Transfers - optional
The transfers too and from the ‘port’ were private and good. They were optional but as public transportation on Mauritius is unlikely to be door to door for most destinations, a private transfer was a good start/end with our collection and drop offs being safe and on time.
Arrival
So, to be honest, we got up super early to get to the port for 9am and then seemed to wait around for a while. We then got put onto a speedboat to take us to the catamaran and waited a little while longer. I’d say we didn’t actually start sailing until about 10:15/10:30 so no idea why we needed to be there so early? The various deck hands speedboat drivers seemed to be bickering a lot so perhaps they too were confused about what was happening.
Boat and crew
The boat was a little beat up but it seemed safe and had cover, toilets and as the boat wasn’t full, reasonable space to sit on board. The crew spoke English and French and were polite, obliging and helpful. We were glad of the boat not being full as we had to all retreat under the covered area a few times to avoid some heavy rainfall.
Trip
So, having left late, we slowly headed for the water fall, initially though stopping for about 20/30 minutes whilst we were asked who wanted to do water sports. These were extras. It was at this point, a common theme it seems from other reviews, it was announced we wouldn’t be snorkelling as it was too rough. That was a huge blow as for me that was part of the lure of the trip. Normally, they would have an alternative or back up option but in this case, nothing, that despite us being in no hurry and having time to stop to sell watersports. I’m unconvinced they even bothered to load snorkelling gear as when we got to Ile Aux Cerfs later, I asked if I could borrow a snorkel for the waters there and was told it was too cloudy (the water) for it. It wasn’t. Nobody seemed to want to do water sports and we moved on to another location a little further down from the Grand River Southeast Waterfall. Here, a speedboat (just) managed to fit us all in and we headed for a closer look at the waterfall which was lovely. On the way back, a real treat was seeing a bunch of wild monkeys in the trees by the river. That was brilliant and unexpected.
By the time the speedboat dropped us back at the catamaran again, lunch had been prepared and whilst simple BBQ fare, it was actually very tasty and there was plenty for everyone. I should mention beer, wine and rum flowed for those who wanted it for the whole cruise, which was nice.
Then off to Ile aux Cerfs for the last part of the trip. We ended up with about 90 minutes on what initially struck my wife and I as a bit of a man made island. It probably isn’t but oddly seemed like it. There was some craft stalls, you could buy watersports or simply chill on the beach. Honestly, what appears to be a magical tropical island on the photos was actually more a rest stop with a very average beach and various facilities which were either closed or a little run down. I’m not sure what I was expecting but equally, from the website, it implied we’d have 3 hours here…we had half that although in some ways, that’s not a bad thing.
Then, back on the catamaran for the slowest transit back to port where we again jumped in a speedboat to be carted back to shore and all was done.
Overall
So, I love a boat trip but this one seemed to lack a plan allied to the advice on the website which suggests a more defined chain of events than we experienced. I do understand that the weather (it was a little blustery) will play a part in what you get to do but we seemed to spend a lot of time doing not very much and/or transiting in what must be the slowest catamaran I’ve been on. It’s as if they were constantly buying time? I’d guess if the weather is perfect and you leave around the time the itinerary states on the website, you might experience a difference but for us, this ended up feeling like one long, slow ride on a catamaran. Granted, the views are amazing and that’s a welcome part of the experience. The waterfall was nice and the monkeys a real treat to see in the wild too. Overall, I feel like I’ve been on better organised trips and that Ile Aux Cerfs was a little bit of a disappointment in terms of being the ‘key’ destination. Given how much time we spent on the boat as opposed to doing something, I’d also say this isn’t worthy of a whole day.