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Indian Ocean
Mauritius
Where luxury meets island soul. The easiest good decision a South African family makes all year.
In Ruaan's words
Why I send people here
Mauritius is the one I send people to when they tell me they are tired. It is four hours from Johannesburg, there is no visa to arrange, and the time difference is two hours, so you land and you are already on holiday instead of recovering from getting there.
The north west coast is where most of the good hotels sit, and it is where I put first timers. Grand Baie if you want restaurants and a bit of life around you, Balaclava if you want to close the gate and not see anybody. The east is quieter and windier and better value, and if you have been before, that is usually where I move you next.
What I actually do here is match the property to the trip. An adults only resort is wasted on a family with a nine year old, and a big family resort will drive a couple mad in three days. That is a twenty minute conversation and it is the difference between a good week and an expensive one.
What makes it
Three things that decide the trip
The lagoon
Warm, shallow and calm enough that nobody has to be brave. Snorkelling straight off the beach at most of the northern properties.
The food
Creole, French and Indian in the same week, and the street food in Port Louis is worth a morning on its own.
The south
Chamarel, the waterfall, and lunch somewhere that does not appear on a booking site. One day, out early, back before the heat.
Photographs
Mauritius, as it actually looks
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Sample itinerary
What you actually receive
Click the right hand page to turn it. This is the shape of the document that lands in your inbox after we talk, not a brochure.
You land
Met at SSR International and driven to the coast. Nothing else asked of you until dinner, which is already booked.
Nothing, deliberately
The first full day stays empty on purpose. Most people need it, and every itinerary that skips it gets rewritten on the ground anyway.
Nothing, deliberately
The south
Chamarel, the seven coloured earths and the waterfall, then lunch inland. Out early, back before the heat.
The south
On the water
A private catamaran to Ile aux Cerfs, ahead of the day boats, back when the light turns.
On the water
And home
A late checkout that is already arranged, and someone on the phone from Jeffreys Bay if the flight moves.
And home
Or somewhere else
