My brother Andrew is off to Club Med, Mauritius for a few days next month – lucky sod! Oh well, we can’t really complain since we have been there three times and I have always loved it. So, here are a few tips for when you travel to the wonderful island of Mauritius.

General Island Tips when visiting Mauritius

• You can visit most of the sites on the entire island in a day trip. Just hire a taxi at the resort entrance for the day and ask the driver to take you around. Sites to see include:
o The Port Louis Market
o The Tea Plantations & tea tasting
o The Botanical Gardens
o The Waterfall
o The old volcano crater
o The Holy Hindu Lake
o The Seven Colour Terracotta Earth
o Tons of textile shops
o The wooden model boat shops
• In general, you barter at the market and on the beach, while the shops usually have a fixed price.
• Taxi fairs (for a specific destination) are usually posted at the entrance to the hotels, so you don’t need to barter for a fair, however you will if you book a taxi for a full/half day (we always ask for Jackie outside Club Med, he is very good and helpful).
• Don’t be afraid to be rude at the markets, some of the vendors are very aggressive about selling, and will follow you around.
• The vendors often ask where you are from – they are just trying to find out how rich you are!
• While it’s fun bartering on the beach, most of the traders get their stock from the shops near the hotels, so it’s much cheaper to buy from the shops (about 200m down the road from Club Med on the right is a very good shop, selling food, sunblock and tons of good quality inexpensive T-shirts, clothing and curios) – this shop is much bigger on the inside than on the outside. Everything you can buy on the beach is available at this shop.
• Most of the goods sold on the beach are ‘copies’, and are not brand names.
• Go for a parasail – it costs about R300 but is well worth it.
• Wear plenty of sunblock, and drink plenty of water.
• I wouldn’t recommend hiring a car, the taxi’s are very good, and the roads are very confusing and the driving is somewhat erratic.

At Club Med
• Club Med have a strict ‘no tipping’ policy.
• The staff are called GOs – the organizers. The guests are GM’s – the members.
• Don’t be surprised to see the staff having meals and socializing with you, they are more like friends than staff. You can easily have supper with the sailing instructor, see him in a show later, and even having a drink at the bar after that!
• The food is fantastic – and there is plenty of it.

There are a few photo of our trips here

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