Holiday Destination: Mauritius

The warm sun shines through the crisp palm trees as I try to lap up the last rays of the day. Golden hour. Mauritius is something else - total relaxation, exotic encounters and delicious treats are just some of the words that come to my mind as I try to put this holiday into words.

STAYING IN MAURITIUS

The hotel was just amazing. We're talking beautifully calm swimming pools, surrounded by lush, green gardens and right of the edge of a beach with a view. The food was incredible too, typically Mauritian (I mean, who doesn't love a curry?) and totally delicious. It was the perfect base for lazy beach days and being at the north tip of the island meant that those days were filled with sunshine. We also made the most out of the all-inclusive activities, which meant daily fitness classes, a glass bottomed boat ride to see the turtles and chilled pedalo rides across the tranquil, turquoise ocean.

EXPLORING THE ISLAND

We spent a lot of the 2 weeks visiting and exploring the African island via excursions and local transport. The buses in Mauritius are super cheap and allowed us to visit the local towns, as well as Port Louis, without spending more than £2 at one time!

Our first excursion was a tour of the south; visiting the Sacred Lake and Hindu temple for a traditional blessing, Chamarel coloured sands, the Black River waterfall and La Vanille - where we had the most incredible tortoise feeding experience. We were very lucky that the sun was shining all day (the south can be temperamental!), meaning that we got the most out of every location. We spent another morning exploring the Botanical Gardens, which were beautiful, even in the winter.

Our favourite day by far was when we visited Casela Nature Park - in the west of the island. If you are an animal lover, this is the place to go. When entering the park, it became clear that animal welfare was top priority and the space in the park was incredible; a proper safari experience. There are plenty of activities and experiences to do here so we planned our day tightly; lion interaction, safari truck, giraffe feeding experience and the Tulawaka rollercoaster - as well as observing the other animals and visiting the petting farm. The lion interaction was something we decided to do based on watching them and after talking to the lion keepers and what an experience it was! When else are we ever going to get the chance to be up and personal with such an incredible animal? Only in Africa! I would highly recommend this experience and the park to anyone visiting Mauritius.

Mauritius was the perfect place for us to get to know a different region and for anyone thinking of an Indian Ocean holiday where you can explore an island, get to know the locals, as well as enjoy a 5* hotel experience, well - this is it.

Until the next one x