Private Southwest Day Tour: 7-Coloured Earth, Chamarel Waterfall, Trou aux Cerfs

in worse weather was still nice, our driver was very attentive and very nice but weather did not play along - abert was very nice

Lots of walking over cobblestone pathways and uphill. The views were worth the walk. I would love to spend more time in Mauritius.

We've spent a pleasant day with our guide San. He arrived on time with a comfortable clean car which already made a very positive first impression. Very polite, knowledgeable fluent English speaker. He was able to answer all our questions and we've felt secure in capable hands. Very much advised for anyone who lm are considering taking this day trip.

Waterfalls Alexandra and Trou aux Cerfs. Lac Sacré was allo an intéressant place. But no comment of the driver guide.

Had a fun time with ease of transportation covered. Guide was very knowledgeable and shared a lot about Mauritian culture.

Before I go into the detail (which I suggest you read if you're going to take this tour) I should say that, yes, we enjoyed the tour and yes, it was decent value for money. The driver was great, although he didn't accompany us to the sights, he was able to answer our questions and his driving on the steep, winding roads was safe and sensible. So this is billed as a 4 stop tour, 2 hours each at: Trou aux cerfs The grand bassin crater (lake) Black river national park 7 coloured earth park We first stopped at what was billed as 'tea tasting'. It was actually a shop full of extremely expensive gifts. In and out quickly, the next shop was a 'local factory' (another expensive gift shop) followed by a 'rum tasting'. Yes, another very expensive gift shop. After a chat with the driver we declined the 'diamond jewellery maker' and I think another rum tasting. Trou aux cerfs is a volcano rim with some nice views, if you walk all the way round it takes about 20 minutes. We stopped to see the giant Hindu statues on the way to the lake (I'm assuming it was Grand Bassin?). There are numerous Hindu temples there at the lakeside. we were 10 minutes at the statues and another 10 at the lake. Then we went to the Black River National Park, well what I assume is the best viewpoint, job done in 10 minutes. There were clearly some hiking trails but with no information to hand we couldn't really get more adventurous. There were also some market stalls between the car park and the viewpoint that offered gifts at the best prices we saw during our stay in Mauritius. Then lunch, we drove past a dozen or so empty looking restaurants but had a good lunch, with other tourists at what was clearly the chosen place. We weren't paying local prices! The earlier shananigans made me suspicious of how the restaurant was selected. Before the 7 coloured earth park (right opposite the entrance in fact) we were bundled without explanation into 'Curious Chamaral'. It's a hotch potch of curiosities and optical illusions, for £10 a head. This might be OK if you had children with you but was a waste of time for us. This took the review from 4 stars to 3. Finally 7 coloured earth, including the waterfall, all very good but again only 30-40 mins although we could have hiked the short walk to the ebony plantation. So you could realistically do the whole lot in a morning and skip the lunch; if you avoided the gift shops and scams. Have a chat with the driver, give him a few hours off and the trip is worth the money.

We booked this trip at about 40 hours notice, yet, bonjour mauritius were able to accommodate us with a private guide Kesavan who picked us up at our hotel and gave us some info about the country whilst we drove to our stops. His car had extra umbrellas which were very welcome on this very wet day. We'd definitely recommend.

The trip was amazing. San, the driver and guide, told me everything about the island, it’s culture, food, nature, religion… You get to see all the amazing sites of the southwest within a few hours, definitely recommend this trip.

We enjoyed our trip, driver was polite and soft spoken and the car was comfortable as well. Driver help out us out by taking us to an amazing local restaurant for lunch as well. Only issue was that our driver did not seem to know much about the places we visited, and did not come in with us as other tourists drivers were.

After clarifying that we want to see sights and not go shopping in tourist shops, we were shown everything as described. If our driver's English had been a little better and he had talked a little more, we could have learned more about Mauritius. From a private tour we had expected a little more.