If you google Mauritius, you are bound to come across this quote by Mark Twain. It appears Mark Twain was simply repeating what he heard a local say during his visit there. Regardless of who said it, I agree with them! If heaven does exist, I want it to be like Mauritius. Mauritius is a tiny country that gives breathtaking views of a sunrise from atop a mountain and just as amazing views of a sunset on the beach all in the same day. The people are friendly and the food is delicious!
Our trip to Mauritius was an impromptu one. My Mauritian cousin flew to Goa with her two friends to attend our wedding. Her mom, my aunt was not able to make it to our wedding due to her health. I was really looking forward to having her there so since she couldn’t make it, we decided we’d go visit her. I knew I had to fit it into this trip as I wasn’t sure when I would make my way to this tiny country all the way from Canada. We were lucky to find decently priced tickets flying from Kuala Lumpur. So we flew to Bangkok, then took a flight to Krabi, spent two nights there then flew back to Bangkok to then grab a plane to Kuala Lumpur which flew directly to Mauritius. We literally spent 24 hours travelling there, 😳 but it was so worth it.
If you were to take a look at our travel path over the course of the year, you will likely get a headache. Throughout this trip, our main goal was to save money and the cheapest flights were usually those with multiple stops. Also if you’re looking for a cheap flight within Asia always check Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. These two cities are main hubs for major airlines. We are now unofficial guides of Kuala Lumpur airport given the number of times we’ve transitioned through there.

We managed to squeeze a total of 7 nights in Mauritius between Thailand and Sri Lanka. In hindsight, I wish we would have spent two weeks in Mauritius but our darn flights to Sri Lanka were already booked. We landed on Sunday afternoon and my cousin Irfan came to pick us up and took us directly to the beach. It was one of the most pristine beaches I have seen. Located on the East side of the island, Blue Bay is known for snorkelling. As I slowly made my way in the water I watched the dozen silver fish clear the path for me. We swam till our fingers and toes were pruned and the sun was about to set. What a welcome to the country! We later made our way to my aunt’s house where we surprised her with our visit.

Our week in Mauritius flew by. Every day we were off exploring a new side of the island. During our time in Mauritius we hiked, swam, visited Port Louis, saw the giant turtles at the botanical garden, ate lots of baguette and cheese and spent good quality time with family. The week flew by way too quickly and before we knew it we were on our way back to Kuala Lumpur to make our way to Sri Lanka.

Mauritius is definitely an expensive destination when traveling from Canada. The ticket alone will cost you around 1300$. And that’s if you manage to grab a deal. Accommodation and activities can easily set you back five thousand dollars. But if you’re ever in Asia and are looking for some amazing beaches to visit, do check it out! Here are a few photos.