Ile aux Aigrettes Nature Reserve, Blue Bay Beach, La Vanille Park & Gris Gris

A Great day with San

First of all, many thanks to our tour guide San. In addition to the well-known excursion destinations, he also showed us one or two great viewpoints. He also gave us lots of background information about Mauritius. He also let us be part of his life and his wonderful family.

The island - great. The rest. Not so much.

The walk on Ile aux Aigrettes island was as advertised and very interesting. The rest of the tour, not so much. It was advertised as having the oppertunity to swim in blue bay. We were only given 10 minutes. The Vanille nature park was a bit basic but worth the entrance fee just to visit the insect room. Only given an hour here. Then to Gris Gris which was okay. Only got 15 minutes here. A stop off for lunch was supposed to be also included within the time frame but this didn't happen. I think it very much depends on where you are picked up from. The driving time is included in the 8 hours. We were back after 7 hours which included about 3 to 3 half hours in the car.

Sites brilliant

Brilliant knowledgeable guide on the reserve. I would definitely recommend a visit here. We had a taxi who's driver said we had to be back at hotel by 6.30pm. The driver was rude, drove recklessly throughout the day. He took us to the dock to catch the boat to the reserve. Top tip hire your own car and do this side of the island. We asked to go to Blue Bay told 10 minutes we said no. We want to go there and go on glass bottom boat He say he would sort it. We got food the driver rushed us to his friend pascal who said we need to pay 4000 rupees equalling about £80 for an hour boat trip. I declined, told him I would sort. We ate street food ( although the driver wanted to take us to go to a restaurant) . We loved blue Bay like swimming in an aquarium so many fish, barracuda and turtles. We asked the driver to take us back to our hotel and could we go the coastal route as we did not want yo see crocodiles or go to gris gris. He agreed. But his driving was reckless all over the place. He answered a call from pascal saying we were stubborn!! We arrived at the hotel. The driver demanded 800 rupees. Bearing in mind we were back 2 hours before his 6.30pm end of driving. I would recommend visiting Blue Bay and Ile aux Aigrettes Nature Reserve. Just don't use this taxi firm

Best driver in the Mauritius and a great tour

First of all, I only use Viator. It simply is the most trusted and best tour operator you will find! Any problems and Viator will resolve them for you at ease and without issue. As for the tour itself, it was possibly our best experience whilst visiting the Mauritius, mostly due to our driver/tour operator who could not do enough for us, he provided a lot of information and history about the various places we visited and about Mauritian culture which all helped to make the tour a very memorable experience. I would not hesitate to recommend this tour and if you’re lucky you might have the same driver who we cannot speak highly enough as he really was such a gentleman… he took us to extra places not on the tour as we had engaged with him and expressed an interest in learning more about the island and creole culture. We really felt blessed to have such a fantastic tour which was mostly down to the driver as he went above and beyond what is expected. The tour itself covered so much, the nature reserve was a tad slow however our driver more then made up for this after sensing that we felt a bit bored during the nature reserve visit which over ran as there were aging tourists taking part who lacked basic fitness but that cannot be helped.

SCAM avoid at all costs. What an awful way to end our holiday

If I could give less stars I would. Where do I start. Dangerous driving, a car that STANK and a horrendous attitude. Not to mention the driver tried to SCAM us and got verbal with us on drop off after demanding more money for a trip we'd already paid for. Avoid at all costs. We were picked up on time and briefly greeted, all seemed well. The trip we bought was advertised as a visit to Il aux augrittes (2 hour), blue bay (2 hour), la vanille park (3 hour) and gris gris (1 hour). Upon approach to the boat embarkation point the driver instructs us he will visit blue bay for photos for 10 minutes. I confirm that we will go back after to snorkel and he states 'oh you want to stay there, we should go after then' and that he'd organise a boat (read on for that saga...). I then ask if we can have a shorter stay at la vanille to give us more time at gris gris, he states 'we have no time for gris gris, I'm only paid 8 hours (but that's the tour we paid for!). We start to consider missing la vanille to get to gris gris and see the cascades. We arrive at the boat embarkation and wait 30 minutes before being greeted by the LOVELIEST of MWF staff, the setup they have is fabulous as are the guides for the NGO , if you want to visit il aux augrittes hire a car and do it yourself (we certainly wish we had). We get back and onwards to blue bay, we ask about if we can stop for lunch and get a very non committal answer of maybe a restaurant later , bearing in mind it's now midday. We arrive at blue bay to meet the drivers 'friend' who quotes us 4500 for 3 people for an hour in the bay and tries to shuffle us on the boat with our hastily bought noodles (by our own request/doggong our heels in!). SCAM ALERT , we asked the driver leave us to discuss and made our own enquiries with others as this seemed obscenely high, we were then quoted 2000 immediately without a haggle from another operator the driver shooed away initially. We told the driver he'd see us in an hour and he looked sheepish to say the least after asking us the price we'd agreed! We arrive back from am AMAZING SNORKEL, again, the marine park is stellar, get a car or hire a taxi from your hotel and do it yourself AVOID THIS TOUR OPERATOR. As the driver has stated we don't have enough time for gris gris and at this point we just want to go home we ask if he will drive us up the east coast if we skip the already paid for the other parts of the tour seen as we have paid for his time. He agrees and off we set. What a stunning coastline but scary driving isn't in it. Middle of the road, swerving all over the place and several near misses later we arrive at the hotel. We go to leave and he starts demanding more money stating we said we'd pay him (which after the day we'd had we certainly did not!). We were very grateful our hotel security were there stood close by. The days events away from the driver were amazing, with him... Just shy of traumatic. Do it yourself or with someone else, the locations are well worth the visit.

Definitely not worth the hype

A very overpriced tour that barely meets the expectations. The only good part of it was the tour in Île aux Aigrettes. The guide was really good at explaining all the details. Other than that the tour is just a few sightseeing spots in Mahebourg and beach time at Blue Bay. In the morning we were picked up much later than we agreed. Our tour to the island started much later than it was supposed to. Overall I am not impressed at all I recommend you to rent a driver and do all these activities on your own. It will definitely be much cheaper and more informative than this tour.

Brilliant driver!

We had such a lovely day learning about the endemic animals and plants of Mauritius on such a beautiful and well kept island. The care of the flora and fauna is top priority which is fantastic. Our driver was wonderful and couldn’t do enough for us. He took us round the markets in Mahebourg and bought us food to try, never short on recommendations. If there was anything we wanted to see or try, he fit it in for us which was excellent. Most importantly, as two young girls travelling, he made us feel very safe and really looked out for us. Thank you very much.

Rip-off/ don’t book

The highlight of the tour was Ile aux Aigrettes. The tour itself was overpriced and the rest of the attractions didn’t worth it: Blue Bay beach was strange, full with druged/drunk people. We spent there max 15 mins. Mahébourg itself provably is attractive if there is a guide showing you around, however our driver proposed to drop us near the market without indicating nice places to go or even a nice place to eat. Therefore we chose not to stop in Mahébourg. The museum is interesting but quite small so we spent there 20 mins. All in all I don’t reccomend this tour at all and it was a total ripe off! Book yourself a taxi and book in advance the Ile aux Aigrettes as it is very informative and the biologist there do a fantastic job.

great nature tour, welcome change from the beach routine

Guided tours in French and English start from the Pointe Jerome Visitor Center and are limited to 20 people, so you have to sign up a day or two in advance. Experienced guides show you the endemic and indigenous flora and fauna of Mauritius, including the endangered Pink Pigeon that has been barely saved from extinction and Giant Tortoises imported from the Seychelles who roam freely along your trail...Walking is relatively easy and included 4-5 years old children in our group. Access is by a short boat ride and the embarkation point at Pointe Jerome offers, itself, attractive views of the coast

Lovely visit for plant and bird lovers

We booked this tour and had a great time. Pick up was right on schedule and we had a lovely, professional and very patient driver Yassir who took care of us for the whole day. We visited Mahebourg seafront and spent some time st Mahebourg market where we picked up some souvenirs and some fresh produce. Then on to I'll aux aigrette for a very educational tour of the nature reserve. Our guide Rose Marie was so enthusiastic and knowledgable about all the bird and plant species on the reserve and really drilled home the point about conservation and protection of endemic species. The wild tortoises are very cute as well, look out for Big Daddy the very impressive alpha male on the island. We didn't have much time to spend at Blue Bay beach at all, but that was just how things worked out due to slight delays and was not the fault of the driver at all. Just how things pan out sometimes and anyway we had and are going to have plenty of beach time in Mauritius. The trip to I'll aux aigrettes is a must for plant and bird lovers but if you are not then you may want to skip this. Young children may also be bored. Further the terrain on the island is fully wild and the paths are very uneven so wear comfortable shoes. It may be a bit difficult for those who have balance or mobility problems.

Wonderful day

We had a wonderful day especially at the islands. The guides were quite nice and it is amazing to see how much effort they put in rebuilding a natural environment. Our guide/ driver was very nice, always punctual and explained all the activities and helped us wherever necessary. Same for the back office during booking they really respond fast. The only really little minus was that nearly all explanations in the museum are written in French - but the house itself looks amazing. Overall we would really recommend this tour (with mosquìto protection on the island) especially with this provider! Thank you all for the lovely and nice day!

La description de viator...

La description de viator ne correspondait pas a ce que nous avons recu. Taxi parle peu anglais et francais. Duree non respecter. Connais pas les excursion ou on va. Regarde constamment google map savoir ou il va .

Déçues

Nous pensions voir beaucoup plus d'animaux sur l'île aux aigrettes. A part quelques tortues et la queue d'un pigeon rose... Pour admirer le parc marin il fallait prendre un bateau.Cela a pris plus de temps que prévu, nous n'avons pas eu le temps de poursuivre avec les autres activités. La distribution de biscuits pour attirer les poissons vers le bateau nous a choqué. Tôt levées pour une journée décevante et onéreuse compte tenu des souvenirs qu'elle nous a laissé.

Es war ein rundum gelungener Tag

Unser Fahrer war sehr nett und sehr bemüht uns alle Fragen bzgl. Mauritius zu beantworten. Ihm lag viel daran uns einen unvergesslichen Tag zu bereiten, den wir von Anfang bis Ende genießen können. Die Führung auf der Insel war super. Die Dame, die die Führung gemacht hat, hat sich sehr bemüht, gut und verständlich Englisch gesprochen, sie hat die Führung sehr interessant gestaltet. Wir hatten einen rundum gelungenen Tag.

Enttäuschung

Ohne uns vorab zu informieren wurde die Tour um 30 Minuten verschoben. Um die Zwischenzeit zu überbrücken ging es schnell nach BlueBay-ohne die Möglichkeit das richtig zu genießen. Auf der Ile aux Aigrettes gab es eine gute Führung, aber wenig zu sehen. Im Nachhinein erfuhren wir, dass die meisten Tiere, aufgrund einer Ölpest vor ein paar Jahren, umgesiedelt worden sind. In Mahebourg sollten wir dann noch in ein Geschäft gelotst werden, wo es originale Mauritische Dinge zu kaufen gibt. Der Taxifahrer war nett, aber wir waren von dem Gesamterlebnis sehr enttäuscht. Vor allem, weil es das Angebot dieser Tour bei TUI für knapp die Hälfte des Preises gibt. Mahebourg und BlueBay sind auch voll von Straßenhunden. Wer damit ein Problem hat, für den ist die Tour ebenfalls nicht geeignet. Unser Fazit: Nicht empfehlenswert.

Ile aux aigrettes

Ile aux aigrettes à faire, c'est magnifique. Pur la plage de Blue bay, il faut prévoir 1500 roupies en plus pour voir les poissons. Mahebourg ne sert qu'à montrer la misère de l'île.

questo è il PARADISO

Il mare più bello che abbia mai visto nella mia vita. Considerando che ho la passione per il mare e ho girato parecchio...Un posto da visitare assolutamente almeno una volta nella vita

Schön und gut organisiert

Die Tour hat sich gelohnt. Ich fand sie aber zu teuer, denn im Blue Bay am Strand musste ich noch für 1500 MR eine Schiffstour buchen, um überhaupt zum Riff zum Schnorcheln zu kommen. Auch das Lunch hätte bei dem Preis mit drin sein müssen. Mein Taxifahrer war super nett und hat mich sehr unterstützt. Alles hatgut geklappt und war gut organisiert.

escursione

Bella gita in barca o in catamarano, all'ora di pranzo approdiamo su Ile aux Aigrettes. Pranzo sull'isola con pesce fresco alla griglia cucinato sul momento, consumato in allegre tavolate sotto la vegetazione. Tempo libero per il bagno.