Things to Do in Mauritius: The Definitive List

You can drive Mauritius end to end in about three hours, yet most visitors fly home having seen one hotel beach and one waterfall. That is the real trap here. Inside roughly 2,000 square kilometres sit a coral lagoon, a volcanic interior, a Hindu pilgrimage lake and some of the best vegetarian street food outside India. Here is the sorted list of things to do in Mauritius, grouped by type, with rough costs, timings and best months.

One currency warning first, because it catches almost every Indian traveller. Mauritius activities are priced in Mauritian rupees, not Indian rupees: one MUR is roughly Rs 1.80 to Rs 1.90, so a menu reading 400 means about Rs 750. Every figure below is approximate, in Indian rupees, per person.

On and in the water

• Blue Bay Marine Park, glass bottom boat plus snorkel. About Rs 1,200 to Rs 2,500 for 90 minutes. Go between 8am and 10am, before the wind clouds the water.
• Catamaran day to Ile aux Cerfs, plus the Grand River South East waterfall. About Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,500 with barbecue lunch, 9am to 4pm. Confirm the vegetarian option when you book, not on the boat.
• Undersea walk at Grand Baie or Belle Mare. About Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,000 for 25 minutes on the seabed in a weighted helmet. No swimming needed, which is why families pick it.
• Dolphin watching off Tamarin. About Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500, 6am start, back by 10am. Spinner dolphins year round; humpback whales roughly July to October.
• Kitesurfing at Le Morne, best June to August when the trade winds blow hardest. Beginner lesson about Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000.

Nature and the interior

• Black River Gorges National Park. Free entry, and the Macchabee viewpoint trail runs 3 to 4 hours return. Carry water; nothing is sold inside.
• Le Morne Brabant hike. A UNESCO site where escaped slaves once sheltered on the summit. Guided climb about Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,500, 4 to 5 hours, start by 7am. The top section needs your hands, so skip it if rock makes you nervous.
• Chamarel combo ticket, covering the Seven Coloured Earths and the Chamarel waterfall, about Rs 600 to Rs 900, 45 minutes total.
• Trou aux Cerfs, the extinct crater above Curepipe. Free, 20 minutes.

Culture and history

This is the part Indian travellers underbook, and the part that lands hardest.

• Aapravasi Ghat, Port Louis. The depot where roughly half a million indentured Indian workers first stepped ashore from 1834 onward. Free or nominal entry, allow an hour, and read the panels rather than photographing the arch and leaving.
• Ganga Talao, also called Grand Bassin. A crater lake treated as sacred Ganga water, with the 33 metre Mangal Mahadev statue at the entrance. Free, 1 to 2 hours. Around Maha Shivaratri, hundreds of thousands walk here on foot.
• Port Louis Central Market, two hours, best before noon.

Food, and the vegetarian question

Vegetarians eat better here than almost anywhere outside India. Much of the population is of Bihari and Tamil descent, and a lot of the street food is plant based by default.

• Dholl puri, two soft flatbreads stuffed with split pea, served with butter bean curry and rougaille. About Rs 60 to Rs 100 a pair from a cart around Port Louis or Rose Hill.
• Gateaux piments (lentil and chilli fritters), farata with vegetable curries, and alouda, a chilled basil seed milk drink, at about Rs 80.
• Rum tasting at Rhumerie de Chamarel, about Rs 800 to Rs 1,500, an hour.
• Jain travellers should call restaurants a day ahead; onion and garlic are standard in creole cooking.

Nightlife, honestly

Mauritius is not a party island, and pretending otherwise sends groups home disappointed. Grand Baie is the only real strip, with a few beach clubs running to about 2am on weekends, plus casinos. Sega evenings at hotels are staged; the real thing happens at local beach gatherings on Sunday afternoons around Flic en Flac. Cocktails run Rs 700 to Rs 1,200.

With kids

• Casela Nature Park, about Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 base ticket, half a day.
• La Vanille Nature Park in the south, with giant tortoises children can walk among, Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,800.
• Curious Corner of Chamarel, an illusion museum, about Rs 800 to Rs 1,200, and a good rescue on a wet afternoon.

Two underrated picks

• Ile aux Aigrettes. A conservation island five minutes by boat from Pointe d'Esny. Guided walk about Rs 1,500 for two hours, with pink pigeons, giant tortoises and the last patch of native ebony forest. Book ahead; groups are capped.
• The Bois Cheri tea route and the south coast. Tour and tasting about Rs 900 to Rs 1,400, then drive to Gris Gris and Le Souffleur, where the reef stops and open ocean slams the cliffs. Half a day, no crowds.

What to skip

• Seven Coloured Earths as a headline attraction. A fenced patch of striped dunes seen from a walkway, done in 20 minutes. Fine inside the Chamarel combo, not worth a dedicated drive.
• Swim with dolphins boats. Several operators chase pods until the animals dive away. Pick a watch only operator instead.
• Shopping days. The malls sell what you already have at home.

Deciding what to do in Mauritius matters less than deciding where to sleep. Most itineraries park everyone in Grand Baie in the north, then drive 90 minutes each way to the south and west, where most of the nature and the best Mauritius attractions actually sit. Split the stay: three nights north, two or three around Flic en Flac, Le Morne or Bel Ombre.

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Know before you go

• Entry: Indians currently get entry on arrival for tourism with a passport valid six months, a return ticket, confirmed stay and proof of funds. Rules change, so confirm on the official Mauritius immigration portal.
• Flights: direct from Mumbai and Delhi, roughly 6 to 7.5 hours. Return fares about Rs 45,000 to Rs 75,000, higher over Diwali and Christmas.
• When to go: May to December is drier and cooler, January to March is humid and inside the cyclone window, and September to November is the sweet spot.
• Getting around: a rental car is about Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000 a day, driving is on the left as at home, and a full day with a driver runs Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,500.
• Money: cards work at hotels and larger restaurants; carry MUR cash for markets, street food and boat operators.
• Sun: the reef breeze hides the burn, so pack reef safe sunscreen and a rash guard.