Backpacking in Mauritius

[Steven]

Hello guys,

I am Steven from the UK. I am a travelfanatic and my next destination shall be the Indian Ocean. I want to combine a backpacking tour to Réunion Island and Mauritius.
Has anyone of you ever made such a trip? There is not too much information on the net about this way of travelling in the Indian Ocean, it rathermore seems to be a family and honeymoon destination. What do you say, is it suitable for backpackers?
Is it easy to find cheap accommodation, transport and food? Is is possible to get into contact with the locals?

Let me get your news, I will be happy to hear from you.
Thanx
Steven

[Jane&Julian]

Hello,

we, too, would like to combine a visit of Mauritius and Réunion Island. So, if there are any advices you can give us, this would be a great help.
@ Steven: Do you have already chosen a region in which you would prefer to stay? We are not yet sure...

Would be nice to exchange some thoughts
Bye
Jane and Julian

[Steven]

Hello you 2!
Thanx for your reply! It is good to see that there are also some other people who want to travel the Indian Ocean individually
Well, as I am surfing, I want to stay in the region of Tamarin in Mauritius. This seems to be "the surfing spot". Do you know anything about it? From there I want to do trips around the island or maybe even change my place to stay to the North of the island after some time.
On Réunion Island I would like to spend some time in the capital and then I want to do a hiking trip in the mountains. That's what Réunion is best known for, isn't it?
What about you? Which regions do you want to visit, which activities are you planning for your vacation?
How do you plan to go from island to island? Do you want to take the plane or is there a good connection via boat?
Hope to get some news from you soon.
Bye
Steven

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

I have been to Mauritius several times, so I hope I will be able to help you out a bit.

I want to stay in the region of Tamarin in Mauritius. This seems to be "the surfing spot". Do you know anything about it?

Well, Tamarin is the surfing spot in Mauritius. Of course you can not compare it to Hawaii , but there sometimes are waves up to 2 meters. Best time for surfing is june and july. There was even a surfer movie shot here: The forgotten island of Santosha! Look out for it! When it came out in the 70ies, it made Tamarin "the surfing spot"!

And yes, it is a good idea to change your residence during your stay on the island. Like this you got the chance to discover a bit more of it If you are out for nightlife, you should come to Grand Bay, which is the touristic centre of the island.

Well, about Réunion, I am sorry, I can't help you out, have never been there. But it is supposed to be beautiful

Hope this helps.
Richard

[Jane&Julian]

Hello everybody!

About Reunion Island:

How do you plan to go from island to island? Do you want to take the plane or is there a good connection via boat?

Well, we are not sure yet. There are several flight connections per day and it is only a short trip. We couldn't find good information on the web about the ferry. There seems to be a ferry called Mauritian Pride, but they got no website. I guess we will figure this out when on the island. Or do yo have some more information?

Bye
Jane and Julian

[Steven]

Hello everybody!
I just talked to a friend, who has been in Mauritius and Reunion some time ago. He told me that there is a ferry connection, but it is not a very good alternative to the flight. It takes about 12 hours to reach Reunion and the tariff is not always cheaper. There are two tariffs: one for people living on the islands, and one for tourists which is more expensive... So I guess it is the better idea to take the flight
Bye
Steven

[Dietmar]

It takes about 12 hours to reach Reunion and the tariff is not always cheaper.

Which Ship is that ? Do you know its name or company ?

I remember that once there was a fast ferry and it only took 4 hours to reach Reunion. But the problem with that ship was, that it bounced a lot and that a lot of people vomited and got sea sick... I don't if thats one of the main reason that the removed this boat from service... Is anyone updated of that ?

With an ATR Propeller plane you reach Reunion in only 45mins and with a big Boing Jumbo Jet its even less, was ist like 15mins...? compared to 12 hours...

[Steven]

Hello!
I asked my friend about the name of the ship, it's Mauritius Pride. They even got a website: MSCL Coraline Profile. You can take a look at it.

[Titus]

Hello from Reunion,

in Reunion there are some youth hostels and backpackers.
The islands capital (St.Denis) is not really the most interesting place to stay, but still ok for some 2-3 days.

Most people go to the west and south, around St.Gilles, St.leu, St.Pierre
There's a campground at Etang Sale les Bains. On many beaches wild camping is tolerated in the holidays (you will find quite a lot of locals camping in St Leu, Etang Sale, St Gilles. There'd been a campground also at St.Gilles Hermitage Beach, that is supposed to reopen this December (if i'm not wrong)...
Backpackers hostels I know from St.Paul (great market on Friday/Saturday morning), St.Leu, and St.Pierre.
In St.Denis I don't know any backpackers - but there are some kind of cheap pensions where mostly people from the neigborign islands stay (Madagascar/Comoros, etc). I suppose, they are quite effordable.

Youth hostels are found in St.Denis, somewhere in the higher parts of St.Paul (I think Guillaume??) and somewhere in the interior (??forgot it)

You may also take a chance to search after "Auberges" that's mostly some rural families that rent rooms.
Some of them are affiliated at "Auberges de France" (they got a web-side somewhere...)

The catamaran ferry had stopped service already a few years ago, due to problems with the sea conditions. That ferry was not suitable for open sea (it was a high speed catamaran, build in Norway, more likely to operate in calm Norwegian Fjords).
The Mauritius Pride and Mauritius Trochetia (both are of the same company) are the only passenger vessels between the islands- prices are almost the same as for an air ticket.
Should be reserved long time in advance... they are mostly booked out a few months before departure, mainly at school holidays.
Same for flights during the school holidays in Reunion.

Those vessels also serve Madagascar (from Reunion) and Rodiguez Island (from Mauritius).
They are mixed cargo/passenger ships.

Public transport in Reunion: there are buses all around, every city/suburb is served.
Between the main citys every 20 to 45 minutes, some suburbs only 4-5 times a day.
Every big city got a bus terminal, that links the suburbs and the interurban buses (car jaunes).
Direct bus from the airport to the central bus station of St.Denis is available.
As it 's a little more expensive than regular buses, you may try your change in heading to the motorway a few hundred meters off the airport, where there is somewhere also a bus stop for the regular services (yellow buses, called "car jaune").

Latest departures of the "car jaune" ist mostly around 6pm - 7 pm !! depending on the city.
Hitchhiking is possible too.

Surfing: best spots around St.Gilles, St.Leu, Trois Bassins, St.Pierre, but also in many other cities. All year round
there's a lead of the world surf championship in St.Leu once a year (known for it's famous left wave)
Anyway, you can't miss the spots, most can be seen from the motorway.

Food, eating, etc. : more or less a little expensive. Cheap food at most "Camion Bars" = Snacks that you will find almost everywhere.
Most offer meals, drinks, salads &sandwiches all day long. In the evening you will also find "Camions Pizza" in evey town for take away Pizza (many, mainly at the beachfront, also have some tables/chairs)

[Titus]

by coincidence I just found the timetable for the airport busses in St.Denis:
Aéroport Roland Garros de la Réunion
NAVETTES
aéroport Saint Denis centre

(Gare routière avec correspondances vers toute l'île)

Tous les jours de l'année
Durée du trajet : 20 minutes


Horaires des départs

De l'aéroport à la gare routière de Saint Denis :
07:30 - 09:00 - 10:00 - 10h45 - 11:35 - 12:30 - 13:30 - 14:30 - 15:30 - 17:00 - 18:15 - 19:15

De la gare routière de Saint-Denis à l'aéroport :
07:00 - 08:15 - 09:30 - 10:20 - 11:05 - 12:00 - 13:00 - 14:00 - 15:00 - 16:15 - 17:45 - 18:45 - 19:45