Private South-West Mauritius Tour: Which of Five Chamarel Day Trips Should You Book?
5 min read
For most people: the private south-west tour with lunch at €98 — 7 hours, 4.8 stars from 1,336 reviews, with the Chamarel waterfall, the Seven Coloured Earth, entrances and lunch in the price. For two to four people who would rather share one car price, the private southwest or south tour with pickup is €108 per group of up to four and has the top rating, 4.8 from 1,446 reviews, but it does not stop at the Chamarel waterfall.
The five tours compared
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private south-west with lunch | 7 hours | €98 per group up to 1 | 4.8 · 1,336 | Chamarel waterfall and Seven Coloured Earth, all-in |
| Private southwest or south with pickup | 7 hours | €108 per group up to 4 | 4.8 · 1,446 | Two to four people sharing one car |
| Sights of the South with rum tasting | 8 hours | €84 per group up to 6 | 4.4 · 96 | Groups of five or six |
| Private south-west, 7 Colored Earth and lunch | 8 hours | €113.52 per person | 4.3 · 43 | A slower day with lunch in Chamarel |
| South of the island, full day | 8 hours | €128.72 per person | 3.9 · 41 | Tea and rum rather than waterfalls |
The two with 1,000+ reviews are not the same day
They look alike in the table and they are not. The €88.20 tour lists six stops with times: Chamarel Waterfall, Seven Coloured Earth, Black River, Alexandra Falls, Ganga Talao and Trou aux Cerfs. The entrances to all of them and lunch with drinks are in the price. It is listed per group of one, so €88.20 is the figure for a single traveller; what two or three pay is shown by the booking calendar for your date. Guides speak French, English and Hindi.
The €110 tour drives from Curepipe and Floreal to the Trou aux Cerfs crater, Grand Bassin and the Alexandra Falls viewpoint, then to the Black River Gorges viewpoint, and ends at La Vallée des Couleurs, a different coloured-earth park from the Chamarel one. Up to four people share the price; the page says entry fees at the attractions are not included and that you will have the chance to lunch during the tour, with recommendations. If the Chamarel waterfall is the reason you are going, this is not the tour.
See availability and prices for the €108 private tour
The €84 tour: cheap, and it opens with shopping
At €84 for up to six this is the lowest price per head by a wide margin, but read the page: entrance fees are not included, lunch is not included, and the programme opens with a ship-model factory, a diamond factory and souvenir shops before the sights. It does reach the Chamarel waterfall, the Seven Coloured Earth and the Chamarel rum distillery. One reviewer found the distillery closed on a Sunday. The page says the tour is not wheelchair accessible and lists people with mobility impairments as not suitable. For six people in one car it is still the cheapest way into the south.
See availability and prices for the Sights of the South tour
The two priced per person
Both of these are priced per person, which changes the sum fast. For a party of four, the Chamarel lunch tour comes to €442.64 and the tea-and-rum tour to €501.92, against €110 for one car.
The tour with the 7 Colored Earth includes the entrance ticket to the Seven Colored Earth and the Chamarel waterfall, a lunch in Chamarel village with soft drinks, and bottled water. It is the only per-person tour that justifies itself, and only for a couple who want a guide at their own pace.
The full-day tour of the south is a different day: the Bois Chéri tea factory with a tasting, a rum tasting at Rhumerie de St Aubin, and Gris Gris at the end. At 3.9 stars it is the lowest rated here, and its programme leaves out the Chamarel waterfall and the Seven Coloured Earth.
Which to book
One or two people who want Chamarel done properly: the €88.20 tour with lunch, after checking the price for your party. Three or four who want one price for the car and are happy to see the crater, the temple and the viewpoints instead of the waterfall: the €110 tour, and keep money aside for entry and lunch. Five or six: the €84 tour, knowing what it leaves out of the price.
If you would rather drive the south-west yourself, the south-west drive, gate by gate lists every stop, and you can compare car hire prices in Mauritius.
