Guides & tips
Plan your trip like a local
Honest answers to the questions travellers ask us most.
The Best Time to Visit Mauritius: The Cyclone Season Has Official Dates, and October Is the Driest Month
The cyclone season runs 1 November to 15 May, by definition. February and March are the wettest months, October the driest. Summer averages 24.7 °C and winter 20.4 °C. What the meteorological service publishes, and which months that actually rules out.
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Île aux Cerfs by Boat: Catamaran, Speedboat, and What the Price Leaves Out
The same island, the same lagoon, and prices from €45 to €125 for a day there. What differs is the boat, the hours on the water and whether the waterfall and the water sports are included. The numbers from 75 island trips in our inventory.
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Wildlife Parks in Mauritius: Three Very Different Visits, and the Cut-Off Times Nobody Mentions
La Vanille charges Rs 975 for a visiting adult and Rs 450 for a resident, and asks you to arrive before 3pm. Casela ends its animal interactions at 3.30pm. Île aux Aigrettes cannot be visited alone at all. What the parks publish, and what it does to a day trip.
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Mauritius with Children: The Three-Person Rule, and the Ages the Lagoon Really Enforces
Only three people including the life-saver may be in the water with dolphins at once, so a family of four cannot go in together. The Belle Mare water sports package turns away under-8s. Chamarel is free under 5. The age limits that decide a family's week here.
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Port Louis Is a Morning City: Street Food, and the UNESCO Site That Closes at Noon
Aapravasi Ghat is free, takes about an hour, and shuts at 4pm on weekdays, noon on Saturdays and all day Sunday. The food tours run three to three and a half hours. Why a Port Louis day works before lunch and not after it.
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Quad, Buggy or 4x4 in Mauritius: Same Reserve, Same Two Hours, Three Different Age Limits
In Bel Ombre the quad turns away anyone under 12, the buggy anyone under 5, and the 4x4 safari anyone under 3 — the same reserve, the same two hours, from €35 to €144. What the operators publish about ages, licences and footwear.
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Snorkelling Blue Bay Marine Park: Where You May Swim, and Where You May Not
The park covers 353 hectares and is divided into zones by law. You may only swim inside the marked swimming zone, boats are held to three knots, and a dive mooring may be used for 90 minutes at most. What that means for a €24 glass-bottom trip and a four-hour snorkelling day.
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Swimming with Dolphins in Mauritius: Six in the Morning to Noon, Three People in the Water
The law sets the hours, the distances and the number of swimmers. Boats may not go out for it after noon, only three people including the lifesaver may be in the water at once, and swimming with a whale is an offence. What the regulations say, and what it means for a booking in Tamarin.
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Water Sports in the Mauritian Lagoon: Real Durations, and the Rules Nobody Mentions
An undersea walk is 15 to 20 minutes on the sand. A parasailing flight is three to four minutes. Inside a marine park you may only swim in the marked swimming zone, and water skiing needs a permit. What you get for your money, and what the regulations say.
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What to See in Mauritius: The Sites, the Hours and the Fees That Decide Your Day
Chamarel charges Rs 800 and shuts half an hour earlier in winter. Le Morne's trail closes its gate at 4pm and ends at a metal cross, not at the summit. Pamplemousses opens every day of the year. The published numbers for the island's main sights, and what they do to a plan.
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