Mauritius for couples on a budget
The general perception about a vacation on the tropical island of Mauritius is that it will probably prove to be an expensive trip. For that reason most people seem to opt for a fully-inclusive package holiday at one of the many resorts which cram the coastline of the island. If you’re travelling on a limited budget, chances are that you’ll find that the most affordable resort options won’t be in the best spots, and generally they’ll end up being smaller resorts with tiny beaches jammed between other similar offerings. Of course, you’ll base your decision on price and often deceiving brochure or website marketing photo’s, only to discover the reality once you arrive at the resort after paying up front for accommodation and all or most of your meals. My advice is – don’t do it!!
I have travelled to Mauritius twice thus far, and on both occasions I chose what is in my opinion the more preferable route – independent travel staying in a variety of accommodation dotted around the island. As an avid Couchsurfer (www.couchsurfing.com) I also made a point of staying with at least two local hosts during my time on the island, usually for 2 days at a time. If your first two days on the island are with a local family, you’ll immerse yourself immediately in the local culture at grassroots level, and also benefit from travel tips from a local perspective.
My girlfriend Akhona travelled with me on the most recent trip in June 2015, so this article provides a great blueprint for a couples trip to Mauritius filled with adventure and romance – but on a reasonable budget 🙂
We flew from Johannesburg to Mauritius with British Airways, because I had BA Executive Club miles to redeem against our air tickets. The full cost per person was R 5 300 return, plus another R 1 400/person for the return flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. So budget R 7 000 – R 7 500/person for flights. We decided on a 14 day trip to give us enough time to explore Mauritius thoroughly, although 10 days would be sufficient for most travellers. I think 7 days is too short a time to really get that full ‘island feeling’ and is a bit too rushed for a real holiday.
We departed from Johannesburg at 09h00 on Sat 6 June, and landed in Mauritius at 15h10, after which we took a taxi to my Couchsurfing friend Sebastien Legeant’s house in Vacoas, which is a popular neighbourhood for working Mauritian’s. Sebastian hooked us up with a local car rental company, where we rented a Hyundai i20 for US$ 25/day including insurance. We specifically wanted an i20 as opposed to the i10 which Avis and other big rental companies rent out for around US$30/day because it has a boot big enough to carry two medium sized bags out of site of prying eyes, and it has a USB slot for music…As we were going to sometimes travel from place to place with our luggage we needed to have our bags out of site when we explored beaches and sites along the way…Hiring a car is vital if you want to get around and explore the entire island without wasting time using slow public transport or squandering money on expensive taxi’s.
We stayed with Sebastien for the first two days, enjoying a delicious home-cooked local feast prepared by his mother (who lives next door to him) for supper on our second night. We were joined by another friend I’d made on my first trip to Mauritius, Fabrizia Pesole and her family. She helped us find an apartment in the beach town of Flic ‘n Flac for $ 40/night with a view of the sea where we stayed for two nights, allowing us to explore the west coast of the island and spend time at the beach.
Eating out in Mauritius can be expensive if you frequent typical tourist restaurants – so a hot tip is to eat lunch from the many food trucks you’ll find at the beaches. They serve a variety of food, the most popular being baguettes filled with chicken or lamb, or my favourite – boulette, a soup with dumplings. Meals cost less than US$5per person and are very tasty.
Of course, you’ll also want to spoil yourselves with a meal in a restaurant every now and then, as we did. Choose wisely, and try and find a local Creole restaurant serving local specialities like these for around US$ 10 per dish.
About midway through our trip we decided to splash out and spend a few hours at the luxury One & Only St Geran in the north of the island. In order to do this without actually staying at the resort at a cost of US$ 400/night, you can make a reservation for lunch on the pool terrace. Be sure to call ahead, so that your name is on the list at the gate when you arrive. Then you are treated like royalty, met by a guest relations staff member, and invited to enjoy the beach facilities prior to enjoying your lunch – so arrive early 🙂 Meals like pasta or burgers are pricey at around US$20/person, but it’s worth the expense to gain access to the beautiful beach, loungers and complimentary beach towels. We spent around three hours at the resort and got to rub shoulders with the rich and famous…
Flic ‘n Flac is a great place to get a taste of island life, and also access some cool tourist spots like Chamarel Seven Colours of Earth, which is a unique natural wonder of the island and very popular with fellow travellers…It also features an great photo opportunity overlooking a cool waterfall…
But if it’s waterfalls you’re after, then travel to the south of the island to the more hard-to-find Rochester Falls…Getting there involves following hand-written signs and arrows through a few small towns, followed by a bumpy ride through a sugar plantation and ending in a hair-raising potholed road down to a dodgy car park next to the waterfall. Be sure to visit during the week – going on a weekend when the area is inundated by local revellers is quite a challenge. There’s no cost other than a tip for the local car guard to watch your car, and direct you when you drive up and down the 45 degree access ramp to the car park 🙂
At sunset we went down to the beach at Flic ‘n Flac to just relax and unwind and enjoy the sensation of being on a tropical island…We grabbed some food and ice cream from the food trucks and ate on the beach.
As you drive around the west coast of the island there are many photo opportunities and cool spots to stop at and explore, like these cool, unusual trees – and beaches of course…We did our shopping for water, snacks, fruit and other essentials at the big mall at the entrance to Flic ‘n Flac and kept this supply in our boot in case we ever got hungry but couldn’t find anything to eat…
After two days in Flic ‘n Flac we moved up the west coast to the most popular area on the island – the former fishing village of Grand Baie which is now the centre of tourism on Mauritius. This is where it all started many years ago, with wealthy foreigners visiting in their yachts and mooring them in the sheltered bay. Just opposite the main beach is a travel agency which has apartments to rent on a daily basis for around US$30/day. It’s hard to beat – and comes with air-con, equipped kitchen and satellite TV. The main beach is literally across the road. We booked our Underwater Sea Walk with the travel agency at a cost of US$30/person, which was quite an adventure for Akhona, who arrived in Mauritius never having swum in her life…
The Underwater Sea Walk proved to be quite an adventure for both of us. You basically hold a large perspex helmet over your head, supported by your shoulders, and walk along the sea bed, after a quick training session on land. We were the only people on the boat, so we had four guys looking after us, and we got to feed the fish and walk around on the sea bed for about 10 mins. You don’t need to swim to do this, but if you’re claustrophobic it could freak you out somewhat. I was impressed at how adventurous Akhona was in overcoming her fears and participating in this experience. We used our own Go Pro to get some shots of the trip…Otherwise you need to buy a video for around US$15 after the trip.
En route to Grand Baie be sure to stop off at the capital of Mauritius, St Louis, to check out the local market and Waterfront area for a bit of shopping and a snack. We prepared a supper of steak and salad at our self-catering apartment in Grand Baie the first night there, and then ate out at a local Creole restaurant the second night at a cost of around US$ 10 – $15 per person.
Grand Baie is a good base to explore the north west and north of the island, as well as the famous Pamplemousse National Botanical Gardens, which makes for a pleasant, relaxing visit.
After staying in inexpensive accommodation and couch surfing for the first 6 days, we spoilt ourselves with a night at the Ocean Beauty Hotel just outside Grand Baie, which had a great pool and private beach where you could eat breakfast – if the wind wasn’t too strong. Using Hotels.com I paid US$ 65 for the night including breakfast.
After the west coast we followed the coastal road which runs all the way around the island to Trou de Douce, stopping at St Geran for lunch and sunbathing en route.
In Trou de Douce we stayed in a really cheap local guesthouse which cost us US$ 12/night. It was self-catering and quite spacious for the money, and located above the families supermarket. Once again we cooked supper for ourselves each night which was inexpensive but delicious. We visited the popular Ile Aux Cerfs island on a day tour the following day which included the boat ride to the island, a barbecue chicken lunch on an adjacent island, and a trip to a nearby waterfall accessible by boat up a river. Cost was around US$15/person.
Ile Aux Cerfs was a bit disappointing as the weather wasn’t that great and it rained some of the time. After two days in our budget accommodation we upgraded to the plush Tropical Attitude Resort for a night – once again a last minute special on Hotels.com for US$ 80/night. Supper was an extra US$25/head and was not very impressive although it did look good on the plate…
Included in the rate was a free boat trip to Ile Aux Cerfs, and as the weather was great we went back to the little island for a second day, which was a vast improvement on the previous day. We took with a picnic lunch, as the restaurant on the island is run by Le Toussourok, and is very expensive. Beware of stepping on sea urchins which abound – buy yourself some cheap plastic shoes to wear as protection at the market in town.
After the luxury of the Tropical Attitude Hotel we went back to the grass roots experience again by Couchsurfing with a local couple for a night in the town of Curepipe. Once again we enjoyed a local meal, with them and their friends, and sampled the local rum late into the night 🙂 During the day we visited local beaches nearby.
Continuing on our clockwise route around the island, our final stop was the stunning Blue Bay, in the very south of Mauritius. Here we stayed at the Blue Bay Resort for two days at US$70/day. Blue Bay is a marine national park, and is one of the best places to see coral and to snorkel, especially if you splash out and book a day trip to Ile Des Deaux Cocos island, a private island in Blue Bay owned by LUX Hotels. At US$70/person you get a boat transfer to the island, snorkelling on the best reefs in Mauritius, a trip in a glass-bottomed boat, unlimited drinks and a lavish seafood buffet. We did this on our final day in Mauritius to end on a high note, and it was worth every cent.
The snorkelling here was amazing, with loads of fish, clear water and stunning coral reefs. Akhona had by now begun to try swimming a bit, and we had lots of fun. The trick is to wear a lifejacket if you cannot swim very well, and just drift along, bobbing under the water now and then to view the underwater wonderland…
Our 14 days in Mauritius turned out to be a fun, adventurous experience mainly because we were so involved in our daily activities, driving ourselves around, exploring off the beaten track and truly discovering what Mauritius has to offer. If you follow the independent travel approach then you can say that you really ‘know’ the place you have visited…
So if you’re planning a trip to Mauritius on a budget, I hope you have found our experiences helpful, and the photo’s of our trip inspiring…In total we spent around R 40 000 on the entire trip including flights, accommodation, car hire, excursions and expenses. This is substantially cheaper than what you’d spend on a package tour for 14 days for 2 people + car hire + excursions + lunches. Take the plunge and plan your adventure to Mauritius now :)Mauritius
