Planning for Mauritius trip

Llyllyll

Evening,

The wife has always said that one day she’d like to go to Mauritius for a holiday. We’re not really holiday people (haven’t been for years) but this sounds like it would be really nice. Thought I’d start planning early for this as I thought it might be expensive. Just had a quote from one company (granted I’ve not done much research or price comparisons so far) and it came in at £4600 for a fortnight. I knew it would be expensive but strewth, £4.5K - can’t see it happening ever at that price!

Can anyone make some recommendations on anything to do with this e.g. moneysaving travel companies/hotels to use, where to go, preparations or just about anything else to do with such a holiday?

I would be most grateful for any and all advice re this.

Thanks,
L

Moomin

I went to Mauritius a couple of years ago and it is a charming country. We booked with https://www.travelcollection.co.uk (I think they're a subsidiary of Kuoni).
We stayed at the Paul et Virginie hotel on a half board basis for 9 or 10 nights (I can't remember). Flights were with Air France, so you have to change for connecting flight at Paris CDG.
The hotel was lovely. Service in the restaurant was extremely good. And the food was very very good.

LesD

2 weeks with Mercury Direct is c£1000 pp all inclusive! They have several different accommodations around the island to choose from.

We've used them for Oz and found their choice of accommodation to be good.

nab2807

Im actually mauritian and go back a couple of times a year. The best airline deals would be on Air Mauritius, they do direct flights from Heathrow but they might be a bit more expensive over peak periods. If you go straight to their website you'll probably pay about £700 pp return and if you're planning to travel on our around xmas or new years day then it could be as much as £900pp. They are many independent travel agents who'd be able to cut you a better deal than that but you won't necessarily find them online, you'd be best looking on your local high street. PM me if you have any doubts about the accommodation provided. Hope you manage to book your holiday, Mauritius is a beautiful country plus the exchange rate is pretty good at the moment (£1 - Rs 65)

Cheers

Llyllyll

Thank you for your replies.

Gives me a lot to think about and, most importantly, you've shown that it needn't cost over the odds just because it is a stunning place to go. All the info and links have been saved in my holiday folder for reference. The Good Lady Wife will be pleased .

Thanks again,
L

Oktane

I lived in Mauritius for just under 2 years, and was involved in the hotel industry on a number of occasions. The Mauritian holiday market is aimed at the high value traveller, and the prices reflect that. However, this does not mean you can not have a fantastic holiday here. The flights are generally very expensive and there are a few way to get there

1.) Fly direct, avoid out of season. Air Mauritius, BA (and soon Virgin) will fly direct. Tickets cost between £600-£900 (depending on time of year)
2.) Fly in-direct. Air France has the most heavily discounted flights (as low as £500), SAA, BA (via South Africa) etc.

Accomodation can be found in 3 flavours
1.) house rentals (£300-£1000/week), these generally have a maid and gardener, and are great for budget traveller. If you speak to the landlord he can arrange for the maid to cook for a small fee as well, which is a great way to taste the local food (mix of french/indian and asian).
2.) 1-3 Star hotels - These will probably be higher quality than their European equivalents, but there is a lack of these on the island. (Not recommended). I can name a few though if you are interested.
3.) 4-5 Star hotels - The island is inundated with these hotels, and generally they are to a very high standard. Some of my favourites are the Shandrani (near the airport, so you do hear planes 6x day, but not a bother, and in a beautiful spot). Le Paradis in the Southern part of the island in the shadow of Le-Morne (this will be at the high end of the budget), The hilton on the West coast, and quite a few near Grand Bay in the North. Try get all inclusive deals due to the prices of things inside the hotels (equivalent to european prices)

I suggest you stay outside of Grand Bay, as its very touristy, and only travel in for the shopping/nightlife etc. Visit the market in Quatro Borne on Thursday. Go to the beaches at Flic n Flac (west coast) or Belle Mare (North East). Port Louis is worth a visit, as is the botanical gardens just outside. No need to rent a car, a taxi will drive you from one end of the island to the other side for Rs1000 (£20), and then drive you back a couple hours later when you are finished.

January through March is cyclone season and incredibly humid.
April-May is the best time to go, as the weather is great, and the humidity is dropping off
June-Oct is the windy season, cool at night, but mid 20's and sunshine during the day
Nov-Feb VERY HOT.

I would look to go out of season in the April to Oct period. Many tour operators will have special deals with flights, and hotels. The best I have seen is £2.5k for 10 nights, for 2 people sharing at a 5 star hotel, half board. If you go the hotel route expect to pay £3-5k if you do not get a good deal.

If you go with the house rental, you can get for as little as £1500 including flights.

Some places I really recommend you eat:

Chinese - The Green Dragon in Curepipe or Domaine Anna (outside Flic en Flac)
French Bistro -Nobbies in Quatro Borne Serves AMAZING steak!!!
Pizza - Restaurant just off Flic en Flac
Mauritian - Le Dolphin (just off the main drag in Grand Bay), this is the euaivalent of a Cafe here.

Then DO try the food vendors on the street, dohl purie, faratas, piment etc. All very tasty and DIRT cheap. Hotels also serve great food, but can be horrendously expensive. The local beer (pheonix),costs about £1 for a 6pack. It will cost you £2 for a beer at a hotel, which is a reason I suggest you go for the all inclusive packages if possible.

If you want any more questions answered drop me a line and I can help you out.

RoCas

I can't give you any moneysaving advice on this but I can recommend the Merville Beach Hotel. We stayed there a few years ago and it was wonderful.
http://www.mauritius.com/Hotels/merville/?Link=Hotels

GoldenEye

I went in August. If you go in the Summer months be careful of the mosquito disease 'chikungunya'. It can knock you out!

Airlines to check: British Airways, Air Mauritius, Emirates and Air France. I would expect it to be a lot cheaper to book seperately but unfortunately I don't know any cheap hotels. The expensive hotels are worth it though, especially Le Trousserok and Le Saint Geran.

Mauritius is generally cheap for food and drink and the beaches are hardly busy with people.