Travel Agent Port Shepstone

I was lucky enough to go to Mauritius on a family holiday in 2007. What a wonderful experience it was. Although I had been to Mauritius three other times, this trip was different. I have to say, Mauritius is my favourite family holiday destination. The locals are always very friendly and happy people, the hotels are lovely, it’s safe and our currency is worth something there!

I stayed at Le Canonnier Hotel which is a 4 Star property on the North West of the island. It is very close to Grand Baie – about 10 minutes by taxi or bus. The local buses stop just down the road from the hotel and are a very cheap way of getting around. I stayed in a family apartment which has 2 full bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms as well as a verandah which either overlooks the beautiful gardens or is sea facing. There are 2 restaurants to choose from for meals – one under the trees and the other overlooking the beach.

I took the “fully inclusive” option which I think is a must if you are going as a family or in a crowd. The basic packages include breakfast and dinner but if you take the fully inclusive add on, it also includes lunch, all local drinks and cocktails, sandwiches from the sandwich bar all day, pancakes at 4pm, the mini bar in the room which is restocked daily and picnic lunches if you are going out for the day. Drinks in Mauritius can be expensive so the fully inclusive option took care of that.

The hotel has a “Bob Marlin” kiddies club which is for children from 3 – 12 years of age and is in an old lighthouse on the property. My children had a wonderful time there. On the first day they each received a “Bob Marlin” back pack which really delighted them! Every day they did different outdoor activities eg. waterskiing, glass bottom boats, crab hunting, swimming etc. Indoor activities included different craft making things. They could either eat lunch and dinner at the kiddies club or with us. In the evenings they could go back and watch videos or play while we had a quiet dinner and enjoyed some evening entertainment. It was very well run and the children loved it. My children were aged 5 and 4 years at the time and loved the holiday. They keep asking when we can go back.

I went in low season which is from May to September when it is winter and the hotels have specials. The weather is still warm but not scorching hot. It was warm enough to sit on the beach and swim in the sea and swimming pool. The evenings were also warm but not hot.

We did 2 day trips. The first thing I did was to arrange a half day tour which took us to Pamplemousse Gardens which is the botanical gardens. They are famous for their giant water lilies and even a baby could sit on! We then went to Port Louis. First stopping at the top of a big hill overlooking the city then down into the hustle and bustle of the city where we visited the markets and the waterfront and got a feel for the place before heading back to the hotel. Shopping in Mauritius is a great experience as our money goes quite far and the vendors expect one to bargain them down.

The next day trip we did was the catamaran cruise from Grand Baie to Gabrielle Island. It took about 2 hours of sailing to get us to the island. Once there, we could either stay on the boat and relax or go onto the island and sun tan, swim or snorkel. We then had a braai off the back of the catamaran. It was a full day tour and was an amazing experience. I would definitely do it again.

All in all it was an amazing holiday and next time I will definitely go for a minimum of 10 nights and not only 7!