Mauritius - island paradise + karaoke in Europe

[MG1]

For others considering this… you can have up to six segments on a one way aeroplan award. So search Australia (whichever city) to MRU, then MRU-final destination. These usually show up when booked as a ‘one way with stopover’ award. But if not, can usually be booked via the call centre (which is where the HSBC/aeroplan star alliance gold was a major bonus.. virtually instant connection to an agent). You get up to 24 hours at the connection cities (and however many days at the stopover city). We went all the way from Sydney to Morocco with a few days in Mauritius on the way.

The main issue with the VA connecting flight transcon is that they often only release one seat at a time. So split bookings in order, and you don’t know for certain if they’ve reached their award allocation (and whether another seat will be released instantly, or not)

So, this would normally need to be done over the phone (to add the other segments)?

 

[MG1]

Is there a golf course @Scarlett ?!

Mauritius has golf courses.

 

[MG1]

Karaoke tourism is a thing! Who knew.
Nice work @MG1

Will get to Mauritius one day, likely on my grand post retirement plan.

It seems to work for me.
It's a great way to build confidence and get out there and meet people.

Hopefully, you'll get to Mauritius - stay in a resort: it'll be worth it.

 

[MG1]

We spent a week in Mauritius last year....we hired a car and explored the whole island and stayed at various places including 2 nights at the Hilton resort.

It was certainly an interesting place with beaches and natural attractions. It was reasonably cheap cf to Reunion where we spent 6 days...1 hour flight away. The beaches are not as nice as Seychelles where we were prior. We also went to Madagascar on the same trip.

We flew Mk from Madagascar to Mauritius to Reunion and back to Mauritius, then to Perth. All booked with Aeroplan points.

MK are not the most reliable airline as they don't have many aircraft frames and are prone to delays and late cancellations. Our flight to Perth was delayed by 12 hours, and it took multiple emails over 3 months to get reimbursed the food and hotel they promised.

Thread 'Mauritius, Madagascar & Seychelles'

Jul 10, 2024

A bit bored this evening and was looking at google maps....Mauritius, Madagascar and Seychelles look to be in the same ocean region...Maybe I can visit all 3 in one trip in the near future...I can fly Air Mauritius from Perth to Plaisance, Mauritius...how would I get to the other 2 islands...I assume I can fly...how long would you spend in each island? What is there to see? ( I note @Fruitloop50 's fantastic current trip report on Madagascar). Any tips and suggestions appreciated, esp if you have been before. Thanks

• kpc
• Replies: 116
• Forum: Destination Guides, Tips & Questions

Nice - sounds like a great trip (apart from the delay).

I didn't like (when departing for my PER-MRU trip), they opened up priority and general boarding at the same time! This defeats the purpose of having priority boarding. I was caught behind a family who took up the entire width of the walkway to the bridge (a first-world problem, but still frustrating).

 

[MG1]

Just a comment on TRs. Yours was very good. They are always going to be about the individual’s experiences. Sometimes the bad moments are better as readers can get an idea of what they can do in a similar situation.

I would however break up the first post into 3 or 4 posts as usually it is better remembering that part so you don’t miss some thing important. I certainly need to do that.

Also everyone who does TRs has a different style and opinions. That is what makes the TRs more interesting for me. Your style to me was very interesting and informative. Also what an important part of doing TRs is to be a memory for me.
Now that you have broken the ice I will definitely await your next TR and read it. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the information.
It was long. I thought about splitting it into separate posts. Maybe next time I can consider that.

I cut a lot out (that might be hard to believe due to how long the current opening post is).

I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

I included the moments that didn't go so well in the hope that others could maybe use that and make their own preparations should it happen to them.

 

[MG1]

Fantastic hearing about some of the lesser known airlines and destinations.
We had J flights booked on MK through Aeroplan a while back but ended up cancelling when direct flights to ADL opened up on QR.
Definitely keen to try them and would be interested to hear more about MK’s product and any differences between the types of aircraft they use.

MK’s long haul are the Stella Solstys. they’re ‘ok’, just, particularly if you have a true window. The only real advantage I can think of is that the headrest is flush with the seat back, so nothing sticking out while you’re trying to sleep. and the footwells aren’t narrow or restrictive.

I’d avoid row 1 A/K as the seats are on the aisle side and stick out like a sore thumb. You really are totally exposed, like a shag on a rock.

They have another a330-200 for shorter flights (not Perth) with 18 seat business class in a 2-2-2 configuration, angled lie flat.

The food is average, really average. The crews are good (ok).

I don’t recall anything remarkable at all about the IFE. So BYO.

The lounge in Perth is the common user PP lounge. It was pretty empty before the flight. The lounge in Mauritius is, errr… ‘ok’. It sort of looks like the pictures but a little bit faded in real life.

Overall it was fine, it’s the most comfortable and quickest way to get to Mauritius. Via Aeroplan you connect with just a couple hours in Perth, and the terminals are co-located (but they’ve had a shocking g schedule change recently and the flight timings IIRC are not that great anymore).

I’d fly them again, simply because they have seats, fly to several euro destinations, and offer a nice stopover.

I tend to agree with @MEL_Traveller.

Meals: don't expect anything like what you'd get on an Asian (east or west) carrier. Some of the meals are on the basic side (one of mine was in alfoil tray and the meat looked questionable.

Staff: no issues

IFE: very limited English selection for movies (maybe < 10)
Another thing with the IFE, the screen doesn't become active until they finish the welcome music (which is quite some time after you've boarded).

Drinks: I really enjoyed the local rum punch

Lounge: Aspire in PER, Amedee Maingard in MRU (I believe this is MK's flagship lounge but can also be accessed via other methods)

I flew in a A330 PER-MRU (day-time), and in an A350 MRU-LGW (overnight). The A350 seemed to have a newer layout.

Any noticeable differences between the A350’s and the A330’s?
Seems the A330neos operate the PER flights and the A350’s into Europe.
The Uk flights are into Gatwick yeah?

For me yes: LGW.

I’m we flew both the a330 ex PER and the A350 to LGW. Can’t say I noticed any difference.

They used to fly to LHR, but changed to Gatwick in 2024? Our flight was pretty lightly loaded in the main cabin, and I guess why there were so many award seats up front. Crew said it was because of the airport change.

Although I suspect in peak periods it would still be full. Mauritius is a big and expensive tourist market, the top hotels are routinely in the AUD1000+ per night during holiday periods. And premium cabins sell out accordingly.

Luckily, mine didn't cost anywhere near that much (although, I'm not sure when the peak period is). Mine was < half of that.

I would!

Ideally you wanna stay anywhere from Le Morne (south west), through to Flic en Flac, Trou-aux-Biches and Grand Baie. Skipping the section between Flic and Trou-aux-Biches. So the west coast. On the other side Blue Bay is spectacular. And a day’s visit to Ile aux Cerfs to see the amazing beach is semi-worthwhile.

Hiring a car, that’s a difficult one. They’re not expensive, but really Mauritius is all about the beach… wake up, breakfast at hotel, beach, maybe some lunch, then dinner and nightly entertainment provided by the resort (most resorts are half board). Wash rinse and repeat. If you’re going out exploring, you’d probably want to do it every second or third day maybe.

That said, driving is easy, the roads are good. I’d get 100% insurance excess waiver - at the counter - so you can just return the car… they can miraculously find a scratch here or there! Your travel insurance may cover the excess, but you have to pay first, then claim. Much better for peace of mind to just hand over the keys and go catch your flight!

Port Louis is nothing worth while visiting, save for maybe a short walk through the historic town centre. It’s about a 39 minute exercise. The redeveloped waterfront with its shops is disappointing, A bit like Docklands in Melbourne… dead. And shoos that no one really wants anything from.

Many lovely places to visit, all with their own great qualities. I'd avoid staying in the capital though (OK to visit - I enjoyed seeing the museum with dodo skeletons, but would not recommend staying there)).

They drive on the same side as us but speed limits seem to be used as a guide. Officially, the limit is 110 km/h. However, it's not uncommon to see cars going at 130 km/h or 145 km/h. What I found quite fascinating (which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist at home (I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong)). They have their main roads at 110 km/h, which go into a roundabout, then 110 km/h again.