[AltoLXI]

I am planning trip to Mauritius some time during first half of July with family. Could not plan earlier as dates were not confirmed. For Bali, our flight tickets, hotel and insurance was done by friendly neighborhood tour agency.

All I know is that visa is on arrival for Indians in Mauritius. But now, if I plan to book tickets and hotels myself next week, what documents are expected for visa on arrival? Checklist I read are,

- Valid passport
- Return flight bookings (Do they need confirmed tickets?)
- Hotel bookings (Does book now - pay at hotel works?)
- Insurance (is it required and if yes, how much I should buy for?)
- Bank statement for expenses - required?
- Any others

I have checked a few travelogues and have general idea on places to visit but any good resorts for family within reasonable rates?

Any tips would be helpful for my planning.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

All I know is that visa is on arrival for Indians in Mauritius. But now, if I plan to book tickets and hotels myself next week, what documents are expected for visa on arrival? Checklist I read are,

I visited Mauritius last month to celebrate our Anniversary. This is the best time to visit Mauritius I feel. Weather is pleasant & mostly below 30 degrees. Visa on Arrival is by far the easiest I have encountered!

- Valid passport
- Return flight bookings (Do they need confirmed tickets?)
- Hotel bookings (Does book now - pay at hotel works?)

These are mandatory I believe.

- Insurance (is it required and if yes, how much I should buy for?)

Not mandatory. They're cheap, so can get travel insurance.

- Bank statement for expenses - required?

I carried a hard copy with me. Wasn't checked at Immigration.

- Any others

https://safemauritius.govmu.org/
Fill this form & keep a hard copy with you. They asked for this at Mauritius Airport. Luckily I had kept a copy with me. My travel agent told me its not compulsory, which turned out to be inaccurate!

I have checked a few travelogues and have general idea on places to visit but any good resorts for family within reasonable rates?

Tamassa Bel Ombre is something which I came across during my research as value for money. I stayed at Anantara Iko which is very close to the Airport.

Any tips would be helpful for my planning.

In South Tour you can cover - Trou Aux Cerfs (Dead Volcano), Grand Bassin (Ganga Talao), Seven Colored Earth, Chamarel Waterfall, Chamarel Viewpoint, Maconde Viewpoint.
In North Tour - Marie Reine De Laa Paix, Citadel Fort Adelaide, Caudan Waterfront, Grand Baie Beach, Red Roof Church.

These are the set tours. Ile Aux Cerfs only visit if you're interested in watersports activities.

[Evyas]

Originally Posted by AltoLXI

I am planning trip to Mauritius some time during first half of July with family. Could not plan earlier as dates were not confirmed. For Bali, our flight tickets, hotel and insurance was done by friendly neighborhood tour agency.

All I know is that visa is on arrival for Indians in Mauritius. But now, if I plan to book tickets and hotels myself next week, what documents are expected for visa on arrival? Checklist I read are,

- Valid passport
- Return flight bookings (Do they need confirmed tickets?)
- Hotel bookings (Does book now - pay at hotel works?)
- Insurance (is it required and if yes, how much I should buy for?)
- Bank statement for expenses - required?
- Any others

I have checked a few travelogues and have general idea on places to visit but any good resorts for family within reasonable rates?

Any tips would be helpful for my planning.

Hi,
it is a wonderful place to visit, I'm sure your family will love it! Yes, visa is on arrival and though I went almost 7 years ago, I did it all on my own. No agent required unless you can get good flights through the agency. I didn't even carry any bank statements then.

I would highly recommend this blog - I did all my planning by reading these guys:

https://www.bruisedpassports.com/whe...o-in-mauritius

You can hire a car and roam around - Mauritius is beautiful to see on your own. In case you still need a tour guide, any hotel you stay in would have one.

I'll try and hunt for my travel pics so you can get a better idea and post here but BruisedPassports have done a lot of deep dives into Mauritius.

Something you HAVE to do is the 'Under Sea Walk'. It is an out of this world experience especially with kids. And the Casela Park Walk with Lions is lovely too.

https://caselaparks.com

Don't stress about anything - it's a very laid back place. LOTS of hotels and now AirBnBs. When we had gone it was to La Pirogue, but it was undergoing some renovation so we got dirt cheap rates. It is a bit expensive now.

And the best part is you'll find people there who will WANT to talk to you in hindi since they are all 4-5 generations separated from their Indian ancestors so they learn hindi as a language and love to practise on unsuspecting Indians

[NomadSK]

Hello,

Most of the tips given by the t-bhpians are bang on target. I visited few months ago and everything was done by myself. I had booked an Airbnb as we were 3 families traveling and it was right at the beach. That was the best part of our trip.

I would just add few pointers from my point of view,

1. Rent cycles, it’s a lovely place to cycle around.
2. Take loads of sunscreen with higher SPF.
3. Don’t don’t forget mosquito repellant, it’s too dense plantation country with all kinds of insects, specially mosquitoes.
4. Try to book your accommodation at south-west of the country, most of the places for tourists are close by. We stayed on east side, it was quite peaceful but far far away from touristic hustle bustle.
5. We rented cars and that made our lives a lot easier. Driving etiquettes are a lot better than india.

It’s a water paradise. Have fun.

[Revvatron]

Nice travelogue. I am planning for Mauritius trip and have been going through different travelogues in this site. I am planning for a trip in the month of February. I am trying to find out about the seasons and google says it has only summer and winter. I am afraid February might be risky with rainfalls. Any idea if it is a good time to visit?

[ShreyG]

Hello folks. I am planning to visit Mauritius in the next 4 months and was planning to make it a driving holiday given that the island is not too big to explore, overall reviews of great, scenic roads and no issues with using local DL for 4 weeks.

I have mostly narrowed down on the hotels and itinerary thanks to @PPS. My question is on rental cars in Mauritius. I am seeing quite a difference in prices for local dealers who say they have meet and greet facilities at the airport vs the standard Hertz / Avis etc (to the tune of double prices). Ideally, my preference would be to book a car at the airport itself, but attractive pricing is tilting me towards pre-booking online. Any advise/experience on the same?

I come to understand that April is somewhat off season so, hopefully, availability should not be a concern. TIA

[Arun_S]

Originally Posted by PPS

In South Tour you can cover - Trou Aux Cerfs (Dead Volcano), Grand Bassin (Ganga Talao), Seven Colored Earth, Chamarel Waterfall, Chamarel Viewpoint, Maconde Viewpoint.
In North Tour - Marie Reine De Laa Paix, Citadel Fort Adelaide, Caudan Waterfront, Grand Baie Beach, Red Roof Church.

These are the set tours. Ile Aux Cerfs only visit if you're interested in watersports activities.

Do you suggest to split the stay between couple of days in North and couple of days in South, due to the travel times?

Originally Posted by ShreyG

I have mostly narrowed down on the hotels and itinerary thanks to @PPS

I come to understand that April is somewhat off season so, hopefully, availability should not be a concern. TIA

I am also planning around the same time. If it is not a problem would you mind what hotels you have shortlisted and the places you are planning to visit.

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

I am also planning around the same time. If it is not a problem would you mind what hotels you have shortlisted and the places you are planning to visit.

Hotel would be mostly around Port Louis since my family and I aren't that much interested in a beach front resort. Since it is somewhat central, travel distance to pretty much anywhere would be <90 mins. So planning on staying for 8 days in the same place. Since I have a toddler, I need a place to stay with a functioning kitchen. So options get limited to the Ninetysix collection (brand name and not #) of hotels. I did however like the Le Suffiron hotel in Port Louis, LUX chain of hotels e.g Grand Gaub in the north and I think there is Tamassa bel hombre in the south which is a favorite.

Itinerary is also fluid since we will be there for 7-8 days but the list is pretty much consistent with the what has been mentioned in the previous thread.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Arun_S

Do you suggest to split the stay between couple of days in North and couple of days in South, due to the travel times?

Not at all! Its a small island nation, makes no sense to split the stay.

[Arun_S]

Thank you PPS and ShreyG.

One more question PPS, what about food options as we are vegetarians, do we have good food options available?

[Evyas]

Originally Posted by ShreyG

Ideally, my preference would be to book a car at the airport itself, but attractive pricing is tilting me towards pre-booking online. Any advise/experience on the same?

I come to understand that April is somewhat off season so, hopefully, availability should not be a concern. TIA

Hi, would suggest you pre-book since availability of the kind of car you want might be an issue. As you said, April is off-season so some cars might be out of commission/repair stage. We went and booked once in Mauritius but specific cars were an issue if I remember correctly. If you’re ok with any car you get shouldn’t be an issue.

This is the rental we had used - Pingouin:
https://www.carrental-mauritius.com/

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by Evyas

This is the rental we had used - Pingouin:
https://www.carrental-mauritius.com/

Thank you very much for the recommendation. The driving experience in Mauritius was absolutely delightful and my trip was a success with no hiccups primarily due to a reliable car provided by Pingouin.

I drove ~1,000kms within 8 days on an island where the maximum point to point distance would be <80kms.

[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by ShreyG

Thank you very much for the recommendation. The driving experience in Mauritius was absolutely delightful and my trip was a success with no hiccups primarily due to a reliable car provided by Pingouin.

Hi, did you book this after or before reachimg Mauritius. Also do we have to book hotel/airbnb where this car rental office would be nearby. Just a little confused about how the car rental would work there.

[ShreyG]

Originally Posted by Revvatron

Hi, did you book this after or before reachimg Mauritius. Also do we have to book hotel/airbnb where this car rental office would be nearby. Just a little confused about how the car rental would work there.

I had booked beforehand and paid 25% for the same. Remaining was paid on picking up the vehicle from the airport. Would advise the same since they are quite popular and on the spot availability can be an issue.

There are no restrictions for the hotel / airbnb to be near the car rental office. I stayed almost 60kms away and dropped off the car on the day of my departure from Mauritius. You just need to make sure that it is during their working hours (6am - 9pm IIRC).

Car rental in Mauritius is as straight forward as it can be. Show up, provide your license and passport, pay any remaining balance (they do no collect any safety deposit), vehicle is provided and you move on. The attendant in my case marked the vehicle scratched on all sides (even though it wasn't the case) for his and my peace of mind. Would still recommend to create a video of the vehicle condition and working equipment. The overall process should not take more than 5 mins.