Flic en Flac and Grand Baie are well set up for tourists.

Coffeepot72 · 03/01/2023 18:43

We’re going to Anse le Raie in the north east in March. Hoping it’s nice!

AllIwantforChristmas22 · 03/01/2023 18:49

It’s really too cold then. My friend was miserable as it was warmer in England. Please don’t spend all that money and go out of season. What about Easter holidays, much warmer then.

GreenShadow · 03/01/2023 19:56

We went 5 years ago. A brilliant holiday with so much to do.

If you are going for 2 weeks, I would suggest spending a week on each side of the island. We did a week in Sugar Beach (seems popular amongst MNers😁 ) but overall preferred our week in The Residence in Belle Mare on the east side.

Lovetotravel123 · 03/01/2023 20:07

Yes, it’s a great place. Really varied and lots of trips to do if you hire a car. It’s such an interesting mix of cultures. We went in December and I don’t remember it being too hot (I can’t do heat either).

justasmalltownmum · 03/01/2023 20:13

Beautiful mix of beach/tropical island, excursions, water sports etc and small town/city with port.

It is once in a lifetime.

AnSionnachGlic · 03/01/2023 20:17

We are going on 3rd June for 10 days. We are staying in Outrigger resort in South of Island. We got a great deal as I know its off season but hopefully won't be too wet. Going with dh, and 4 kids 16 - 22 yrs old. It looks like it's on a fabulous beach, great food and lots of activities. Can't wait 😎

FusionChefGeoff · 03/01/2023 21:23

If you're into water sports then look at the Beachcomber hotels - they include a lot of water sports in their AI packages

SomeChickensAreJustTooBig · 03/01/2023 21:27

I’m going in May for the first time, very excited 😊

Original poster
byebye2022 · 03/01/2023 22:12

We can only afford the July, and sadly I'm limited to school holidays and the price jumps to 4x the amount.
Thank you for all the advice. Didn't think about changing hotels, will send weekend sorting

OP posts:
BookwormButNoTime · 04/01/2023 07:51

We went for two weeks in July and had fabulous weather. You definitely need to stay on the West Coast though at that time of year as the East gets very windy. You’ll see the East coast hotels are a lot cheaper - for good reason.

Weather was about 25-26 degrees. Warm enough to hang out in swimsuits in the day but not ridiculously hot. Did need a cardigan in the evenings. Perfect temperatures for us as we don’t like it too hot. We had two days of torrential rain out of 14. Rest of the time it was bright blue skies and the sea definitely lovely and warm.

orangelotus · 04/01/2023 09:22

we went last year in november.
first week on the awes st of the island in a 4 star AI Tamassa. beautiful beach snorkelling , lovely pools but the food was very hit and miss.
second week we went to a 5 star on the east coast which i can't remember the name of it was so windy that you could not sit out at all some days.
I read that the north was dreadful v touristy etc but we drove there one day and if we were ever to go again i'd definitely stay there as there were places to go rather than being limited to the resort.
some very nice day trips if you are getting a car as well.