The North of Mauritius

The North of Mauritius can be said to be a “Sure Bet” to most of the visitors owing to its relatively stable and dry climate, to the superb conditions at sea and to the restaurants, bars and clubs of “Grand Bay”, offering the possibility to vary one’s pleasures during holidays.

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Climate
The wind being generally offshore, the beaches and lagoons and to some extent the open sea, are sheltered, making the northern region recommendable all year round, especially during the Austral winter months.

Topography
The Northern region is known as the "Northern Plains" for it is generally as flat as Belgium.  Its beauty and interest definitely lies along the shorefront and beyond.

Focus : The cheerleader of the northern region is the village of Grand Bay.

Mauritius is generally not a busy place (except for road traffic) but the village of Grand Bay with its amount of restaurants and, to a lesser extent, its bars and discotheques is probably the only place giving the impression of nightlife. Depending on the period, it can get busy in peak seasons, especially in December / January.


Due to the fact that it was the first coastal village to be frequently visited by tourists, some aspects of Grand Bay are typical of all the tourist destinations but Grand Bay has nonetheless maintained a lot of its typicality; smiles from the past when Grand Bay was just like another village by the sea . One can still see in Grand Bay some typical grocery shops, more than 40 years old, acting as the fishermen's pub, the roadside Indian pastry merchants, and sometimes oxcarts.

Grand Bay has a rather complete “offer” as several excursions start and end there, especially sea-excursions and for the more urban ones it counts some fine shops, restaurants some bars and nightclubs.

Around Grand Bay
Access to the sea being quite restricted by the presence of hotels and private bungalows, it becomes interesting to drive further out along the coast towards the typical coastal villages such as “Pointe-aux-Piments” (towards the West) or “Grand Gaube” (towards the East.) For greater enjoyment, we recommend renting a vehicle and self-drive. The “Classic” is the Pamplemousses garden and especially the village around it for a different day away from beaches.

Activities
Spending days out at sea is the thing to do when staying in the North. It is of course possible to step on board one of the numerous catamarans for a day trip around the isles of the North; rates being affordable, it is an easy way to enjoy a minimum of the sun and sea; undoubtedly the main reason for coming all the way to Mauritius. However, these excursions being over-exploited, we strongly recommend an exclusive boat rental for a sunset cruise, day-charter or for an overnight trip.
Apart from sailing, several diving centres operate along the north coast where several sites are now known worldwide.
On land side, it is possible to carry out some hiking trips but the West is a better region these. However, the capital city of Port Louis being at only a 30 minutes drive from Grand Bay (outside rush hours,) we suggest a half or full-day visit.

Updated: November 2008