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Seychelles, Madagascar, Mayotte, Reunion, Mauritius - a little French-speaking world in the middle of the Indian Ocean
So, what do you know about them?
I recently visited Mauritius and Reunion...and it's like a whole other world, that few us even think about. All these little islands off the coast of Africa....having visited Reunion & Mauritius...
It really makes me want to visit Seychelles and Madagascar!
So, what do you know about them, what do you think of them....how would you like to contribute to this thread, to discuss them....and who has been to one or more of them?
Will go to Seychelles, Maritius and Reunion in May.
Remember this thread! Hoping to hear your impression of all three. I have some very strong impressions of both Mauritius and Reunion...islands are so wonderful, as they are so easy to get a feel for....as opposed to the vastness of large countries.
I'm also particularly interested in how Seychelles compares...
Just come back from my trip. Here are the impressions:
Reunion: The island is very developed and looks similar to Maui. The island uses euro and is very expensive. Traffic during rush hour can be very bad too. The valleys and mountains are gorgeous. There are some lagoon-like white sand beach on the West side of the island but the beach are public. The hotels are not directly on the beach so the beach is not as pristine as Mauritius or Seychelles.
Nobody speaks English, much worse than mainland France. I had a lot of difficulty trying to arrange transportation online before the trip. Nobody answered my emails. So I had to take taxi from the airport to St Gilles for 100 euros. With the help of the hotel staff, I was able to arrange private car trip for the next day. I do recommend this company Accueil - Freddy974. He speaks good English and you can also arrange airport transfer with him. Helicopter tour price is reasonable, similar to Hawaii.
Lots of people advise renting car but I didn't. First I forgot to get the International permit. Second, I am worried about the language barrier as well as the limited quantity of automatics.
Mauritius: Very tourist oriented so everyone speaks English. The arranged transportation is relatively cheap. The island is so big that my transportations to my hotels are 1 hour to 1.5 hours ( I stayed st Le Mourne and Belle Mare. The island is mostly flat and full of sugarcane plantations. The beaches are beautiful ( likely because they are maintained by the resorts). The resorts are luxurious with reasonable price. I think this is the biggest advantage for Mauritius. Hotels in Reunion and Seychelles are more expensive and poorer quality ( especially Reunion).
Seychelles: Everyone speaks English very well. The beaches are the mixture of lagoon type beaches with barrier reef and open bay with strong waves. Some of the more famous beaches in Seychelles have very strong waves (Anse Intendance, Anse Louis, Anse Lazio, etc). The wave is calmer in the morning. All beaches are different and beautiful. Beau Vallon beach is overrated. It is very busy not very upscale, similar to Maui or Phuket beaches.
The famous Anse Source D'Argent in La Digue lives up to its reputation and is a must see with blue lagoon and granite boulders.
Went to Mauritius for our honeymoon. Stayed in a great boutique hotel. Rented a car and explored the island for days. Lots of activities and fun and good food. Definitely want to visit the rest.
Just come back from my trip. Here are the impressions:
Reunion: The island is very developed and looks similar to Maui. The island uses euro and is very expensive. Traffic during rush hour can be very bad too. The valleys and mountains are gorgeous. There are some lagoon-like white sand beach on the West side of the island but the beach are public. The hotels are not directly on the beach so the beach is not as pristine as Mauritius or Seychelles.
Nobody speaks English, much worse than mainland France. I had a lot of difficulty trying to arrange transportation online before the trip. Nobody answered my emails. So I had to take taxi from the airport to St Gilles for 100 euros. With the help of the hotel staff, I was able to arrange private car trip for the next day. I do recommend this company Accueil - Freddy974. He speaks good English and you can also arrange airport transfer with him. Helicopter tour price is reasonable, similar to Hawaii.
Lots of people advise renting car but I didn't. First I forgot to get the International permit. Second, I am worried about the language barrier as well as the limited quantity of automatics.
Reunion. I rented a car there, it was much cheaper. Maybe 22 euros as a basic rate, per day. I also had a US Driver's License, and they will take that, without the International Driver's permit. Yeah, the taxis are insanely expensive, you definitely want to avoid them.
I loved the Hawaii-like feel, and the infrastructure as well.
Language-barrier while driving. No problem at all. Well, I also used the GPS navigational system, so that made is incredibly easy. I did notice a completely absense of English anywhere. Even the bookstores, didn't have any English books available at all, not even travel books in English. There were just so few non-French speakers there. I heard Germans also visit Reunion, but I didn't see any anywhere. Definitely didn't see any other English-speaking people.
That being said, people were very welcoming with me, and quick to use what very little English they had, to communicate with me.
Thanks for the impressions. I loved Reunion, I didn't care so much for Mauritius, and I'm extremely curious about Seychelles.
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