With the successful vaccination rollout, Mauritius is allowing vaccinated travelers from 1st September 2021 to spend only 7 days in a special ‘resort bubble’ hotel before going out to discover the island. From 1st October 2021 all vaccinated travelers, who present a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to embarkation, will be allowed to enter and travel freely.
The Mauritian government vaccinated tourism workers and hotel staff to make it safe for international travelers.
Mauritius is opening
Flights from Europe and the Middle East is currently provided by Air Mauritius, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Air France, Kenya Airways and British Airways. At this time of year, visitors will find the perfect climate for enjoying the various outdoor activities Mauritius has to offer, such as hiking, kite surfing, water sports, as well as of course relaxing on the country’s world-renowned beaches.
Paradise island
Mauritius opened for international travel in the middle of July. Vaccinated guests could spend 14 days in a special ‘resort bubble’ hotel before going on to discover more of the Indian Ocean paradise.
Your travel here can satisfy your short break for shopping, partying, sunbathing, fine dining, sporting events, and even a few sinful pleasures
Featured Image : Photo by Kon Karampelas on Unsplash
There are some incredibly fine four and five star resorts within Flic En Flac – Sands is a very well known brand and as with most resorts in Flic En Flac, there are very good water sports facilities as well as a world class spa.
Also in the top range is the Hilton which offers similar exuberance. The Hilton is a five star luxury resort enjoying a prime stretch of beach – it’s actually in Wolmar which is a stone’s throw from Flic en Flac (about a 5 minute taxi ride). Watch out for the giant gong that is bashed whenever a new arrival enters the resort, and for the refreshing welcome cocktail…usually a special concoction.
There are also some excellent nightly entertainment shows provided by the Hilton – don’t miss the cultural dances that take place twice weekly, and there is a very good live band that plays by the beach nightly.
Sugar Beach makes the third main top end resort and it’s right next doors to the Hilton.
If you’re not able to splash out on a luxury resort there are also some very good medium and budget options including:
Mauritius is a country which has a rich choice of top end holiday resorts and hotels.
It’s surprising then that it’s capital is relatively bare of accommodation – possibly because most holiday makers to Mauritius stay in one of the beach regions and typically travel to Mauritius for a day trip.
Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel – It’s possibly more suited to business travel but the Labourdonnais has 109 rooms and is situated along Caudan waterfront. It’s officially a five star hotel with 109 rooms and has the elegance and facilities that you would expect from a top end resort. The rooms themselves come in five varieties from standard to presidential suites, all immaculately decorated.
Hotel guests can enjoy a wide range of restaurants offering a lovely range of cuisines including Thai, Indian and European.
Le St George’s Hotel – A reasonable hotel which has business meeting rooms, located on St Georges St, and within a stone’s throw of the main heart of Port Louis. It’s relatively small compared to many of the other resorts in holiday Mauritius but the 21 rooms that this resort has are well designed and offer good quality furnishing and some wonderful sea views out into the Indian ocean.
Hotel Le Grand Carnot – Certainly a choice for the budget conscious, the Carnot is situated on Dr Edouard Laurent St. Rooms available for as little as 350 Rs.
Bourbon Tourist Hotel – With rooms available from a little over 600 Rs, this is another budget choice.
Le Suffren Hotel – Situated right on the Cauden Waterfront, Le Suffren is a fair 3 star hotel. It has 100 rooms and access to a pleasant white sandy beach area.
Villa Jorico – You can pick up rooms at the Jorico for a very reasonable rate. It’s a pleasant guest house but it’s situated a little outside Port Louis.
Port Louis is the London of Mauritius. It’s the economic nerve centre of Mauritius and along with the tall sky scrapers of the business district, it boasts some fabulous shopping, restaurants that rank among the top in the country and some wonderful museums and colonial type architecture to boot.
In short, no holiday to Mauritius is complete without visiting Port Louis. As you can imagine, Port Louis is a highly popular tourist destination, with the majority of points of interest located along the waterfront.
Major Points Of Interest In Port Louis
If you have a couple of days to spare, you can do and see a lot of the things that Port Louis is famous for.
Port Louis Casino – located along Caudan waterfront is the interestingly crafted Casino. It’s shaped like a ship and is quite popular with tourists and locals alike. You wont be able to get in with your baggy shorts and flip flops though – a smart casual dress code is in place.
Museums In Port Louis – There are two major museums within Port Louis. The Natural History Museum (Chaussee St) is free to enter and offers a collection of mostly extinct birds including the Dodo (by far the most notable). The other museum is the Blue Penny Museum located along the Caudan waterfront. Admission is not free here, but it’s worthwhile going as it displays the history of Mauritius from it’s earliest days to the present – and includes various photos, maps and other artefacts from the different era’s.
There is also a Photography Museum (Old Council St) and the small Mauritius Postal Museum (Pl du Quai) to keep museum enthusiasts interested.
Central Market – One of the must see attractions of Port Louis is the often frenetic Central Market. There’s a lot here from little stalls selling T shirts to vegetables, spices, meat and fish. Some stalls also sell a variety of Ayurvedic (ancient Indian) medicines. Tourists also enjoy the variety of different handicrafts and souvenirs that are sold along some of the stalls – if you’re planning to buy, you can bargain your way to a better price. A word of warning – beware of pickpockets that operate in the Port Louis Central Market – keep your wallets and purses secured and don’t leave your bags open.
You should also note that a lot of the designer gear you may buy is fake, and as you walk along you’ll often be approached by stall vendors quoting you special prices and deals.
There are also other shopping options within Port Louis – there’s a Craft Market along Caudan Waterfront and there are book and music shops within the city too.
If bartering and markets is not your thing, and you want to pick up some souvenirs without the stress of bartering then you can often find similar ones in the larger supermarkets for a fixed price.
Chinatown – Interestingly, Chinatown is home to the Jummah Mosque which was built in 1853. As you might expect, there are not only a selection of Chinese shops selling provisions, vegetables, fruits and more – but the best Chinese food available in Port Louis (and in fact Mauritius) can be found here. You’ll also find the Pere Laval shrine within Chinatown – many tourists come here to pay respect and investigate the supposed healing powers of the shrine.
Champ de Mars Racecourse – The Mauritius racing season begins in May and goes on to November. You can find races on most Saturdays during this season – the racecourse is packed on this day every week, and gambling on the races is big business in Mauritius.
The two premium resorts in Grand Baie are the Royal Palm and Le Mauricia. Royal Palm really is the pinnacle of luxury and among it’s best features are a world class spa. Le Mauricia is a four star hotel that has a very good kids club.
There are several other hotel choices in Grand Baie too:
Veranda Hotel: Has 94 rooms and is classed as a 3 star resort. There are all-inclusive deals available and the resort is well designed with a very relaxed feel. Some of the amenities include a pool, kids club and guests can enjoy nightly entertainment.
Merville Beach Hotel: A 3 star hotel with reasonable rooms and a decent location in the area. You can also opt for a couple of the other holiday resort choices available within Grand Baie for your Mauritius holiday
Filao Village Hotel
Ocean Villas
If you do decide to stay in Grand Baie for your Mauritius holiday then there are no shortage of restaurants to eat at, or things to see and do. Grand Baie is within easy reach of the capital of Port Louis (buses are available daily and you can hire a taxi any time of day to take you there and back).
The island isn’t especially large which means that even other destinations such as Black Gorges in the southern part of the island can be reached without too much effort.
