Mauritius Travel Forum

hi there,
i'm new at VT! =D
anyways, i've been reading VT forums for quite a while now and found the info very useful (my and friends heeded a lot of the VT advice whilst on our virgin trip to Phuket earlier this year!).

me & my fiance are planning to visit Mauritius for our honeymoon in Apr 09. we checked wt a local tour agent and found out that Grand Baie is the ideal spot for us. i have a couple of questions though:
1) We are two nightlifers so we are looking for a place that has pubs/clubs.
2) My fiance loves diving so is diving recommended in Mauritius? Our local tour agent seggested the Northern part of Mauritius.
3) Is April 09 a good time to go Mauritius?
4) any recommended hotels in Grand Baie area?i've heard of Merville Beach & Legends.

many thanks in advance!

Hi - first welcome to Vt and congratulations on your upcoming wedding! My husband and I also honeymooned in Mauritius and had a great time. We stayed at a wonderful boutique hotel, Ocean Beauty, just a few minutes north of Grand Baie. We had a really nice suite with a beautiful bathroom and a deck overlooking the pool and ocean. The first night they decorated our room with rose petals all over and candles around the bathtub. Another night they set up a table for a multi-course romantic dinner on the beach. We travelled all around the island but I really liked that area best.

Can't help with specific diving info but heard it is good. We were there in June so it wasn't really season. Since you're nightlifers, I would just make sure that April is since some places close during the off season.

Check out my Mauritius pages for more info. Happy Travels!

There are a bunch of bars and clubs in the Grand Baie area worth checking out. You will see them along the road that runs past the beach. Lots of diving in Mauritius, suggest going through your hotel. If not then there are dive shops (I believe in Grand Baie/Pereybere as well) that you could go to. Might be a little cheaper than the hotels. Your tour agent is right, many go diving in the north. April is getting close to the winter months but seeing as winter in Mauritius is fairly mild, particularly in the North coast, you should be ok in April. Grand Baie has many nice and luxurious hotels. I have stayed at the Meridien there but don't recommend it because of the rough water, but the hotel itself was great and not incredibly expensive. If you plan not to spend all day at the hotel however, i.e. if you rent a car and go to the public beaches then the fact that beach isn't the greatest at Le Meridien is moot. The hotel has great, romantic restaurants and the service is fairly good. But if you are looking for a great hotel where you can be pampered, then I suggest Le St Geran in the North.

Good points here but note that Meridien is not at Grand Baie but Balaclava, a good twenty minute drive. St Geran is on the east coast quite a distance from Grand Baie. Le Mauricia is a lovely hotel a few minutes walk from Grand Baie. Royal Palm is the only other hotel actually close by. Merville Beach is a bit further out and is in need of a refurb IMO. April is a good time to visit, as the hot humidity and cyclone risk no longer a problem, with temps around 23/29C.
Lots o bars and nightlife in Grand Baie, though tame by European resort standards. Have a good trip,
Krissy :)