We spent a bit over 1 month in Mauritius. Never heard of it? Well, it’s a small island in the Indian Ocean, just east of Madagascar. This island is so small you often don’t see it on maps. When we arrived we were amazed by the lush greenery and distant mountains seen driving (on the wrong side of the road!) from the airport to our boutique hotel in Flic en Flac.

Tourists Only Location

Flic en Flac is a part of the island dominated by tourists and expats. There are multitudes of American and European stores and restaurants. There are cameras everywhere to ensure the safety of tourists. And, the locals are friendly and willing to help a lost American navigate the winding, often unlabeled streets.

We arrived in the early afternoon and rented an SUV at the airport. The airport stalls for car rentals were insisting on hefty deposits (600 Euros) and ridiculous prices for compact cars. However, a bit of haggling and a willingness to walk away and take a cab got us a much better deal. No deposit and about $40 a day for an SUV with a car seat.

Once we arrived in the area we were surprised how many familiar shops and restaurants we saw and how clean it was. The beach looked pristine and had picnic tables and food trucks lining the parking lot. However, several fruitless loops around and we couldn’t locate our accommodation. So, we stopped and asked some locals. None of them knew the place by name but one was nice enough to drive around with us and help us find the place. She asked several people and places and finally around 6 pm we found the Sugareef West hotel.

The hotel was basically an apartment building with a gated car park, guard and swimming pool. We had a 2 bedroom apartment booked through Booking.com to pay in cash. When we saw the apartment we spoke to the owner and lamented the difficult time finding his place due to poor signage. We bargained with him and saved 100 Euros off our stay. We had a 2 bedroom apartment here with a balcony and washer/dryer combo. The apartment was lacking some basic needs like helpful cooking utensils and toiletries but we came prepared.

This area is very touristy and even has bars and casinos. You have lots of “tourist shops” selling souvenirs made from hollowed out coconuts or carved from iridescent shells. You can get a coconut cut open and a straw put in to drink the water straight from the shell!

There are also any number of options to eat from food trucks right along the beach. Several expensive hotels offer private beach front here but the public beach is clean and nice. Although- beware the Flic en Flac beach has TONS of sea urchins. You literally see them just a couple feet into the water and have to be careful not to step on them.

Mauritius?

At this point you may be asking, why Mauritius? Well, we searched flights and found a great deal to come here and did our research. The exchange rate is $1 USD to 36 MUR. That’s a great return and makes many local items cheaper than you’d expect. Additionally, we found it was safe, had decent internet, plenty of places to stay within a reasonable budget and relatively clean.

We flew Turkish Airlines which has a generous baggage allowance and does serve free food, although not the tastiest food you’ve ever had. We were given 4 seats for the price of 2 and an infant in lap ticket which was very nice of them! The trip was a bit long at over 10 hours from Morocco. However, it’s helpful to note that Turkish did not charge the full taxes for the infant ticket which saved us about $400 USD.

Pro Tip: Make sure to have your accommodation and return ticket printed out for immigration. They issue visas on arrival for 30 to 90 days, depending on what information you provide them.

Mauritius also has beaches galore, clean water with stunning coral reefs, dolphins, sea turtles, an adventure and nature park and many people speak English or French here. So, we took the plunge and decided to make the trip.

Adventures to be had

Since coming to this island paradise we have done some amazing and unforgettable things. We took a boat tour to a tiny island called Ile Aux Cerfs. The trip took us to a private barbecue right on the beach with sea urchins, chicken, lobsters and more! It was unbelievable!

This trip also included swimming with dolphins! A once in a lifetime experience. You can do this in Hawaii of course, but, it will likely cost a lot more than in Mauritius. There are dolphins everywhere and its surreal to swim beside them in the wild. (A full post on this will follow) The entire experience was less than $100 USD per adult.

We visited Casela Adventure Park where we walked through a beautiful nature park and saw countless birds, lizards and big cats! We even got to pet a cheetah and giant tortoises! This is a relaxing and marvelous family day for less than the price of parking at Disney Land.

Next, we took a private tour of the coral reef off Trou Aux Biches (in the north) to swim with sea turtles. Another life changing experience. Sea turtles are huge and majestic gliding through the water at amazing speeds. This is usually billed a bit more expensive than we paid but a few conversations with the local boat tour captains garnered us a private trip on a glass bottomed boat for about $30 USD total.

Since our visit was short we didn’t get to see the Seven Colored Earths or do some of the more adventurous things, think helicopter rides, wind surfing etc. But, in the time we were in Mauritius we definitely made irreplaceable memories and learned a lot along the way.

Location, Location, Location

While we spent the first 10 days in Flic En Flaq, we did spend the next month in Trou Aux Biches which is a more local area to the north. This area still offered food trucks and tourist shops near the beach which was about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. However, you won’t see the European grocery stores or other familiar restaurants and shops here.

Instead, you will find white sparkling sand, calm waters and a beautiful coral reef with bright fish and wildlife all around you. The beach here is safe and sea urchin free. You can enjoy a relaxing swim here any day of the week without worry of stepping on anything sharp or being pushed down by waves. You do also have some beach side apartment/hotels which offer restaurants directly on the water.

You won’t see a huge police presence in this area to keep tourists safe so we chose a rental from Air BnB (use our link for 15% off your first stay or experience on Air BnB) which offered a gated community with guards, security and a nice pool with a yard. The price wasn’t too bad at about $650 a month for two bedrooms with a balcony, full cooking utensils/basic needs and washer. A beachfront location will cost you more.

Pro Tip: Keep in mind that selecting monthly stays will save you up to 55% on Air BnB.

One particular gem we found in this area was Coco On The Beach, a food stand where the owner grows and cultivates all of her ingredients personally. Everything here is made with care and wonderfully delicious. She also makes organic chocolate soap bars!

Mauritian Food Scene

Many travelers, like ourselves, consider local food important to consider when visiting a place. As I mentioned earlier, local food is relatively cheap to the US. However, there are some things you won’t find.

The island is very small and as such does not have much agriculture. Any meat (chicken, beef, pork) is imported from Australia or South Africa. This means the meat is previously frozen and hugely expensive. Expect to pay $15 USD for a chicken! We noticed that most restaurants will put extra breading on “chicken” dishes to stretch the meat or mix ground meat with satay. We did find a tiny chicken butcher in Trou Aux Biches which had more reasonable prices for locally grown poultry. You place an order the day before and pick it up once ready.

If you’d vegetarian or don’t mind meat substitutes, you will enjoy the local fare. You’ll also love the flavors if you have an affinity for Indian spices. Most local food is a mix of Indian flavors with local products and herbs. You will also find an abundance of fish, sea urchin, and various tropical fruits for incredibly low prices.

If you’re planning to visit for a little while and only rent a car for trips out of town, like we did, you will want to have your groceries delivered. Luckily, there is a great online shop with free next day delivery which we found very helpful. This prevented us from walking about 10 blocks from our apartment to get water, milk, juice, toilet paper, frozen food and other staples that would be very heavy carried in grocery bags.

Pro Tip: Double check sizes on items ordered online as some are much smaller than you would assume.

Overall, this destination was a bit more expensive than we planned for due to car rentals and meat costs but still very affordable. For an island vacation with less crowds, beautiful scenery and calm relaxing waters, Mauritius is a good choice!

Stay tuned for articles about the various adventures we went on during our time on the island.