Many travel guide and online travel blogger will tell you that, quite simply, the beach at Grand Baie (Grand Bay) is the best on the island. This is an enormous accolade, considering the island nation of Mauritius is famed for it’s stunning beaches, known the world over for it’s pristine sand and clear blue ocean. This makes Grand Baie, by popular consensus, perhaps the best of the best – and perhaps even the best beach in the entire world.
Interestingly, these grand proclamations come from very humble beginnings. Grand Baie Mauritius beach and the surrounding area was once a small and humdrum type of place, once upon a time being little more than a poor village for fishermen and their families. Amazingly, Grand Baie Mauritius is now one of the most thriving parts of the entire Mauritian Republic, with a thriving economy, tourist attractions and, of course, that beach.
Grand Baie is on the northern coast of Mauritius and has a wide range of accommodation, from self catering small apartments to lavish luxury hotel resorts. The beach aside, there is plenty to keep a tourist busy in Grand Baie Mauritius. It is home to the Black River Gorges National Park, an area of stunning volcanic scenery, as well as the Sir Seewosagar Ramglooman Botanical Gardens, where one can experience the delights of the tropical garden. For those interesting in history, Grand Baie Mauritius also hosts the Blue Penny Museum, where exhibits include a vast array of unique and old stamps as well as ancillary from battles.
There is also a vibrant urban area of Grand Baie Mauritius, with a wide variety of fashion boutiques and hand-made jewelery stores. The area also serves as a departure point for helicopter excursion, an incredibly popular past-time for the visiting tourist.
If you have a penchant for experiencing rare and exotic wildlife, you can find it at Grand Baie Mauritius. Several bird parks are to be found in the surrounding area, including the nationally recognized Domaine Les Pailles and Casela Bird Park. If you can drag yourself away from the beach for a moment, these are well worth a visit if you are in Grand Baie.
Which brings us to the main feature of Grand Baie Mauritius; the beach. Grand Baie beach is serviced by relatively calm waters, and the shore front is dotted with various companies offering water sports activities. As well as safe swimming, Grand Baie affords the chance to sail, windsurf and water ski. The beach is classic Mauritian beauty, with powder-like sand that is pristine in it’s beauty, and stunning blue water as far as the eye can see.
While the beach is consistently seen as the best in Mauritius, many tourists don’t extend their appreciation to the actual area of Grand Baie. While many glory in the wide variety of activities, restaurants and shops, some find the whole area a little too busy, as they go to Mauritius seeking calm tranquility. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you don’t actually stay in Grand Baie itself if you are looking for peace and quiet – but it should be the first place you visit on a day trip.
