Things to do in the north of Mauritius
Published · The Villa Mauritius
The north is the most practical base on the island: the best lagoons, the main tourist village, the catamaran departures and the botanical garden are all within twenty minutes of Mont Choisy. Here is what fills a week without ever driving more than an hour, plus two longer days for the west and the south.
Start with the beaches, they are the reason you came
Mont Choisy beach is three minutes from the villa and is the longest on the island, two kilometres of sand under the filao trees. Trou aux Biches, five minutes to the south, has the calm shallow lagoon you see on postcards and the best sunsets on this coast. Pereybere, ten minutes to the north, is a small cove with deeper water close to the shore, good for a proper swim. Cap Malheureux is the beach for the view rather than the swim: the red-roofed church faces Coin de Mire island.
On weekdays all of them are quiet. At weekends Mauritian families arrive for the day with picnics, music and football, which is part of the pleasure. We have a separate guide to the beaches of the north with the details of each one.
A day at sea: the northern islands by catamaran
Catamarans leave Grand Baie around nine in the morning for Gabriel Island and Flat Island, forty minutes off the north coast. The day includes a barbecue lunch on board, snorkelling over the coral, and a stop on a beach of white sand with nobody else on it. Boats come back around four. It is the one activity every guest does, and the one worth booking early in the high season. Count on a full day and bring reef shoes, a hat and sunscreen that will not run into the water.
The Pamplemousses botanical garden and L'Aventure du Sucre
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden at Pamplemousses is twenty minutes away. It is the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere, famous for its pond of giant water lilies, its talipot palms and its avenues of spice trees. Go early, when the light is soft and the paths are empty; two hours is enough. Next door, L'Aventure du Sucre is an old sugar mill turned into a museum that explains the history of the island through sugar, with a tasting of rum and unrefined sugars at the end. The two together make a good half day, ideal for a rainy morning.
Cap Malheureux and the tip of the island
Fifteen minutes north, the road ends at Cap Malheureux, where the British landed in 1810. The small church with its red roof is one of the most photographed places in Mauritius, and the view across to Coin de Mire is better still at the end of the afternoon. Continue along the coast to Grand Gaube for a quieter beach and a few local restaurants where fishermen bring in the catch.
Port Louis in a morning: market, Caudan, Chinatown
The capital is thirty minutes away by the motorway. Go in the morning, before the heat: the Central Market for spices, vanilla, fruit and the famous dholl puri, then Chinatown and the Jummah Mosque a few streets away, then the Caudan Waterfront for lunch by the harbour. The Blue Penny Museum holds the two rarest stamps in the world. Leave the car in the Caudan car park and walk; the centre is compact. Avoid Saturday afternoon and Sunday, when most of the town is closed.
Golf, diving and water sports without driving far
The villa sits inside the Mont Choisy Le Golf estate, an 18-hole course a few hundred metres from the front door. Dive centres in Trou aux Biches and Pereybere take beginners and certified divers to the reefs and wrecks of the north; the water is between 23 and 29 degrees all year. Grand Baie is the base for parasailing, water skiing, the undersea walk and the submarine for those who want to see the reef without getting wet. Kayaks and paddle boards can be hired on Mont Choisy beach.
Grand Baie after dark
Grand Baie is the only place in the north with real nightlife: restaurants on the water, bars along the main road and a few clubs that run until late on Friday and Saturday. It is ten minutes from the villa, and a taxi back costs a few hundred rupees. For a quieter evening, the restaurants of Trou aux Biches and Pereybere are five to ten minutes away. The villa's own basement, with the cinema, the bar and the billiard table, is the answer on the nights you do not want to go anywhere.
Further afield: the west and the south in a day
Two full days are worth the drive. To the west, an hour away, Tamarin bay for the dolphins at dawn, then Casela nature park and the Chamarel road with its seven-coloured earth and waterfall, back through Flic en Flac for a sunset on the beach. To the south, an hour and a half, the wild coast of Gris Gris and Souillac, the Bois Chéri tea plantation and the Grand Bassin lake, the most important Hindu site on the island. Leave early and take the motorway both ways.
Questions about this
- How many days do you need in the north of Mauritius?
- A week covers the beaches, a catamaran day, Pamplemousses, Port Louis and one or two evenings in Grand Baie. With ten days you add the west and the south without rushing.
- Do you need a car at Mont Choisy?
- Not strictly, since the beaches, shops and restaurants are within ten minutes by taxi, but a car makes the island easy: Port Louis is thirty minutes away and the rest of the island one to two hours. Driving is on the left and the roads in the north are good.
- What can you do in the north when it rains?
- L'Aventure du Sucre, the Blue Penny Museum in Port Louis, the shops of Grand Baie, the Domaine de Labourdonnais with its rum tasting, and the villa's cinema and games room. Showers rarely last more than an hour in the north.
- Is the north of Mauritius good for a first visit?
- Yes. It has the calmest sea on the island, the widest choice of restaurants and activities, and it is the closest coast to Port Louis. Most first-time visitors stay between Trou aux Biches and Grand Baie.
