Exploring the world - my way: Exploring the magical Mauritius

It was the trip when we set our foot on Africa for the first time. We were to explore Mauritius . Total trip cost was INR 70K p-p. Mauritius is a VISA free country for Indians. There is no stringent immigration at Mauritius or Seychelles for Indians. Just a stamping is done at Mauritius airport on the passport. One Mauritian rupee is about INR 2 and One Seychellois rupee is about INR 3. It's best to carry USD while going to Mauritius.
Boarded the flight for Mumbai ,from our home city Kolkata. It was an Air India flight. From Mumbai onwards it was Air Seychelles via Seychelles.

At Kolkata Airport - Excitement before the trip

On board the Air India flight

At Mumbai International Airport Terminal- it was a big layover

On board Air Seychelles flight

Enroute to Seychelles from Mumbai

Delicious food and beverages served

Some breathtaking views on the way....

Just about to touchdown at Seychelles

At Seychelles airport - waiting for the connecting Air Seychelles flight to Mauritius.

At Seychelles there was a layover of about 2 hours.Immigration was smooth and quick,not at all strict.

En route to Mauritius from Seychelles - food and beverages served

Entering Mauritius.............

A declaration is needed to be filled up before de embarking the flight regarding a Flu virus infection.

At Mauritius Airport

At Mauritius Airport - after checking out of immigration.

From airport to hotel

People here, are close to Indian culture.They understand and speak English,Hindi and French fluently . They are very welcoming and friendly in nature.

First glimpses of our hotel......The Champagne was complimentary

We stayed at Le Grand Bleu. Hotel Le grand Bleu is situated on coastal road, trou aux biches in the north east of Mauritius

Booked online after seeing the reviews and also found it befitting for a romantic and memorable trip.

Day 1: Sightseeing and watersport activities

Ile aux cerfs island tour. Different water sport activities to choose from including parasailing,kayaking , banana boat ride etc. Just to name a few. After the water activities a thrilling speed boat ride across the island. Then we were dropped off by the beautiful lagoon for some exploration on our own after a sumptuous lunch. Our next stop was the Grand Basin South East Waterfalls.Here the river,s current and ocean’s tide meet to create the breathtaking waterfall.The locals also call it little amazon.

Spot for water sport activities

Ile aux cerfs island

Little Amazon

Grand Basin South East Waterfalls

Ile aux cerfs island

Day 2 : Sightseeing- North Island tour

Itineraries for the day:

1. 1. The capital city of Port Louis

2. 2. Citadel Fort Adelaide-Situated at the top of La Petite Montagne(little mountain) gives a beautiful panaromic view of the entire island

3. 3. Round of Champ De Mars-The 2^nd oldest horse racing club in the world

4. 4. Bagatelle mall

5. 5. Le Caudan Waterfront-First major shopping destination around the port.It houses local art & crafts market,speciality shops,cinema, a marina,bookstore,casino,restaurants cafes etc.

At our hotel

View of the coastal road from our hotel

1. The capital city of Port Louis- Round of Champ De Mars in the background

Citadel Fort Adelaide

Bagatelle mall

1. Bagatelle mall

After some refreshments at the mall we headed for Le Caudan Waterfront......

Le Caudan Waterfront

The shooting spot of bollywood movie DDLG

Indian lunch is also available in this area

1. Called it a day with a beautiful sunset at the the trou aux biches beach just opposite to our hotel

Day 3: Sightseeing - South Island tour

Itineraries for the day were:

1. Le port ship model factory-Factory and showroom where miniature ships are built with utmost finesse and sold in the showroom as souvenir.

2. Gem and Jewellery exhibition

3. Trou Aux cerfs-a famous volcanic crater

4. Ganga Talao-Also known as grand basin is a crater lake considered sacred by the locals.there are different temples dedicated to hndu gods by the bank of the lake

5. Mangal Mahadev- Tallest statue in Mauritiusstanding tall at the entrance ofGanga Talao which is a copy of the Surasagar lake in gujrat

6. La vallee des couleurs nature park-special attraction 23 coloured earth

Le port ship model factory

Gem and Jewellery Exhibition

Trou Aux cerfs

Ganga Talao

Mangal Mahadev

Ganga Talao

Mangal Mahadev

Nearing La vallee des couleurs nature park

At La vallee des couleurs nature park there were many optional activities to choose from like quad biking, jeep safari etc. We chose jeep safari.

La vallee des couleurs nature park

Safari ride at La vallee des couleurs nature park

23 coloured earth,formed due to volcanic eruption

All food and beverages in the area were on the costlier side.

Day 4: Catamaran Cruise (Optional Tour)

1. 1.Catamaran cruise with dolphin watching

2. After lunch we headed to the beautiful island Ile Aux Benitiers

3. Special attraction on the way to the beach was a rocky formation coming out of the sea looking like a clam shell

A natural coral in the background - perhaps the biggest in the world

Ile Aux Benitiers

Day 5: Submarine safari (Optional Tour)

For day 5 we had to select from two optionals,one was Blue Safari submarine dive and the other was Casella Park. We chose the submarine experience as it was unique,though it was costlier than Casella park.

Blue Safari submarine dive : optional tour, dived 35 mtrs below sea level

A Japanese ship wreck

Colour of water changed with depth

Ship anchor

The submarine trip took almost 3 hrs. After that we went on for a 30 mins boat ride which was again complimentary.

Boat ride

Went for a Complimentary Couple Spa treatment at our hotel which was also a complimentary.

Later in the afternoon we took a bus from in front of our hotel and went to Grand Baie on our own .The ride took 15 mins.We spent some time at Grand Baie and witnessed the sunset . Also did some souvenir shopping and came back to hotel after evening .