MAURITIUS TRAVEL INFORMATION

People: Islanders are usually peculiar people but in the case of Mauritius that‘s not the case. People are generally friendly and a lot of them have a French or Indian background. Culturally not very interesting though. Score: 7

Landscape/Nature: since we have also seen a bit of the inland of the island we can genuinely say that Mauritius is a pretty island. It has not only nice beaches but also a pretty hillside landscape in the south where you can even hike in The Black Gorges NP. Apparently there is an interesting Botanical Garden in the capital Port Louis but we didn‘t visit. So it‘s nice but not spectacular. Score: 7

Transport/Infratructure: Mauritius is generally well developed so roads are good and buses do go around the island (and are cheap!). Mind you, all resorts offer transport to anywhere on the island but prices are ridiculous! Buses are good, frequent and cheap and thus a far better option. Score: 8

Wildlife/Animals: hmmmm, not the best place on earth. For birders there are some rare species like the pink pigeon but the dodo you won‘t find anymore. In the sea you might find some nice corals and fish outside the reef, but inside its very disappointing. Score: 4

Food: with all these resorts around there is no shortage of food. We stayed at La Pirogue for a while and my my, what an overdose on food. Very well arranged, I must say! Funny enough not much seafood, and if we wanted it was very very expensive. Strange for an island, no? Don‘t expect real local dishes though. Score: 7

Climate: we visited in February which is officially cyclone-season but it was quite pleasant. Sometimes some rains but nothing serious. Nice and warm and -of course- humid. Score: 9

Culture: well, for culture-buffs there is nothing worth visiting. We thought. Maybe some old Dutch or French buildings but nothing to write home about. Score: 4

Hygiene: since the island is well developed no problems with hygienic matters. Score: 8

Costs of Travelling: although the cheaper destination in the Indian Ocean (Seychelles and Maledives are much more expensive), its still far from a backpacker destination. If you stay in one of the resorts, either book one with all drinks included or buy outside the resort (beer in resort is 5$, outside 1$). Score: 3

Safety/Stability: we felt very safe but what‘s to happen within a resort? But even in the mountaineous area we felt very safe. Score: 9

Excitement/Adventure/Challenge: we‘ve seen better. Sure, one can go deep sea fishing (Marlin!) or parasailing or diving, but most people just try to get skin cancer on the beach. Score: 4

Overall score: 5.8

With this score Mauritius will NOT enter our top 10 of countries of the world to travel.