The most European Africa: what kind of vacation attracts Mauritius
The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in 2024 showed a phenomenal increase in tourist traffic from Russia: according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), according to the results of January-August, compared to 2023, it increased by more than 119%. On what attracts Mauritius and what kind of vacation offers the island to its guests - in the material "Izvestia".
"First there was Mauritius, and then they created paradise"
"Mauritius is the only place in the world where a visitor is not asked the traditional question: "Do you like it here?". - wrote about the island Mark Twain, who visited Mauritius in the late XIX century during a sea voyage from India to Africa. - Here the native speaks about his country himself and does not ask for the help of a visitor".
From one such native, for example, the American writer learned that the island of Mauritius was created first, and then God created paradise in its image.
"Mauritius is a truly unique destination. Despite the fact that the island was originally discovered by Arabs, for a long time Europeans "ruled" there: first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, then the French, who were replaced by the British. Thanks to this serious European influence, today Mauritius can boast unique architecture, excellent cuisine and one of the best excursion programs: safaris, trips to the mountains, swimming in the ocean with dolphins and sharks and - perhaps the most popular - a helicopter flight over an underground waterfall," says Anna Tkachenko, commercial director of Resort Holiday tour operator.
For centuries Mauritius has been digesting religions, traditions, cuisine and customs of its inhabitants like a huge cauldron. Initially there was no indigenous population on the island - for centuries it was the territory of birds and unique plants. The first slaves from Madagascar and continental Africa were brought here in the XVII century by Dutch colonizers, then - under the French - natives of Africa became the majority in Mauritius. The British, who replaced the French, actively began to invite to the island natives of India and China, not as slaves, but as contract workers.
Under the British, the population of Mauritius grew many times over - from 70 thousand to more than 200 thousand people. The same Mark Twain, getting off the ship in Port Louis - the capital of Mauritius - noted "the largest number of different nationalities of all colors and shades of skin that we have seen before." "French, English, Chinese, Arabs, Africans with curly hair, blacks with straight hair, Indians, people of mixed blood, quartherons - a veritable kaleidoscope of costumes and colors," he wrote.
A sega island
Mauritius is still a multi-ethnic and multilingual society, where mosques neighbor Christian cathedrals and Buddhist temples, and Catholic, Buddhist and Hindu festivals are celebrated on an equal scale.
The longest and largest festival in Mauritius is dedicated to the Creole culture, brought to the island by slaves in the XVI-XVII centuries. Festival International Kreol (FIK) takes place in December and last month, for example, lasted for 10 days - from December 12 to December 22.
The opening of the festival was held on the beach at the mountain Le Morne-Braban, or Mountain of Death - a sacred place for the inhabitants of Mauritius: according to legend, in the XIX century, a group of runaway slaves hid on this mountain, without knowing that the British just at that moment abolished slavery. And when soldiers approached the mountain to inform the fugitives that they were free, the slaves, thinking they were to be returned to the plantations, chose to jump off the cliff and crash to their deaths.
"This colorful and distinctive festival shows that Mauritius is more than beaches and luxury hotels. We want this festival to become a global event and attract tourists from different countries," said Mauritius Tourism Minister Richard Duval at the opening of the FIK.
The festival could be felt almost all over the island: all 10 days creative troupes traveled around Mauritius, staging various performances and fiery dancing in the style of sega - a dynamic dance, which was performed by slaves in the evenings after a hard day on the plantations. Sega is now considered the national music of Mauritius.
And in the most tourist area of Mauritius in the framework of FIK held a festival of Creole food, where numerous tourists could try the most popular dishes of Mauritian cuisine, including boule (something like dumplings, but with different fillings) and roti flatbread - the most popular fast food on the island. The flatbreads are wrapped in meat or vegetable curries, but there are also more "exotic" versions - with chicken, meat, fish, shrimp or octopus.
Island of safety
Experts of the tourist market call Mauritius a Europeanized Africa or the Cote d'Azur of the Indian Ocean. For half a century it has been a favorite resort of European aesthetes and aristocrats, and they choose this place for a reason. First of all, the island has a first-class level of service. As experts say, even in 4* hotels the service in Mauritius can be higher than, for example, in "five" hotels in Zanzibar or Seychelles.
"Mauritius ranks second in the standard of living in the whole Africa (Seychelles is on the firstplace ). This provides an excellent level of service and recreation outside the hotels, as well as safety. Yes, and the tourism industry of Mauritius has been developing very long and actively, the main markets for this destination are in Western Europe, and this affects the quality of service in the most positive way," says Artur Muradyan, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, head of tour operator Space Travel.
The tourism sector in Mauritius began to take shape immediately after the country gained independence in 1968 and was initially aimed at French pensioners: at that time it was the elderly people were considered the most solvent tourists. And why exactly the French? Because with France, even "during the time of the British" Mauritius retained warm and mutually beneficial relations. So do not be surprised when now in most hotels in Mauritius instead of the traditional hello you will be greeted with the phrase bonjour.
And what do elderly European tourists need? Warm sea, sandy beaches, comfortable weather and safety. And all this Mauritius could provide: the new authorities of the independent country for the sake of tourists finally ended malaria on the island and finished the health care system founded by the British so that the country has become one of the safest destinations for vacation not only in Africa, but also in the world.
Safety in Mauritius is expressed literally in everything: from swimming in the Indian Ocean (almost all beaches of the island are protected by a coral reef, so there are no strong waves and marine predators) to epidemiology - Mauritius is completely free of any dangerous animals and diseases.
And the British should be thanked for this: after the island began to have pockets of various diseases due to population growth in the XIX century, the colonizers introduced a quarantine system when entering the country: everyone who planned to go ashore had to spend some time in isolation.
"This island is a place of endless quarantines. Here they keep a steamship in quarantine all the time, whether there is a reason for it or not; they keep it for 20 and even 30 days at a time. Once a steamship was quarantined only because its captain had smallpox as a child," Mark Twain wrote about the rules of visiting Mauritius.
Now there is no mandatory quarantine, but the epidemiological situation is strictly monitored. Everyone coming to the island must fill out an online health questionnaire, and already in Mauritius at the border crossing to be examined. However, for Europeans, as well as for Russians arriving in Mauritius from their home countries, the examination is rather formal: "Do you have a temperature, cough?" - "No." - "Welcome." But for those arriving from the African continent, the procedure is more serious: they may be sent to a medical room for tests and a more thorough health check.
"Mauritius is considered one of the best luxury destinations. And despite the fact that the island is quite far beyond the equator, the tourist flow here is quite stable. Locals live at their own rhythm, and the general atmosphere of the island disposes to a measured and relaxed vacation," says Anna Tkachenko from Resort Holiday.
"Sterility and safety is the main priority in Mauritius, and this is what attracts many people. However, it also imposes some peculiarities on the life of the island. For example, in Mauritius you will practically never see such "fish abundance", which is often found in markets in Asian countries. And all because fish is not sold along the roads here - it is unhygienic. Almost everything that is caught, immediately sent to restaurants and hotels, and fishing markets work only in the morning, so that the locals before work could buy fresh catch.
Best time to visit Mauritius
The best time to visit Mauritius is in the summer. But since the island is located south of the equator, summer is from December to February. However, you should take into account that in December-January is the cyclone season on the island.
In general, the climate on Mauritius is special - there is no rainy season here, as, for example, in Asia, in fact the island has eternal summer. Even in the coldest month of the year - and this is July - the air temperature on the coast has never fallen below 20 degrees Celsius (in the mountains can be colder). And as for cyclones, as expats living in Mauritius say, "it only sounds scary".
"In Mauritius, a cyclone is three days of bad weather at most. And on the first and last day the wind is insignificant, but the middle day is the peak of activity," says Nadezhda, a tour guide at Luxe Voyage travel company. - Last year, for example, we had four cyclones, but only one was strong, when even flooded Port Louis".
For hundreds of years, the inhabitants of Mauritius have managed to adapt well to the arrival of cyclones and understand exactly what to do. Sometimes only tourists panic. "I had such a situation this year. Guests wrote: "We were warned about the cyclone, what should we do?" I answer: "Calm down, everything is normal. You have just been warned, they are obliged to do it." So they wrote to me for six days, "Where's the hurricane?" - worrying about whether their plane would get to the island. And everything ended a few days ago, the cyclone has gone," says Nadezhda.
By the way, it is believed that cyclones were one of the reasons why the Dutch failed to gain a foothold on the island. They were counting on the standard wet and dry seasons, as in Asia, and tried to plant spices here, but the wind destroyed the crops. As a result, having failed to develop more or less normal economic activity on the island for almost 100 years, the Dutch left Mauritius. And, by the way, the metropolis itself was not eager to invest heavily in this piece of land in the middle of the ocean.
The French who arrived after them were smarter: having studied the experience of life in Mauritius of the Dutch, the French realized that the island was not suitable for spices, but the climate was just right for sugar cane. So they planted considerable territories with it. As a result, the sugar industry became the backbone of the Mauritian economy for a long time, as well as its derivative - rum distilling.
What to see in Mauritius
There are now five major rum factories preserved in Mauritius. And tours to these factories are some of the most popular with tourists in Mauritius, because they include tasting the products. However, the excursion program is not limited to this.
For example, the excursion to the most popular distillery of Mauritius - La Rhumerie de Chamarel - is usually combined with a visit to the two most beautiful places of the island - Chamarel waterfall (height more than 100 m) and seven-colored sands of Chamarel. The latter is a real miracle of Mauritius: seven-colored barchans on which colors never mix. And even if you do it on purpose, nature will eventually return everything to its original state. Scientists still cannot explain the mystery of this place: why nothing grows here in the middle of the jungle. So far the most "sane" answer remains the landing of aliens in this place.
Fans of mountain walks can go to the Black River Gorges National Park: there are routes up to 50 km long. In addition, in the park you can see more than 300 species of plants and nine species of birds that live only in Mauritius. Birdwatching is advised in the Bras d'Eau Park, which also has an orchard with 2000 mango trees and 200 lychee trees.
Mauritius is not a small island, and this sets it apart from other popular Indian Ocean islands. By comparison, Mauritius is four times the size of Phuket in Thailand and 13 times the size of Mahe, the largest island in the Seychelles. There is nothing to say about the size of the Maldives.
"Personally, I have always been attracted to Mauritius by its cultural peculiarity, and especially by the high service in the hotels," says Maya Kotlyar, head of Mayel Travel, an individual travel agency. - In my opinion, Mauritius is a combination of Maldives and Seychelles, where you are waiting not only for the cleanest sea, luxurious beaches, but also an excellent sightseeing program. You can see sperm whales and a unique natural illusion - an underwater waterfall, go diving, swim with dolphins, see giant turtles and even go to the national park on safari, to see many African animals - lions, zebras, etc.".
Beaches of Mauritius
And, of course, the beaches, because it is for their sake that hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world come to Mauritius every year. The beaches on the island are sandy, and the ocean, as already mentioned, is calm because of the coral reef surrounding almost the entire territory of Mauritius.
Nevertheless, when planning a trip, experts advise to be more attentive to the choice of the coast on which the hotel is located.
"Beaches and geographical features are very different in each area: somewhere there is a good wave, which attracts fans of active sports, somewhere excellent coral reefs - scope for divers, in the third place near large settlements with bars and clubs, in the fourth, on the contrary, a very secluded place with an isolated beach and a gentle entrance to the water, in the fifth location can often see whales and so on," - lists Arthur Muradyan features of the different coasts of the island.
"The most developed part of the island is its northern and northwestern coasts. This is where life is boiling. Fans of surfing and sea walks should go to the west coast. And romantics and adventurers are better off staying at the foot of Le Morne Mountain in the southwest of the island," adds Anna Tkachenko.
The best beaches in the north-west of the island are considered to be the territories located near the resort town of Grand Baie - Trou aux Biches, Mont Choisy, closer to the north - Pereber beach. As for the west coast, experts noted the beaches of Tamarin and Flick-en-Flac, and in the southwest of the island - Le Morne beach.
"If we are talking about the north of Mauritius, it has the most developed infrastructure; the warmest sea in the northwest part plus luxury hotels," says Maya Kotlyar. - The south coast is more suitable for water sports - kitesurfers, etc. And Le Morne beach is a must-see, because it is the most picturesque part of Mauritius.
As for the eastern part of the island, the beaches there, although not the best, in addition, it is much more often windy than in the west, but it is here that the most luxurious hotels of the country are concentrated: Shangri-La, Four Seasons, One&Only, Constance, etc. This part of the island is preferred by guests who want to relax from civilization, be alone with nature and expect the famous Mauritian service.
In addition, to the east is the island of Ile aux Cerfs, which is called the Mauritian Maldives because of the white sand. Many hotels from the east coast organize boat transfers to this island for relaxation on one of the best beaches in the country.
"The hotel base in Mauritius is very good. Most of the popular hotel chains are represented here: Westin, Oberoi, Sofitel, Lux, JW, Shangri-La and many others," says Artur Muradyan.
How much do tours to Mauritius cost
There are currently no direct flights from Russia to Mauritius, but you can get there with one connection - the most convenient options are via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines or via Dubai with Emirates flights. "Vacation for eight nights in the second half of January in a good beach hotel of 4* level will cost about 370 thousand rubles for two people with a connecting flight in Dubai," says Artur Muradyan.
A five-star hotel for nine nights in March will cost Br573 thousand with a flight and meals "breakfast + dinner," added in Resort Holiday. And prices for premium hotels start from Br650 thousand for two people with a flight.
"It is worth noting that this is generally more affordable than hotels of similar level in the Maldives. At the same time, the lack of direct transportation, which was last year, does not affect the prices much, as there are enough options to fly to Mauritius with a connection," added the vice-president of ATOR.
Nevertheless, according to Maya Kotlyar, the Russian market is waiting for the resumption of direct flights from Russia to Mauritius, "as they flew with good load".
