Exploring North West Mauritius #GrandBaie #IIotGabriel
Date: April 23rd, 2018
North West Mauritius, what's the move?
I recently spent a week with family exploring Mauritius. The first half of the trip was spent in the South West part of the island, while the second half was spent in the North West.
Here are top activities I enjoyed while exploring the North:
1.) Catamaran to IIot Gabriel: My overall highlight and favorite activity of the north was taking a Catamaran to IIot Gabriel. This was extremely fun! We left Grand Baie around 9 am in the morning and sailed to IIlot Gabriel, where we relaxed for 1-1.5 hours on the island before lunch. Post relaxing on the island, we had lunch on the boat and then spent the rest of the time (2 hours) playing in the water, dancing, and making new friends. After lunch and fun, we sailed back to Grand Baie. The journey each way was 1.5 hours and was characterized by beautiful and breath taking sights.
What made this trip amazing was the atmosphere. It was lively, fun, and we met people who had traveled from all over. Most of all, the Coral Belle team did an amazing job of making everyone feel welcome, safe, and at home.
2.) Exploring the beaches: The North has beautiful beaches and when you speak to the locals they'll mention the Northern part of the island is their favorite for this reason.
While in the north we explored Pereybere, Bain Boeuf, Grand Baie, Mont Choisy, but there is a lot more to see such as Trou aux Biches, Pointe aux Biches, etc. The beaches in the north compared to Flic en Flac, are smaller and divided by village centers (e.g. Pereybere, followed by Grad Baie), while Flic is a long endless beach.
3.) L'Aventure du Sucre: This museum provides an overview of Mauritian history and the importance of sugar for the island. Driving throughout the island you'll notice the endless amount of sugar cane fields. This museum is hosted in a former sugar factory and provides background on both history and the sugar production process. Although there is an entrance fee, the museums offers a free guided tour and a rum and sugar tasting afterwards, all of which I highly recommend (haha).
4.) Port Louis: Port Louis is similar to any capital city; it is a hustle and bustle, and full of life. The Caudan Water front is beautiful and the central market is a market where you can negotiate on prices for locally produced goods.
5.) North West Tour: Similar to the South West Tour we took, this tour goes over the important points in the North West of the island. These include the Botanical Garden, Cap Malheureux, Château de Labourdonnais, etc. It's a nice tour to take in order to get a full layout of the island, but it can be very exhausting because you're visiting 6 sights consecutively.
Here are top activities I enjoyed while exploring the North:
1.) Catamaran to IIot Gabriel: My overall highlight and favorite activity of the north was taking a Catamaran to IIot Gabriel. This was extremely fun! We left Grand Baie around 9 am in the morning and sailed to IIlot Gabriel, where we relaxed for 1-1.5 hours on the island before lunch. Post relaxing on the island, we had lunch on the boat and then spent the rest of the time (2 hours) playing in the water, dancing, and making new friends. After lunch and fun, we sailed back to Grand Baie. The journey each way was 1.5 hours and was characterized by beautiful and breath taking sights.
What made this trip amazing was the atmosphere. It was lively, fun, and we met people who had traveled from all over. Most of all, the Coral Belle team did an amazing job of making everyone feel welcome, safe, and at home.
2.) Exploring the beaches: The North has beautiful beaches and when you speak to the locals they'll mention the Northern part of the island is their favorite for this reason.
While in the north we explored Pereybere, Bain Boeuf, Grand Baie, Mont Choisy, but there is a lot more to see such as Trou aux Biches, Pointe aux Biches, etc. The beaches in the north compared to Flic en Flac, are smaller and divided by village centers (e.g. Pereybere, followed by Grad Baie), while Flic is a long endless beach.
3.) L'Aventure du Sucre: This museum provides an overview of Mauritian history and the importance of sugar for the island. Driving throughout the island you'll notice the endless amount of sugar cane fields. This museum is hosted in a former sugar factory and provides background on both history and the sugar production process. Although there is an entrance fee, the museums offers a free guided tour and a rum and sugar tasting afterwards, all of which I highly recommend (haha).
4.) Port Louis: Port Louis is similar to any capital city; it is a hustle and bustle, and full of life. The Caudan Water front is beautiful and the central market is a market where you can negotiate on prices for locally produced goods.
5.) North West Tour: Similar to the South West Tour we took, this tour goes over the important points in the North West of the island. These include the Botanical Garden, Cap Malheureux, Château de Labourdonnais, etc. It's a nice tour to take in order to get a full layout of the island, but it can be very exhausting because you're visiting 6 sights consecutively.