North Mauritius Private Tour With Botanical Garden & Lunch

We travelled from Bel Ombre in the South West so it’s over an hour and half's drive to the North of the island - but the roads are good and you travel through the mountainous heart of the island. Totally worth the drive as the towns, villages, harbours and beaches of the north are stunning 🤩 We visited a stunning church and temple in Cap Malheureux; the Botanic Garden at Pamplemiusse; lunch was included followed by a visit to the extremely busy capital Port Louis where we visited the museum dedicated to the indentured immigrants to explore the Mauritian heritage and finally a visit to the Citadel where there are amazing views over the city. Our driver Radhika was excellent - very friendly and helpful as well as knowledgeable. She was prompt and gave us clear instructions on each visit. If anything, because of the length of the drive, it felt as though we didn’t get long enough to explore, especially in the Botanic Garden, but we thoroughly enjoyed our day with Radhika and our visit to The beautiful north of the island.

We had two tours with this company. One to the North (full day) and one to the South (full day). Firstly, we had the same driver, Anil, for both trips. We couldn’t fault him, he was friendly, knowledgeable and went above and beyond. 5/5 Secondly, I’ve given both tours 3.5/4 stars as many of the experiences did not include a guide, which I was not really aware of. I’ve booked similar tours in other countries before and we’ve had both a private guide and driver. With the guide accompanying us on visits to places and giving us detailed information in the actual place. This did not happen here. We were simply dropped off at, for example, the tea factory, given our entry tickets and left to our own devices (pretty much like a taxi). Some places like the Pamplemousse Gardens would have been much better with a guide. You can organise and pay for a guide there I believe, but I thought that’s what I’d already paid for when you read the tour itinerary, and as we were tight on time by that point, we didn’t have time for one anyway. Another niggle was that one of our trips was on a Saturday. So both the tea factory and the rum factory were not open to go around. Yes, at the tea factory there was a small museum, but we couldn’t go inside the actual factory and didn’t get to speak to anyone. It would have been useful to alert us to this and we would have chosen a different day. Anil did accompany us to the rum place but it was just tasting and a shop due to being a weekend. Also, on the Chamarel tour to coloured earth. It was really not made clear that the walk to the coloured earth took 1.5 hours each way (so 3 hour total). Given we only had about an hour there, we felt we had to pay an extortionate amount for a jeep to take us (around £45/50 but the cheapest way for 4 to see it). Again, this should have been made clearer before we arrived/booked the tour. We are happy we saw the places we did, and the lunch was good both days (a set meal with a few choices), but the second tour to the North felt particularly rushed due to the amount to see. Overall, we are pleased we did them but did feel that they were a little expensive for no guide in the actual places. So overall I’d give 3.5/4 out of 5 for tours and 5/5 for Anil who was really kind and helpful.

Had a lovely trip around the North of the island and our driver/guide Jeev was excellent. And good company

My trip was cancelled by the provider and no compensation or refund has been offered. Mu email to them has been ignored. Very disappointed in the service.

We had a fantastic day on this tour. Our driver, Sahil, was friendly and knowledgeable. Would not hesitate to recommend!

we had a great time visiting the north.. our guide ashley is a very friendly person, always pay attention to us. what i love the most is the food. we had a seafood bbq which was very very delicious. it was on the beach at gbay.. Great day!!

Terrible service. The driver came to pick us up and did not know that he had to provide water, lunch or that all admissions we included in the tour. It was just the worst experience ever. The driver had to call Freshverde Holidays to try and assist us. Bad service, I would not recommend this tour to anyone.

Regrettably, this was one of the most frustrating tour experiences I’ve ever had, and here’s why: 1. Lack of Organization: There seemed to be no plan in place. We were often left waiting with no explanation or shuffled from one place to another without any context. 2. Guide Issues: The guide seemed disinterested and frequently provided incorrect or vague information. Their tone was condescending when questions were posed. 3. Overcrowding: The tour was oversold, resulting in a huge group that made it difficult to engage or even hear the guide properly. 4. Safety Concerns: At multiple points, I felt that safety was not a priority. There were instances where we were taken to places with clear hazards without any prior warning. 5. Unmet Promises: Many attractions and points of interest that were promised in the tour description were either skipped or barely touched upon. 6. Post-Tour Follow-up: When I tried to contact the tour company afterward to provide feedback, I was met with indifference and a lack of concern for my grievances. I wholeheartedly recommend potential travelers think twice before booking this tour. The lack of professionalism and organization turned what should have been an enlightening experience into a major disappointment.

The trip was enjoyable and only reason i haven't given it a higher score was that one of the main reasons for us booking this trip was to visit Apravasi Ghat, which we didn't actually go to. There was no explanation for this. We visited the botanical Gardens at Pamplemousses first which were stunning- be sure to hire one of the independent guides just inside the garden- for 75 rupees each we had an excellent tour, with opportunities to smell and touch various plant leaves (fallen leaves and twigs only, nothing was picked from the trees themselves) including camphor, nutmeg, cinnamon and more. Cloudburst midway round wasn't a problem as there are plenty of shelters around the site. Our guide was impressive- fluent in English, French, Italian and German and provided entertaining commentary in all 4! Blue Penny museum was well worth a visit. Half an hour here was enough, but the old paintings and maps of Port Louis were fascinating for a history nerd like me. Very disappointed in the Craft Market, this was mainly a series of tacky souvenir shops with high pressure selling and even higher prices although there were a few genuine local craftsmen. Our driver hovered throughout the visit, and was presumably on commission. Lunch was pleasant in a restaurant new to the tour, apparently. Advertised as 3 course however, we had to ask for ice cream as no dessert was offered. Fort Adelaide was the highlight for me- free entry makes it a great place for those on a budget. Great views of the surrounding area and the Port. We had fun exploring the walls, ramparts and cannons! Not recommended for those with mobility restrictions. Fortunately we had a couple of drinks with us, as water was not offered as advertised. Church at Cap Malheureux was quaint, but no time to go on the beach which looked far more inviting. Not really sure of any benefit in having this on the itinerary. Enjoyed the day, and it was just the 2 of us (plus the driver) so relaxed and informal. Just disappointing that itinerary not as advertised.

Port Louis market, Caudan waterfront & Pamplemousse Gardens ( get a guided tour) were great, fantastic Citadel views Great driver/guide

Well the tour was OK. Did rain so we bypass the gardens. Went to tea shop had tour there drank some tea then blue penny that was OK too interesting in parts but not that good then citadel. We wanted to go there last trip but made it this trip. Again disappointed just a square building apart from notice at entrance no more information every door locked very good view of Port louie from top. Then we had lunch very good food seafood lunch best part. Over all not really worth the money. But the driver was very good

We had a good day visiting the north island. Our driver aniket is a good guy… he shows us the north island and we had an amazing time with him. The lunch was very goood.. plenty of things to see.. wear light clothes as its doing very hot.. again thanks aniket.

The tour agency used Freshverde Holidays is the worst tour company we every used....They only focus is money NOT customer satisfaction. Once they receive the booking and get the money they don't care about the customer. The missed a few tour sites...and promised they would either give us a refund or complete the missed tour the following day, but did not stick to their promise and when we asked them they were very rude and unprofessional ...Recommend never using this unprofessional tour company.

Very noce tour with jayesh, our driver. He drove us to every places mentioned in the north part. He made us taste the refreshments alouda, which was very nice! Great food. The capital city is beautiful. Botanical garden was nice, but had to walk a lot 😅

No bottles of water supplied Driver did his own thing so we only got 10mins in one event because it closed at 12.00. We didn’t get entrance into another event as it was closed on a Saturday but viator took our money for ‘entry into these events’. The botanical gardens- everyone had a guide map, we didn’t. Driver told us to wear masks around the gardens- nobody else had a mask on. The gardens were disappointing and full of rubbish. We were so disappointed with the morning ‘non entry’ events & gardens that we cut the tour shirt and didn’t even go for the lunch that we’d paid for but instead headed back to hotel.

A very good trip to see more of Mauritius. Driver was on time and courteous. All of the places visited were very interesting especially the Botanical Gardens and it was good to have a guide. I would recommend this trip and company we booked with.

Terrible experience , started with a small car where we were all cooped up for what the driver said a 45 min drive each way, but reality is 2 hrs. The driver was on the phone using the car loud speaker taking personal calls multiple time speaking in French and thinking we do not understand that these were personal calls not work. He had truly no clue how to be a tour guide. We cut our trip to half and asked him to take us back to our hotel and we truly cannot be more grateful to be back at the hotel safe. The whole time he was arguing with me why I am not happy. We were promised water and refreshments but we got nothing until I told him go get me water pls. I have never had a worst “tour guide” if that is what he calls himself.

It was great to see all the sights in Northern Mauritius and we learnt a lot about the history and culture of the island. However we were not greeted with a bottle of water which the trip says it includes. Having been on other trips where lunch was included we felt this lunch itself and the location were very poor. In fact it was not a place we would ever choose to eat in. There was also no booking for us.

Excellent curated private tour. Ashutosh and his tour guide (Samad) catered to our every need including allowing us to stop for our PCR test for travel purposes. We felt so comfortable the entire journey.

We went to the north with Divesh, everything was perfect! The guide was polite and patient with all our questions, the driving was safe ! We learnt lot of things about Mauritius and its culture. We won't forget the street food which was amazing. I'm still craving for the Dholl puri and Alouda. Thanks divesh and the freshverde team. Highly recommended !!!

Raj and Hans are a great team. They made this excursion fantastic for my way, kids and myself. Couldn't ask for more! We did some great shopping at Port Louis. The botanical garden was truly amazing with lots of plants and trees. The food was very delicious but was very heavy. Thanks to the team.

wonderful day, very helpful and competent guide, advice to those who want to spend a nice day in the North!!

Thank you very much to Manav for the north visor! He was great! We liked Port Louis less, but the market was great, the botanical garden, the restaurant, and the visit to Cap Malheureux and Mont Choisy beach were super! Thank you very much! A little thought for Manav with whom we had discussed marriage! A few days later Benjamin proposed! !!

Our driver and guide Abishek really was great with us. Available, kind, amazing 🤩 Thank you all 🫶🏾🙏🏾

We had a great day in northern Mauritius. Our driver Kevin is super friendly and informed us very well. We enjoyed the day and can highly recommend the trip.

Le jardin pamplemousse était vraiment beau avec ses tortues et ses cerfs.La gentillesse de notre guide Yash.

Very interesting and informative private visit thanks to our very kind and attentive driver/guide Mevin who we recommend without any hesitation. Thanks also to Freshverde Holidays for this offer. Françoise and Bernard.

Me and my wife had a super nice day with Jay, our guide and taxi driver. He showed us several places across Mauritius. I highly recommend him, because me and my wife really liked his service and have used these services for several other activities. Attentive, and always ready to answer our questions, he is the best driver we have had! Thanks again for the mango for my wife!

Experience not to repeat. The tour did not include stops indicated in the itinerary such as the blue penny museum, aapravasi ghat and le caudan waterfront. But that wasn't the worst of all: we paid €98 per person and they didn't provide us with bottles of water. We had to pay the entrance fee to the Pamplemousse botanical garden, which was theoretically included in the price of the tour, and they didn't even give us lunch. They took us to a restaurant where the waiter offered us a fish-based meal for €17 per person even though a meal was included in the excursion. Of course we continued the tour without eating and the waiter was very rude to us. We feel totally scammed. It was the only bad experience of our trip to Mauritius.

Fine excursion only Port Louis too busy private driver was perfect traffic was completely stuck and no parking space to find for the rest much seen

Der Pamplemousse Garden hat uns total fasziniert. Auch Cap Malheureux mit der Kirche mit dem roten Dach war wunderschön.

Dovevamo avere un autista/guida certificato e parlante italiano . Invece era solo un taxista,che non spiegava nulla dei luoghi e non parlava italiano. Non tutti i luoghi in programma sono stati visitati! Non abbiamo visto la Aapravasi Ghat ( World Heritage Site ). Sia all'uscita del Giardino di Pamplemousses che all'uscita del ristorante l'autista non era presente e abbiamo dovuto aspettare molto tempo perché arrivasse. Insomma: un disastro.

The taxi driver is not a fully qualified certified guide but only a driver. Too much autonomy