I know Nicolas for several years now and always when he invited me to some trip, it was a blast and wonderful experience. When he send me an email asking me if I want to go to Mauritius with the group of Influencers, it was no brainer more me :)
My flight from Prague was through Paris CDG where I’ve had 4 hours layover. I’ve met with the bigger part of our group, Nico, Thibault and Sidney from WLT and waited for our flight in Yotel Airport Lounge.
It was quite comfy lounge and we’ve received a voucher for some refreshment too, so the time passed by quickly. Oh and there was a smoking area nearby so that makes the wait for me easier too :)
We boarded our flight, Air Mauritius MK 45 (CDG - MRU) at the Gate L42 with Thibault and Sidney, Nico with few others would join us in following days.
The influencer crew on our flight was :
🇬🇧 UK:
Me: @alanisko
Callie: @Calliethorpe
Kim: @sweetmondayblog
🇫🇷 France:
Guillaume: @guiruch
Gwen: @gweny___
Jessica: @mesptitsboutsdumonde
Sabine: @miss_etc
🇩🇪 Germany:
Amandine: @lesberlinettes
Maria: @ponysailor @herz.und.blut
🇸🇪 Sweden:
Jenny: @jennysmattblogg
Natalie @tailsofamermaid from 🇿🇦 South Africa and Manon @betises_en_stock from 🇫🇷 Reunion Island would join us on Thursday, and Nicolas with Dan @thecomplexcreative and Kristabel @iamkristabel from 🇬🇧 UK on Friday.
Our flight was smooth, Air Mauritius Airbus A350-900 was in very basic configuration, but it did the job. When we landed at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU), we passed through security gate and collected our luggage. Outside was already a minibus waiting for us to drive us all the way up north west of the island to our accomodation.
It was an early morning with bit of traffic and it took slightly over hour for us to arrive at The Ravenala Attitude Hotel, what would be our accommodation for the next couple of nights. We were welcomed with a drink and fresh wet towel at the reception, much needed after the flight :)
The Ravenala Attitude is a massive, 4* Hotel resort in a mix of colonial heritage and contemporary design with over 280 rooms, 10 restaurants, Spa, several pools and way more, located in Balaclava, on the north-west coast of Mauritius. Very beautiful. Hotel is located on the beach but if you are not the beach bun, there are pools surrounded by palm trees for you. Hotel has also Adult only part :)
We met at the reception with Esther @estheramsallem and Xavier @blastoff_creative from Attitude Team and we were taken to our rooms.
My room was huge and also had large balcony with table and hammock and was facing towards sea. Bathroom had shower, bath, and separate toilet. There was a lovely personalised Welcome letter from the manager which was very nice indeed.
Right after I got shower and unpacked my luggage, we had meet up at the Beach BBQ Restaurant for breakfast. First there was a little bit of a show with local Mauritian dancers and musicians and then we sat down and had lovely breakfast accompanied with coffee and drinks. There was too much to choose from and everything was so delicious.
I haven’t managed to get much sleep in the plane so after the breakfast I went back to the room to get a power nap as at later on at the afternoon we had planned another meet up at the Lime Restaurant for local Rum tasting and some snacks and to watch sunset on the beach.
I slept for 3h and woke up way more rested. Tasting of the local rums was fun, my favourite one was one with coconut. When the sun was down, we moved to the floating Riviera Restaurant for a lovely fish and seafood dinner. When i came back to the room, there was a bottle of local made rum waiting for me, and I was so happy it was the coconut flavoured one. :)
At the morning I woke up early for the breakfast and took couple drone shots of the hotel while everyone was still sleeping. Hotel look even more stunning from above when you realise the size. Absolutely love this place!
After the breakfast we all meet up and went to visit Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius, about hour drive from the hotel. City is a lovely mixture of cultures, from Creole, to Chinese and Indian and we had Otentik City tour with our Attitude guide Zoo. We visited Port Louis Central market, stopped for a quick lunch at local Chinese bistro and met with the other two groups in a beautiful park Jardin de la compagnie with its vast banyan trees. Oh btw, do you remember the Blue Penny stamp? There is museum dedicated to it in Port Louis.
Next thing on our schedule was Mauritius Pamplemousses Botanical Garden with it’s unique flora and fauna. The Gian Water Lilies were pretty damn spectacular. After we explored the waste area of the botanical garden, we returned back to the Ravenala Attitude hotel. I’ve chilled on the beach for a while and then went to try the Spa and massage. It was soo refreshing, it started a bit drizzle when I walked from Steam room and it was brilliant :) At the evening we had dinner and drinks at the Kot Nou Restaurant. Delicious again.
After the breakfast at the Mozaik we moved to The Bistrot Restaurant for a Cooking Class! Let’s see how we can make some creole dish. :) Chef explained the recipe and procedure and then 4 teams went cooking. My team, Kristabel, Callie, Dan and me, nicknamed Team Brexit, were damn sure we gone win, you should watch Kristabel IG stories for her face reaction after the winner announcement :) Anyway, Team with Manon, Natalie Jessica and Jenny won the best Creole dish competition. Well deserved!
At noon we met at the reception and our minibus drove us towards the Horse Racing Stadium at Champ de Mars, the world’s second oldest Horse Racing course built by British in 1812 in Port Louis. These days the Champ de Mars attracts tens of thousands of people on each racing day during the racing season from late March to early December and has become the ultimate meeting place for racing fanatics from all over the island. We’ve seen couple races, put some bets on horses we had no clue about and had great fun overall. Who knows that Mauritians are so mad into betting :)
At the evening we had casual dinner at the Bistrot Restaurant and few drinks afterwards. We had to pack our stuff as at the morning we were leaving for another hotel.
Last breakfast at Mozaik Restaurant and we checked out and our luggage was collected for transfer to Zilwa Attitude, where we would stay next couple of nights.
We got to the minibus and that drove us to another Attitude Hotel, Coin De Mire Attitude where we got welcome drinks on the beach and little refreshment before we boarded to two catamarans and went towards Coin De Mire, rock island with blue and green translucent water, great for snorkelling and diving. Water was a little bit more rough, so after a few minutes the catamarans moved closer to the coast and we had some great food, music and fun onboard.
Later on at the afternoon, catamaran returned to Coin De Mire Attitude and minibus drove us to the Zilwa Attitude Hotel, where we would stay until Monday.
Zilwa is 4* Hotel, just slightly smaller than Ravenala with just over 200 rooms, and 7 restaurants. Zilwa means in Creole “Islander” and that name perfectly describe this place. We were greeted upon arrival by the general manager Guillaume Tyack and got some bubbles as welcome drinks. My attention immediately took the large infinite pool just behind the reception with view of the Coin De Mire island.
Rooms were a bit smaller at Zilwa than Ravenala with more a Hipster feel with it’s open, sea facing concrete bathroom. My balcony was facing east so I was looking forward for some Sunrise catching :)
I’ve got quick shower, unpacked my luggage and we had tonight planed dinner at local families. Our UK Team went to Rani’s home in Piton neighbourhood.
Rani is Indian Mauritian women and her house was very much in Hindu style. Dinner was cooked and served traditional way and I have to say it was delicious even there was a bit too much vegetables for me :) After dinner we had some drinks and bit of traditional dancing.
For next morning we’ve had planned a sunrise on boat with fishermans, however it was raining so it was cancelled at last minute. After the breakfast at Karay Restaurant, surrounded by pool and with view of Coin de Mire island, we had the a meeting with @Dododivers for some pool diving training before we should go to dive to Indian Ocean around Coin de Mire island. I was damn shitting myself, but thanks to the others I haven’t changed my mind.
I’m not gonna lie, I was scared as shit! I don’t mind snorkelling, but diving was a huge step out from my comfort zone. I was afraid of breathing underwater while relying on the air bomb and I do sometimes get a muscle cramp to my legs. Until the last moment I wasn't sure I will do it, however my instructor was very nice and explained everything to me so I was ready to go. Thank you Nico for giving me courage! Also the fact that Manon and Callie who were first time divers as me got the courage to make it :)
Actually not everyone went diving, there was a small group of people that went to cycling around the bay.
What an extraordinary experience it was underwater, I’m so glad I did it. We went to about 15m deep for 45 minutes and I was able to see so many fishes and turtle too :) I’ve had to focus a lot on breathing but then it was pretty spectacular. Need to do it again, my GoPro let me down once again, so I have just few photos but it was totally worth it.
After the diving we returned back to Zilwa and got ready for the beach lunch at the Gran Zil island that is part of the Hotel. Just a short boat ride away, Gran Zil is a lovely small island with restaurant, bar and wonderful beaches. We spend a lovely afternoon there and at the evening we returned again for an excellent dinner and drinks accompanied by authentic Mauritian music. The whole island was lit up so it was very magical experience and the food was absolutely delicious. We were eating, drinking and dancing till late night. After the midnight we’ve returned to our rooms to pack our luggage once again and get some sleep.
It was late when I got to the bed last night but I couldn’t resist to get up early again and go out to shoot sunrise. It was pretty spectacular one again. Check the photo above.
After the breakfast at Karay Restaurant, we checked out and our minibus drove us south east to the Tropical Attitude Hotel, closer to the International Airport for our late evening departure. This hotel was pretty cute and small compared to the previous Attitude hotels, with only slightly over 50 rooms and view of the wonderful lagoon.
After welcome drinks and few photos, we stored our luggage and boarder small boat that took us to wonderful island called Ile Aux Certs, surrounded with stunning sandy beaches and turquoise Indian Ocean.
Usually this island can get pretty crowded but as it was the off season, it was actually more less empty. We spend something over an hour here and then boarded our little boat again that got us to our lunch place, Ile Aux Mangénie, island surrounded with wonderful lushy green mangroves that form the remnant barrier. Both Ile aux Cerfs and Ile Aux Mangénie are two breathtakingly beautiful islands in the heart of the biggest lagoon in Mauritius.
While Ile Aux Mangénie is not entirely deserted, the infrastructure on the islet is minimal with the only a small restaurant and bar. There is not even a toilet :) Food was delicious again and after few drinks we spend some time on the beach before the boat arrived and took us back to the Tropical Attitude hotel.
We’ve chilled at the pool for the rest of the afternoon accompanied by pancakes, coffee and drinks from Taba-J restaurant and getting ready for our flight. Natalie and Manon had leave earlier for their flights and the rest of the group had last dinner together before moving to the Airport for our flight back to Europe.
Flight home was smooth and at around 8am following day we were at Paris CDG Airport ready to say good bye to each other. It was my pleasure to meet you all, I’ve had so much fund guys.
Thank you for having me on this trip, I’ve had a wonderful time at the most stunning locations, with luxury accomodation, delicious food and group of fabulous people. Thank you again to the Attitude Team and We Like Travel Team for organising such great rip, it was a blast!
Check my Instagram for more pictures and stories and don’t forget to follow me :)
Download the Otentik Discovery app to explore Mauritius. App for iOS: Otentik and Android: Otentik
Check the map of the trip and each place on Polarsteps, just click on the image below.
If you want to read what other members of our crew wrote about this trip, check them out:
Jenny - https://www.jennysmatblogg.nu/2019/05/31/mauritius-med-attitude-hotels/