I don’t exactly remember when I started dreaming about a holiday in Mauritius but I think it was when I read somewhere that it was a well-organized country, very friendly for entrepreneurs, like me. Since I’ve always enjoyed seeing the sea, warm weather, feet in the sand, sun sets and turquoise waters I reckoned that Mauritius would be the perfect location that truly has ALL the things I love. This realization came at least about 6 years ago so that’s when the yearning started…
A LOT has happened in between, like becoming a mother. A whole new set of Mauritian attractions surfaced, like: hotels with kids clubs and resorts with nannies where I could totally switch off for a few days while Rosie was going to have fun as well. So last year I thought, ok, let me just find out how much an adventure like this is ACTUALLY going to cost, assuming that I would in no way be able to afford it which then would be the end of the dream and allow me to move on. Little did I know that Club Med offers amazing packages for families where kids up to the age of 12 can stay for free. I also discovered that there are direct flights from Cape Town to Mauritius, not unimportant when travelling with a child… To make a long story short, I sent about 3 emails back and forward to the Club Med Representative and my week in paradise was BOOKED!! Yiehaha!! For the first time in my life, I booked a holiday looooong in advance (10 months) which gave me an early booking discount, amazing. There are perks for being organized!
I’m an adventurous person. So after a few days, something started to itch. A week in a resort, that’s like the most unadventurous holiday I’ve ever booked, this can’t be happening. Hmmm…. what to do? Quickly I checked the Airbnb web site for Mauritius and found out that there are more than 300 Airbnb’s in Mauritius. The Club Med lady told me I can just change my flights and extend my stay with a week at no extra charge. Ok, that sounded good. 1-week total relaxation in Club Med and 1 week I will rent a car and stay in different Airbnb’s with Rosie. I found some nice families with rooms available who had good guest feedback and where we can experience a bit of local life. I especially looked out for lovely food and music to be immersed in local culture. Yes, this is now a holiday I can live with.
I wouldn’t be a travel angel and NOT visit hotels when journeying to a new destination. I always love to combine work and pleasure so I’ve set up a few appointments to visit hotels with good kids facilities. I also look forward to hopefully do some scuba diving and take a sailing trip to one of the small islands on the eastern side of Mauritius. A very nice coincidence is that Rosie’s teacher is from Mauritius and she will be there so we might be able to visit her which will be a super surprise for Rosie who also celebrates her 5thBirthday while there. I was a bit nervous to break the news to her that we would not be in Cape Town on her birthday but when I showed her pictures of where we are going she got so excited. Every day I must talk about the aeroplane, how many nights must we still sleep and when are we finally going, mommy?? So the Lipperts residency is very excited about the upcoming trip. Country 43 for me and number 7 for Rosie!
Overview of costs:
Package for 1 adult and 1 child:
Direct return Flights from Cape Town to Port Louis
Road Transfers to/from the airport to the hotel
7 nights Club Med La Pointe aux Canonniers, fully inclusive
TOTAL for us 2 ZAR 26.520 (Euro 1.800)
Airbnb’s
26 euro per night for a private room with bathroom
Rental car through Maki Car Rental
ZAR 3.300 for 7 days Hyundai i20, complimentary GPS and child booster seat.
Follow Rosie and me from 8 – 23 August when we will be travelling in Mauritius
Instagram: @planetpilgrims
