*Mauritius - For The Economy Traveler
*Hello all who are planning a trip to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We(My husband and me) visited Mauritius in the first week of July 2006. It was a very special trip as we had just got married and this was our first vacation together and Mauritius is an ideal place to discover one another.
July is Winter season in Mauritius and the weather is just excellent with the temperature between 15-20 Degrees Centigrade and the humidity at the minimum making the stay very comfortable. Light woolen during the evenings is advisable.
We had planned a 6D/5N Trip. We had booked the Le Cocotiers Hotel after searching the Internet for an economical and good place with the help of a local travel Agent.
We took the Air Mauritius Flight from Chennai and while flying back we had landed in Mumbai. The Flights were good but they got delayed by 5 hours while flying to Mauritius. I felt bad because firstly the flight was to take off at 1:00 am and the airlines had made no attempt to inform the passengers of the delay.
But all the complains and woes were forgotten once we landed on the Mauritius Airport. The view of the Island is just breathtaking when you are landing and makes you forget all the problems in your life.
For the stay we had booked the Le Cocotiers Hotel. They have a tie up with a travel agency and the hotel booking includes 3 day trips, breakfast and any one meal.
On reaching the hotel we were offered some welcome drinks and then guided to our rooms. We got a room by the poolside. Le Cocotiers is a very cosy Hotel and makes you feel at home. They have a small private beach where you can just lie down ans enjoy the beautiful sunset. The food at the restaurant is not very suitable for veggies like us but the breakfast with the fruits and juices make up for that I guess. Another great thing about staying here is that you can go to the La Plantation Hotel(its sister concern*a 4 Star Hotel) and enjoy yourself by indulging in all the luxuries and water sports offered by them. Its worth spending a day Kayaking in the calm sea or trying Water skiing or maybe a glass bottom boat ride or Snorkeling.
Now for the Day Trips. The best of all the day trips is the one to the island of Ile-Aux-Cerfs. We did Undersea walk, paragliding and a Banana Boat Ride.
All the rates are open for negotiation even though they might not seem to be. You can bargain upto 20-30% easily on all the deals for the water activities.
The Shopping trip I found was worthless except for the workshops were they make small models of ships. The Handcrafted Ships are an apt souvenir to take back from Mauritius.
The Port Louis and the Casino at the Claudon Waterfront is a must visit during the Night. Though Mauritius doesn’t have much nightlife this part of the country is brightly lit up and a nice spectacle.
The other trip is where they take you to a dormant volcano which we didn’t find to be so thrilling and neither did I find the Waterfall so exciting. Mont Choisy however was one of the best sights and you can do some more water activities here. Pamplemoses Garden is also Average and the flowers I liked most here were the Lotus in different colors.
Though this is all I can write about based on my personal experience there is much more to explore in the other parts of Mauritius which can be done by hiring a vehicle and setting out on your own.
Booking a Taxi from the Hotel can be expensive. Taxis are readily available on the roads and you can bargain for the rates here too. For buying Mineral Water and Packed food etc you should look for a supermarket because the small shops would charge you exorbitantly.
Also for all the camera and stuff if you need to charge anything you cannot use the plugs which work in India(round pins) so you would need a pin converter(square pins) to charge your batteries etc.
Mauritius is a very good Package Deal for a vacation because of the clean and nice roads, organized tourism industry, Facilities for Water Sports, and very friendly people.
I couldn’t find good vegetarian food. Non of the Items that you buy like Mineral Water, or a packet of Biscuit or cake has a price printed on it. As a result I felt cheated a number of times.