Mauritius

[Twistedbyknaves]

Hi.
Just looking for any recommendations for things to do in Mauritius from those that have been.

Staying in the NW of the Island on the coast a few miles from Port Louis.

Any ideas gratefully received.

Thanks

[Colburn_Claret]

Stayed in Flic en Flac for my niece's wedding.
We were treated royally by the family of the groom, who took us on a few days out.
Port Louis was really interesting, and well worth a visit.
We went to see some temples high up inland, again worth the visit. A warning though, the difference in climate between the mountains and the beaches, probably 15 miles away, is like night and day. It hammered it down in the mountains, just like a rain forrest.
The Rum plantations/distilleries are a good day out. They do loads of different flavoured rums, all nice.
The beach, sounds obvious but walking into the Indian Ocean is like walking into a warm bath. It's heaven.
Also had a day out at a tourist spot with a massive waterfall, and loads of different coloured soils, the name escapes me, but hopefully Tricky Trevor will read the post and have a better memory than me.
We had a day out on a motor launch that stopped off at a few locations, stopped for swimming, sailed with the dolphins, and landed on a secluded beach that was a tourist spot. Lots of stalls and bric a brac, including Rum with lots of tasters. This trip was organised by the hosts, so again not sure the location but it wasn't far from Flic en Flac.

I hope you have a great time.

[Stayingup]

Look for Dodo's? Actually not that much to do there except to enjoy the glorious beaches and the water sport activities there. Glass bottom boat trips are good. Hotels are usually fabulous. Enjoy.

[Burnley1989]

Wasn't there once a poster on here that was from the Island, I could have sworn there was and he always posted some interesting stuff

[longside72]

Beautiful place , hire a car ! you can easily drive to the south of the island and back in a day .
Went a few years ago and met a poster on here - Davemanu who looked after us and showed us around. He even took us to the Mauritian FA ( Sepp Blatter House ) and had tea with the national manager , who thought i played for Burnley

[Twistedbyknaves]

Brilliant ideas.

Thank you

[PWBFC]

Chamarel is the place in the south with the waterfall and coloured hills. Also has some giant tortoises.

Agree with the suggestion to hire a car for a few days. Worth taking a drive on the east coast, stopping at a few beaches en route.

[Oldschoolclaret]

My wife's from Mahebourg in Mauritius so we've visited a few times - we got married there too. The place with the seven coloured earth and waterfall is Chamarel. We also met up with davemanu once over there and he was a very welcoming host.
My recommendations would be the botanical gardens at Pamplemousses, Blue Bay, the undersea walking up in Grand Baie and a rum tour or two. Have fun...!

[Twistedbyknaves]

Thanks. Can’t wait.

[NL Claret]

Wasn't there once a poster on here that was from the Island, I could have sworn there was and he always posted some interesting stuff

I thought of him when I saw the thread. Was he called Manu Dave or something along those lines?

[NL Claret]

We went on honeymoon to Paradise Cove Hotel in the north west of the island in 2011. We went AI which I would recommend.

[Shipclaret]

We did the Submarine around a wreck which is pretty close to where you are...really cool. The rum distillery (Rhumerie de Chamarel) we also thoughtbwas worth the effort especially the free various blends/flavour tasting at the end. Dont bother driving as half day taxis are pretty cheap. The scenery away from the coast is impressive and if its your thing the giant Statue Ganga Talao is worth a shufty but the fruit voracious monkeys are a bit annoying. I wish we were going again now I look back.

[Shipclaret]

We did the Submarine around a wreck which is pretty close to where you are...really cool. The rum distillery (Rhumerie de Chamarel) we also thought was worth the effort especially the free various blends/flavour tasting at the end. Dont bother driving as half day taxis are pretty cheap. The scenery away from the coast is impressive and if its your thing the giant Statue Ganga Talao is worth a shufty but the fruit voracious monkeys are a bit annoying. I wish we were going again now I look back.

[Twistedbyknaves]

Thanks.

Wow submarine? Might have to look into that.

[longside72]

Send me your email and i will put you in touch with Davemanu , he loves anyone from burnley that visit the island

[Aclaret]

Send me your email and i will put you in touch with Davemanu , he loves anyone from burnley that visit the island

Not sure why he doesn't post anymore, it was always interesting to read his posts, came across as a very nice fella.
Please pass on my best regards and I'm sure everyone's on here when you are next in touch with him.

[Dark Cloud]

It's a wonderful place with wonderful, friendly people. It's a long way mind!! Most of it is still covered in sugar cane and visiting some of the rum making places is definitely worthwhile. The only negative we found was we went in July and it's not overly warm and pretty windy, especially where we stayed. My wife moaned that I'd cocked up as apparently November is the time to go! Still loved it though.

[LoveCurryPies]

I went water-skiing, paragliding, snorkelling and even chartered a 50 foot Marlin and shark fishing boat in Grand Baie. The boat hire only cost about £250 (20 years ago) but was a mistake for a family. They went 2-3 hours out to sea where the waves were higher than the boat. Totally frightening!

[SammyBoy]

I went a couple of years ago, it's a really picturesque country and felt very safe compared to other developing countries I've visited (e.g. Brazil).

We stayed at a resort in the north near Pointe aux Biches, but hired a car which is essential to get around - to be honest I saw very little in the way of public transport.

It's fair to say the roads aren't great and can be a bit mad at times. I think the distance from south to north is roughly the same as Burnley to Preston but due to the geography of the place and the state of the roads it'll take you about 1.5 hours to drive it. Also FYI there are loads of stray dogs knocking about and they will just wander into the road, so watch out for them.

The capital Port Louis is pretty run down and I didn't see a great deal to do there but still worth a look if you have time. I'd also recommend getting a boat out to Ile aux Cerfs, which is a nice island just off the east coast.

I'd also suggest Chamarel waterfalls and the botanical gardens for a bit of a walk. There will be loads of other stuff to do though that we didn't get around to as we did quite a bit of chilling out by the pool/beach.

[Twistedbyknaves]

Thanks everyone. Very useful advice as always on here.

[Stalbansclaret]

Not sure why he doesn't post anymore, it was always interesting to read his posts, came across as a very nice fella.
Please pass on my best regards and I'm sure everyone's on here when you are next in touch with him.

There are definitely posters on here who have benefitted from his hospitality on Mauritius and I was lucky enough to meet him when he visited relatives in St Albans a few years back. I remember his real name was Bhurdwaz (or something approximating that) and he was at one time high up in the Mauritius FA’s structure. He supported Burnley because we visited the island on tour when he was young (in the 1960s I think) .
I hope he is still alive and well. He hasn’t posted in quite a while I don’t think.

[dibraidio]

Went to flic and flac two years ago. Lots of great place for snorkeling. We took our own masks etc with us.
We had a taxi driver for a day who took us around all the indian temples in the south and it didn't cost that much, about 50 quid for the day. Not bad when you compare with hiring a car for a day and paying petrol.

We did some diving which was way cheaper than Europe but avoided the swim with the dolphin trips as it didn't feel right to be part of the dozens of boats that stress them out when they were trying to rest.

Really enjoyed some of the indian roti food trucks. The only dodo that you'll probably find is on a local beer.

Didn't see DaveManu. I sent him a mail before we went but he never replied.

[Jel]

There are definitely posters on here who have benefitted from his hospitality on Mauritius and I was lucky enough to meet him when he visited relatives in St Albans a few years back. I remember his real name was Bhurdwaz (or something approximating that) and he was at one time high up in the Mauritius FA’s structure. He supported Burnley because we visited the island on tour when he was young (in the 1960s I think) .
I hope he is still alive and well. He hasn’t posted in quite a while I don’t think.

I'm friends with him on FB. He's OK, he last posted an hour ago

[longside72]

Dont know if admin can help but when Davemanu trys to log in he keeps getting denied, this is why he hasn't posted for a long time.

[Dark Cloud]

Dont know if admin can help but when Davemanu trys to log in he keeps getting denied, this is why he hasn't posted for a long time.

Because secretly he's also registered as"Devil's Advocate"!!

[Buxtonclaret]

I'm friends with him on FB. He's OK, he last posted an hour ago

Good to know he's OK.

[IrkthePurists]

We went many years ago and had a day at the races in Port Louis which was great fun.

[ClaretTony]

Not sure why he doesn't post anymore, it was always interesting to read his posts, came across as a very nice fella.
Please pass on my best regards and I'm sure everyone's on here when you are next in touch with him.

I can tell you why he doesn't post. He keeps forgetting his password, he asks for help and I keep re-setting it for him but then he doesn't use it.

There isn't much else I can do to help him.

[FCBurnley]

I miss his posts. They were brilliant

[Sheedyclaret]

I can tell you why he doesn't post. He keeps forgetting his password, he asks for help and I keep re-setting it for him but then he doesn't use it.

There isn't much else I can do to help him.

That’s a shame was one of the better posters on this message board

[ClaretTony]

That’s a shame was one of the better posters on this message board

Always positive