The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
‘As a resident, I can confirm Mauritius has more to boast about than most islands’
Forget the resorts and explore the Creole street food markets and deserted beaches, says Annabel Fenwick Elliott, who upped sticks to move there
White sand beaches? Check. Unfeasibly blue Indian Ocean waters? Affirmative. Thatched villas galore? Indeed. Mauritius is often sitting pretty for honeymooners and winter sun-seekers on the same shelf as the Maldives and the Seychelles, but unlike them, the life that lurks beyond the resorts is enough to lure British expats too.
Plenty of them, in fact, myself included. When my fiancé was first offered his job as a pilot here earlier this year, I was sceptical about actually living in such an overt holiday destination. But the more we looked into it, the more it made sense. Year-round sunshine. Yes please. A mere threehour time difference from the UK? Sounds good. Exotic wildlife? Lovely. Hiking, surfing, scuba diving and zip-lining? Say no more. A month later, we were on a plane with a oneway ticket.
Now a resident, I can confirm that Mauritius has more to boast about than most islands I’ve visited. A southern African nation, about the size of Surrey, with Madagascar to the west and a yawning expanse of turquoise nothingness stretching all the way to Australia to the east, it has over time changed hands between the Arabs, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and, most recently, the British. Independent since 1968, the country has an exceptionally diverse culture; where the croissants are as good as the Indian curries and the Creole street food just as rave-worthy as the Michelin-starred
chef creations you’ll find at the five-star hotels.
First and foremost, amid so much variety, where on the island should you settle yourself for a trip? It only takes two hours to drive from its head to its toe (do rent a car if you want to leave your residence), but each corner has its own character.
The north star that shines over the top of Mauritius is the former fishing village of Grand Baie, now a lively coastal resort, which has over the past decade established itself as the de facto capital for both tourists and expats; thanks in part to its supreme climate (cooler than the west and less windy than the south). Lux Grand Baie, a refined boutique bolthole, is one of the island’s newest luxury hotels, and Mont Choisy Le Golf, an 18-hole championship course built on a former sugarcane plantation, are among its latest flashy additions.
The rest of the northern coast is calmer, studded with upmarket hotels that have more elbow room – the finest of which is The Oberoi, a lavish assortment of rooms and ultra luxury villas spread across mature tropical gardens and spilling out on to the Turtle Bay Marine Park.
As for beaches, don’t bother with the quiet one at Pointe aux Piments (it’s rocky and ill-kept) and perhaps ditch the most popular one at Pereybere, in favour of what we regard as the Goldilocks choice: Trou aux Biches. Head there for one of the very best sunset vantage points, then have dinner at The Beach Hut; and get chatting to the amusing Mauritian-Brit who hand-built this rustic spot during the pandemic with no woodwork experience (it shows, which makes it all the more charming).
There’s not a lot to head inland for up north, except the impressive Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden at Pamplemousses; a tranquil labyrinth of foliage centred around a photogenic pond stuffed with giant amazonica water lilies. Venture east, though, for peaceful, windswept enclaves, where less infrastructure gives way to more holiday homes and several high-ticket hotels that feel relatively secluded; among them One&Only Le Saint Géran and Constance Prince Maurice.
Marc de Speville, a British expat with family descended from the first French settlers, has recently moved his wife and kids to this part of the island, Poste Lafayette, for the glorious beaches and world-class kitesurfing.
“That, and the friendliness of just about everyone in Mauritius,” he tells me, “even administrative officials.” If you dine anywhere in this region, he suggests, make it Le Barachois (00 230 402 3636), which overlooks a lagoon with unfettered views across the mountains.
The west coast of Mauritius is where you’ll find Tamarin Bay, an increasingly gentrified surfer’s paradise famed for its plentiful dolphins – be wary of the many speed boat operators that offer overly invasive “encounters” with these animals though; better to opt for a sunrise kayak trip to witness them instead. And avoid the much-marketed Casela Nature Parks if you take moral issue with the captive big cat selfie opportunities they offer. Animal lovers should instead buy a bag of dog food and hang out with the many friendly strays that roam the beaches at sundown. Just north of Tamarin, Flic-en-Flac is a long, elegant stretch of white sand trimmed with still waters that make it perfect for snorkelling and pottering (though less so for scuba diving or surfing).
The southern portion of Mauritius is much wilder, encompassing the Black River Gorges national park, a 6,500-hectare medley of hilly hiking trails and waterfalls; as well as the charismatic, lesser-visited ancient capital of Mahebourg, where the Dutch first landed in 1598.
Lionel Athion, a 35-year-old independent guide from the region, who is focused on authentic, sustainable tours, runs fishing expeditions aboard his traditional wooden sailing boat – a great way to spend the day with a local. He suggests two more unmissable endeavours in the south.
“The Eau Bleue waterfall in the village of Cluny, for its magnificent colour,” he says. “But keep going and there are two more behind it, which few tourists know about. Then visit Pointe d’Esny, my favourite beach, and continue to the pristine shores of La Cambuse, a former pirate treasure site, where you might even spot the local cows frolicking near the waves.”
It is in the south, too, that you’ll find Mauritius’s most iconic landscape – Le Morne, a basaltic monolith overlooking the underwater waterfall; which is not strictly as its name belies, but rather an optical illusion due to the silt that flows into an abrupt drop over the ocean shelf. There’s only one way to best admire this magical phenomenon and that’s from the sky. Corail Hélicoptèrs’ Magic Tour includes it on a 45-minute loop, starting at £300pp – the one touristy activity you should make room for.
A final piece of intel I wish we’d known straight away? The swankiest hotels would rather it wasn’t so, but no beaches on Mauritius are private and the best ones are the meticulously maintained ones by the resorts or residences that sit behind them. They’re set up to look partitioned off, but they’re not. So whether you’re on a budget or simply get bored easily, drive a car round the coast and enjoy all of them.
It only takes two hours to drive from its head to its toe, but each corner has its own character