MAURITIUS · INDIAN OCEAN
Where the lagoon meets the mountain.
Catamaran days on the lagoon, wild dolphins off the west coast, waterfall hikes and the long climb up Le Morne. Ile aux Cerfs, Grand Baie, Chamarel, Tamarin and the reef-ringed coast in between.
Only in Mauritius
Three things that are pure Mauritius.
Beach days and catamaran cruises turn up on every tropical island. Wild dolphins off Tamarin, the seven-coloured earth at Chamarel and the climb up Le Morne do not. Build the week around these three.
Off the west coast
Swim With Wild Dolphins
A resident pod of spinner dolphins lives in the calm water off Tamarin and Black River. Boats leave before dawn, find them feeding, cut the engine, and you slip in to swim alongside them in the open sea. No tank, no feeding, no show. Just wild dolphins in their own bay.
- 1 Île aux Bénitiers: Snorkeling w/Dolphins Boat Tour & Lunch
- 2 Black River: Dolphin Swim and Whale Watching by Speedboat
- 3 Tamarin: Dolphin Snorkel, CrystalRock, ile o Benitiers Lunch
The volcanic south-west
The Seven Coloured Earths
At Chamarel the ground ripples in seven shades of red, brown and violet: volcanic ash that settled into colours which never blend back together, even when you stir a handful in your palm. The island's tallest waterfall drops through the forest a few minutes away. One ticket, both.
- 1 Mauritius: Private South Tour with Pickup
- 2 Full-Day Catamaran Cruise to Île aux Cerfs with BBQ Lunch
- 3 Mauritius: Private Southwest Day Tour
A UNESCO peak
Climb Le Morne Brabant
The basalt monolith on the south-west tip is a UNESCO World Heritage site, a refuge where runaway slaves once lived on the cliffs. The trail climbs through forest to a viewpoint over the lagoon, where the famous underwater-waterfall illusion fans out beneath the sea. The guides carry the history with them.
- 1 Hiking Le Morne Brabant
- 2 Mauritius: Le Morne Mountain UNESCO Eco Hike
- 3 Le Morne Brabant: UNESCO Mountain Hike & Local Guides
The lagoon day
If you only do one day on the water.
A catamaran across the east-coast lagoon to Ile aux Cerfs, with snorkel stops, the Grand River waterfall and lunch on deck. The day most first-timers remember.
The favourites
Mauritius's Most Popular Tours
Ile aux Cerfs catamarans, Tamarin dolphin swims, the northern islets, the southern waterfalls. The days that fill up first.
Where to base yourself
Which coast is yours?
Mauritius is small enough to drive across in two hours, but each coast keeps its own water, weather and mood. Where you base yourself shapes the whole week.
By place
Pick a part of the island.
Grand Baie for the boats and the buzz. Trou d'Eau Douce for Ile aux Cerfs. Tamarin for the dolphins. Chamarel for the waterfalls and the coloured earth. Port Louis for the market and the street food.
By tour type
Or go by what you want to do.
Catamaran for the lagoon. Speedboat if you want range. Snorkelling and diving for the reef, dolphins at dawn, waterfall hikes and quad trails for the days you want to be off the water.
The lagoon classic
The Ile aux Cerfs day.
A catamaran across the east lagoon to the island, a snorkel stop on the reef, the Grand River waterfall and a barbecue on deck. If we booked three, these would be the three.
Off the north coast
Out to the northern islets.
Coin de Mire, Gabriel Island and Flat Island, a string of uninhabited islets off Grand Baie reached by catamaran or speedboat for the day. Our three favourites out of the harbour.
When you are off the water
Waterfalls and high places.
Tamarind Falls and its seven cascades, the Black River Gorges ridgelines, quad trails through the sugarcane. Three days on land for when you have had your fill of the lagoon.
Just added