Snorkeling with Giant Turtles, The Red Church, Pamplemousses Garden & Port Louis | La Vacanza Travel

Snorkeling with Giant Turtles, The Red Church, Pamplemousses Garden & Port Louis

Duration: 8 hours
Destination: Mauritius, Flacq District, Trou d'Eau Douce
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  • 8 hours
  • Trou d'Eau Douce
  • E-Voucher
  • Lowest Price
  • Not-Cancellable

Overview

* Note: It is forbidden to touch or interact with the turtles.
* Note: This tour is private except for the snorkeling with giant turtles portion.
* Note: Typically the swimming with wild turtles portion of the tour is done first, however this may change depending on the tides.

See the North of Mauritius in a unique way by starting your day snorkeling with giant turtles in the Indian Ocean! Board a boat from the northwest coast of the island, and use our snorkeling gear while swimming with these magnificent creatures (masks & tubes - fins are not allowed).

After the adventure, take photos at the famous Notre Dame Auxiliatrice (The Red Church), set against the backdrop of a beautiful lagoon, and the famous island of Coin de Mire.

Next, visit the famous Pamplemousses Botanical Garden where you'll discover a variety of plants native to the island. Finish your day in the bustling capital of Port Louis and visit the well-known Caudan Waterfront, the popular outdoor market, and more!

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Plage de Trou aux Biches, Costal Road, Trou aux Biches, Mauritius

Start the day with one of the most unique experiences in Mauritius: snorkeling with wild, giant turtles! You will board a boat on the northwest coast of the island and have the opportunity to snorkel with turtles in their natural environment. These Giant Green Sea Turtles can reach up to 1.2m in length and weight up to 200kg. Apart from the turtles, you can see a variety of marine life, including different varieties of tropical fish and coral. Snorkeling gear is included (masks and tubes - fins are not allowed)!

Note: Typically the swimming with wild turtles portion of the tour is done first, however this may change depending on the tides.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: Notre Dame Auxiliatrice, Cap Malheureux, Mauritius

Notre Dame Auxiliatrice, also known as "The Red Church" is a beloved landmark located in the picturesque town of Cap Malheureux, in the far northwest of the island. The church makes an excellent photo opportunity against the backdrop of the stunning Indian Ocean. Also visible from Cap Malheureux is the famous island of Coin de Mire, located almost due north of Mauritius.

Duration: 45 minutes

Stop At: SSR Botanic Garden, Royal Road Parc, Pamplemousses, Mauritius 21003

In the historical village of Pamplemousses, you will visit the famous Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, where you will get to see the giant waterlilies and 85 varieties of palm trees from around the world. You will also discover the various spices and medicinal plants and learn about the various endemic and imported plants in the garden.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Port Louis, Port Louis

A tour of the North isn’t complete without a visit to Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. The city is a blend of the old and the new. On one side you have the hustle and bustle of the city’s historical market (bazaar), built in 1828, where you can bargain for different spices and souvenirs and sample Mauritian street food. And on the other side you have the modern Caudan Waterfront, where there visitors can shop at brand name stores and eat at various restaurants. You can leisurely visit the areas of Port-Louis that interest you such as the Jummah Mosque, Blue Penny Museum, Aapravasi Ghat (UNESCO heritage site), and the smaller streets. For great views, your driver will take you for a stop at the Citadel and you will also get to see the Champs de Mars racecourse on the way.

Duration: 3 hours

Pass By: Le Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis, Mauritius

One of the many attractions in Port Louis you will be able to visit with this tour.

Pass By: Aapravasi Ghat, Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis, Mauritius

One of the many attractions in Port Louis you will be able to visit with this tour.

Pass By: Blue Penny Museum, Blue Penny Square Le Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis, Mauritius

One of the many attractions in Port Louis you will be able to visit with this tour.

Pass By: Port Louis Race Track, Port Louis, Mauritius

One of the many attractions in Port Louis you will be able to visit with this tour.

Inclusions
  • Snorkeling with turtles
  • Snorkeling gear (masks and tubes - fins ar enot allowed)
  • Hotel pickup, dropoff and transportation in a private vehicle
  • Services of a fully licensed, qualified driver
  • Air-conditioned and insured taxi, minibus or coach
  • Entry/Admission - Plage de Trou aux Biches

Exclusions
  • Entrance fees to Pamplemousses Garden are Rs. 300 (6 Euros) per person
  • Lunch or snacks
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Not recommended for pregnant travelers
  • Most travelers can participate
  • The swimming with turtles portion of this outing is not recommended for pregnant women. All children under 12 years old should be accompanied.
  • In most cases you will see turtles. However, if this is not the case, a second outing will be offered on the boat free of charge (transportation to and from your hotel are not included for the second outing). It’s important to note that there will be no refund once you have completed the activity.
  • This tour lasts up to eight hours, and you will be able to choose how long you spend at each attraction (except for the turtles portion). Depending on your group’s speed you may not have time to see all the listed attractions. You will be able to stop for lunch but the price of the lunch is not included
  • Bring swimwear and a towel for the swimming with turtles portion, and a change of clothes and comfortable walking shoes for the rest of the tour
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Departure Point

Traveler pickup is offered
We pick up at all hotels, B&Bs, apartments on the island. Please let us know which hotel, B&B or apartment you're staying at. We will let you know your exact pickup time upon booking, but it will generally be at between 8:00am and 9:00am.


Departure Time

09:00 AM

Voucher info

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

Duration

8 hours


User's Reviews

784heleneh

25 Feb, 2024

Do not snorkle with sea turtles! It is forbidden! A poor turtle gets fed so that around 20 tourists can roam around with arms and legs all over. The information about how to snorkle and behave is non-existing. They didn't even bring snorkle equipment for people, even if the description said so. Would never have done it if I knew it was like this! Otherwise we had a lovely day with a very good guide (Manoj). Can recommend him, but not the snorkeling.

Alexander E

04 Feb, 2024

Some parts of the tour were great, and some we were not impressed by. Good: - Swim with turtles was fantastic and without doubt the highligt of the trip. The boat personnel were nice. - Driver was friendly and his flexibilty was good. He stopped at Caudan waterfront on our request. Not so great: - Driver had poor english skills so he didn’t talk or explain alot unlike other tours we went on. - The driver planned lunch for quite late (2pm) without asking us, and he stopped at a tourist trap/scam restaurant. It was ridiculously overpriced compared to the quality of both service and food. Food was the worst and also most expensive we had at our whole Mauritius trip. Unfortunately this made us feel we were being somewhat exploited. The restaurants name was Camaron Rouge. Would it not have been for the turtles, the tour would not have been worth the money.

Karlis_B

23 Dec, 2023

A great tour around North Mauritius. Definitely the highlight of the tour was the snorkeling with sea turtles, an amazing experience 😄 You also receive a personal taxi driver who carries you to all the destinations (its only you and people you booked with). Our driver was very knowledgeable and great to talk with !

Mandy R

09 Dec, 2023

Excellent informative and friendly taxi driver. Very helpful boat crew even did some videos of turtles for us. Could have had more time at shopping mall as 20 minutes was not enough. Gardens were fabulous and would recommended a guide as we didn’t have one and think we should have as gardens are massive .

Andy_d

25 Oct, 2023

we love seeing animals in the wild ,but watching turtles being scared by lots of people them was not what we wished . then next day we found that it has been illegal to swim like this with turtles in Mauritius like this since 2022 as with swimming with whales was banned some time back .we are shocked illegal tours are on La Vacanza Travel . If you are ok with treating animals like this then book if not then do not book and help stop this trade . Did not put pics as seeing a stressed turtle is not great

User's Picture Gallery

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Fabulous.

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Surprises all day

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Swimming with a turtle is a must for Mauritius

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Incredible experience!

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Great experience!

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Swimming with the turtles

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No turtles but otherwise OK

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San made it special

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Honeymoon with a 2yr old. Experiencing Mauritius and creating memories

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Fantastic Snorkeling

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Journée en famille

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une agréable journée en bonne compagnie

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