When you think of Mauritius, you probably think of beautiful bounty type beaches, cocktails, super deluxe resorts and honeymooners. We where wondering if Mauritius was fun visiting with kids too and decided to give it a try and went there with the lot of us. We soon discovered Mauritius is a wonderfully diverse island where there’s lot’s to do! We took the car rental for a spin and did tons of fun stuff. Mauritius with kids, the most fun things to do:
Mauritius with kids, don't miss out on this!
Flic and Flac
Located on the West Coast of Mauritius lies the place Flic and Flac. This is a relaxed seaside resort with fun little shops and restaurants. Flic and Flac is mostly known for it’s long stretch of beach where you can go for a great walk. It may not be the most beautiful beach of Mauritius, but the cosy atmosphere really made us enthusiastic for the place. We call it “Zandvoort of Mauritius”. Especially during the weekends there is a certain buzz among the many mixed tourists and locals. The locals have there stalls on the beach where you can order the most delicious panini sandwiches. There are tons of ice cream carts too (3 cheers from the kids) and a lot of the locals bring their own music so you can relax on your unicorn shaped airbed with your kids while floating in the sea and listening to tropical island sounds. Just lovely!
Pamplemousse botanical garden
if you fancy a little break from your ‘beach relaxing’ moments, a visit to the botanical gardens of Pamplemousse is a good option. We went there by car but traffic on Mauritius can be rather hectic so we got there a little hyped up and could do with a bit of peace and quiet. This is what you will find here. As soon as you step into the gardens a kind of serene peace comes over you and you can just walk around completely at ease. You will not only find the most amazing type of plants, but you will find dear and giant turtles too. The highlight of the garden has to be the large pond with the giant water lilies though. Very impressive! Be sure to bring your own snack and drink because there is no possibility of buying something in the park itself.
Chamarel
In the south of Mauritius lies a large nature area, Chamarel. There you will find true beauties of nature, such as the Charamel waterfall. The waterfall is very easily accessible. Just park the car on the parking lot and you will find the waterfall there. Our oldest daughter has been crazy about waterfalls from a very young age so she is very happy indeed. You can walk up a flight of steps to view the waterfall from a different angle if you like and 5 minutes further down you will find “the 7 colored Earth”, which is a nice walk too. These are a type of dunes that are shaped in a 7 colored pattern. Especially a good sight when the sun shines on them. Around the dunes is a nicely laid, buggy-proof path so you can go for a nice walk with your youngest. You will find giant turtles here too and get some good coffee (or ice cream) at the little restaurant near here.
The curious corner of Charamel
Mauritius is a very green island. And yes, green does equal rain. Even though it’s mainly terrific weather in Mauritius it can rain cats and dogs at times. During one of these days, visiting this museum is a lot of fun to do. Here, everything is about optical illusions. In the outside part of the museum there are all kinds of attributes to make really funny pictures. The good part here is that every visitor is given their own sort of guide so nobody walks in each others way. The guide explains how everything works and makes photo’s with your own camera, ideal. There is a fun part inside the museum too where you can do and learn all kinds of fun stuff. Kids will love this too. The fart-chair especially made my daughter laugh a lot. When we asked her what she thought the most fun thing was about Mauritius, surely enough she answered; the fart-chair. So don’t miss this when visiting Mauritius with kids!
Grand basin
Mauritius is not just an island bursting with beautiful beaches and nature, it’s a very religious island too. Not with just one religion but three. There are Christians, Muslims and Hindu’s living on the island. We are not religious ourselves but we love seeing these three different beliefs sharing this island together. You will see a church, a temple and a mosque in one street. The most sacred place on the island is Grand Basin, also named Ganga Talau. When you drive there by car suddenly you will be surprised by an enormous statue of Shiva. And with enormous I really mean e-nor-mous! Afterwards you can walk to the crater lake where Hindu temples are built all the way around with the most magnificent colored statues. There are lot’s of monkeys walking around too but beware! Not all the monkeys are friendly. You will notice soon that this place is very sacred indeed, because of the incense, praying people and calm and quiet. Very impressive, and for kids too.
Le Morne
To the south of Mauritius you will find the best beaches, Le Morne. Here, the more expensive resorts are located too, so there is a lot of luxury . Seeing as we are not staying in one of these fancy resorts ourselves, we go and lie on one of the public beaches. These lie adjoined to the beaches of one of the resorts so your welcome to walk around or have a drink there if you like. On the beach of hotel Lux Le Morne you have lovely hammocks that hang in the surf of the beaches and the beach of hotel St Regis Mauritius resort is full of beanbags where you can sit and relax. You can go on beautiful snorkeling adventures, go for a swim and it’s just the most bounty like beach you will find anywhere. What makes this beach even more special is the magnificent view of Le Morne Brabant, Mauritius’ mountain.
Grand Baie
If you would like to spice things up a little, Grand Baie is a fun place to visit. It’s the second largest city of Mauritius (the largest is the capital Port Louis). It’s lively, full of shops, restaurants and little bars. From Grand Baie there are lot’s of excursions to take, such as boat trips with dolphins, snorkel trips and lots more. We had to skip these things unfortunately because I get seasick really quick, so boat activities are a no go for me. But for busy good fun, Grand Baie is the place to be!
In conclusion, we really enjoyed this diverse island and even with kids this is a great place to visit. The locals adore children. The time difference with the Netherlands is minimal and there are lots of airlines flying this way. We chose Emirates ourselves, through a short stop in Dubai and stayed in Anaya Residence, a small scaled apartment complex in Flic and Flac. We preferred this instead of a resort, so we could experience more of the local life. Anaya Résidance is perfect for large families too, space to sleep for 6 people, very large and luxurious! Really terrific! So Mauritius with kids? GO FOR IT!
Do you need more travel inspiration? Check out this extensive Mauritius Travel Guide.
This article “Mauritius with kids, the most fun things to do” is written by our guest blogger Kim.
