Grand Baie and Beyond: A Complete Mauritius Travel Guide part 2.

Grand Baie is located on the northwest coast of Mauritius. This area is the most popular tourist destination on the island since it is a perfect choice for the first time visitor. This area was more touristic destination in Mauritius than Flic en Flac. Grand Baie was more developed, offering a wide range of shopping and dining choices. In contrast, Flic en Flac was calmer and had more local vibe compared to Grand Baie. Grand Baie and its surrounding areas offered numerous activities and attractions to explore. Let's see what is worth to see!

Where to stay

We stayed at KI Residences, what was also an apartment which had two bedrooms. There were a large swimming pool and a gym, what were possible to use for guests as well. The flat was a pleasant, modern and clean and had large terrace. We really liked it because it was very comfortable, spacious and well-equipped. It was possible to request a baby bassinet for our son too as well.

Where to eat

Le Poivrier

Le Poivrier in Grand Bay was one of our best restaurants experiences on the island. The food was very delicious, but it was more in the expensive than the others.

Le Fangourin

L'Aventure du Sucre's restaurant is called Le Fangourin. If you go to the sugarcane museum, don't skip to eat in this restaurant. The food was really good, and the view was magnificent.

L'Ocean

L'Ocean is a family-owned restaurant when you eat fresh fish and seafoods. They were very friendly, and the food was very tasty.

Bloom

Bloom is located in Pereybere. It was very close to our apartment, so we ate there twice. The restaurant is very fancy and cozy. However, you have to wait a lot since it can get quite busy. We waited more than an hour for the first time. They were faster next time, but we got our food before our son's, and we had to inquire about his lunch. Overall, the food was an average, nothing special. If you crave something special or you are in a rush, I don't recommend this restaurant.

What to see

Sir Seewoosagur Botanical Garden

The botanical garden is a very popular tourist attraction in Mauritius. It is located in Pamplemousses, near to the capital city, Port Louis. The garden was established in 1770 and named after Sir Seewoosagur who was the first prime minister of Mauritius between 1968 and 1982. The garden also includes 650 species of plants, ebonies, sugar canes, baobabs, Palmier Bouteilles, giant water lilies, dozens of medicinal plants, a large spice garden, and 85 varieties of palms. The admission ticket costs 300 rupees per person for those over 5 years old.

L'Aventure du Sucre

L'Aventure du Sucre is a sugarcane museum, which is located near to the botanical garden so combining these two in the same day makes sense. The museum was very interactive with lot of interesting information. The exhibition was very text heavy, but there was a free audio guide available via their app which summarized the info well. We saw the exhibition during our son's napping time, so we had got enough time to hear the audio guide too. He slept in the baby carrier sling on me. The admission ticket was 800 rupees for adults and free below 6-year-old and also contained sugar and rum tasting at the end of the exhibition.

The Domaine de Labourdonnais

The Domaine de Labourdonnais is a historic destination in Mauritius. The Domaine is famous for its Château, what was built in 1856. This colonial residence maintains the heritage of Mauritius and was inhabited for over 150 years. The entire estate, particularly the Château, offers a genuine experience of 19th-century lifestyle in Mauritius. There was a small animal park with domestic animals and giant turtles. The garden was packed with mango trees, palm trees and many beautiful plants.

In my opinion is that the property was beautiful, but overall, it wasn't a unique experience for us. The Sir Seewoosagur Botanical Garden was more beautiful. The park was fine, and the small zoo was disappointing. The Château offered no more than any typical European smaller castle with furniture from the 19th century. Overall, if you're short on time in Mauritius, you can skip this attraction.

Le Pouce

Le Pouce is the third highest summit in Mauritius with its 812-meter high. This is one highly recommended hiking route after Le Morne Brabant. It was named Le Pouce because of the thumb-shaped peak of the mountain. The hiking route was 4,2 km with 369-meter elevations. The route was moderate, but it was challenging for us with a baby in the hiking carrier since it could get quite steep. We reached the first viewpoint when we didn't go further with our son since path didn't seem to be safe with a baby. We took turns going up separately and waited for the other one at the viewpoint with our little one, but we didn't reach the peak either. The view was so amazing and breathtaking, if you are not with small children/toddler, you shouldn't miss it. We still enjoyed the hike, even though we didn't get to the top.

Plantation Vanille St Julien D'Hotman

St Julien D'Hotman is a family-owned vanilla plantation, what was founded in 1992. Vanilla bears fruit only once every 4 years. The manufacturing process also take a lot of months to prepare the vanilla fruits for consumption. Having a plantation like this is a risky business: the island is vulnerable to cyclones, so there is real possibility that the half-grown vanilla is swept away by the weather. So they are started to diversify and grow spices like peppercorns, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves etc. The tour also contained jam and home cooked biscuits tasting. We drank freshly made sugarcane juice too which was really tasty. After the visit we bought some souvenirs at their shops. The guided tour was only 200 rupees per person, free for our little son.

Street food tour in Port Louis

We booked a guided street food tour with Taste Buddies. The tour also included a brief city tour focusing on the history of Mauritius. We tasted plenty of delicious food like dhal puri, roti, dumplings with noodles, sweet potatoes cookies. We ate at plenty of places, which we wouldn't have tried on our own. The food was really delicious, and we didn't have any issue after eating there. Our son also enjoyed the spicy food, however, he became fussy during tour guide's speech, as we didn't pay as much attention to him as usually do. The tour lasted approximately 3 hours, officially it should be only 2 hours. I didn't know that the city tour part was take so long, I thought we would go to different places to eat, what wouldn't be any issue for him either. Overall, the street food tour was really good, so I definitely recommend it! If you're traveling with a small child, it's a good idea to assess how well your child is accepting of guided tours.

Red church at Cap Malheureux

This is a historical place where the British stepped to the shores in 1810 and attacked the French. The red- roofed temple was built on the same place where the British appeared.

On our last day before heading to the airport, we visited this place. The view was very fascinating, and we said farewell to Mauritius there.

Best beaches

Mont Choisy Public Beach

This beach was my personal favorite on the north coast of Mauritius. The ocean shimmered in every shade of turquoise. The pine forests along the shore offered shade and it wasn't crowded at all.

Bain Boueuf Public Beach

The Bain Boueuf Public Beach was my husband's favorite beach. The water was shallow, so we could be walked in for a long time. The color of the water was also very magnificent. This beach was indeed a hidden gem.

La Cuvette Public Beach

La Cuvette Public Beach was a very short ride away from our apartment. There were also a few people on the beach. However, there were only a few shaded areas because the trees hadn't got any leaves yet. The sun was very hot so we couldn't stay there for a long time with a small child.

Pereybere Public Beach

Pereypere Public Beach was very crowded and noisy during the weekend. The beach was packed with locals, who were drinking and hearing loud music. It wasn't a relaxing experience for us, but we got a peek into the locals' way of life.

Trou-aux-Biches Public Beach

Our experience at Trou-aux-Biches Public Beach was the worst. The beach was overcrowded and very unattractive.

Final thoughts

Overall, I think Mauritius was a good choice with a small child as well. Our son adjusted really well to the new environment. He is really waited to go somewhere each day. We weren't concerned about his sleeping arrangements because he didn't take his usual nap after lunch on the first day due to his excitement. In the following days, he took naps every afternoon, whether we were at the apartment, traveling in the car, or using the hiking carrier.

We really enjoyed being here. The island has got a lot of beautiful beaches but also offers a variety of stunning attractions, for those who prefer not to spend the entire day lounging on the beach. There were some activities which we missed such as more hiking, island hopping & water sports. We saw every we wanted, but these could be nice additions as well to complete the itinerary. The weather was perfect at the end of October and beginning of November. It was hot and sunny with only a little rain. It was perfect.