Turtle Snorkelling & Scenic North Island Full-day Experience

This was not a tour guide, he was a taxi driver looking to be as quick as possible!! Car smelt of cigarettes! Insisted on driving with window wide open despite asking to close as blowing a gale in back. Radio crackled for majority of journey, no attempt to retune despite asking. Did not point any attraction out on the way other than tram station and phoenix beer! Tried to tell us the gardens were not included as part of trip, when I said we pay ourselves but itinary says we can go, then said we could go but you be very quick! We didn’t want to go to market in Port Louis and asked to be taken into town to see the sights - he drove us along main road, pointed at market and said that’s it and off we drove! Couldn’t tell you what the capital has to offer but we certainly weren’t offered what was on the itinary for there!! The red church and the surrounding beach is lovely. The glass bottomed boat was good, we only seen one turtle but didn’t swim as it was nervous. Ethically I understand this but please don’t expect this to be a turtle swim when you book. My husband and son enjoyed the snorkelling and the crew were great! We went to the botanical garden and paid for the guide (would absolutely recommend this!) he was incredibly knowledgable and fun, he made the hour tour fly by. The amount we initially allocated for driver tip was split between the boat crew and the gardens guide, the driver had the remaining 200 rupees (£3) He was essentially a taxi driver and not a tour guide!! This was my worst Viator experience having used them for over 20 years all over the world.

Good turtle swimming, nice church, a short turnaround in Port Louis and a great botanical garden in Pampelmouse.

Excellent Trip would highly recommend and definitely to it again. Trip was amazing, seeing Turtles not too far from shore, deep enough to swim. Only thing put me off, was too many people in swimming at same time too see Turtles.

This private tour experience was amazing, our driver was extremely accommodating. Would highly recommend this experience especially when dealing with tour companies on the island want to charge you £900 for this exact experience

Avoid this you do not swim with turtles you are ferried 150metres to an anchored speedboat that has an anchor with bait attached and a turtle is feeding from it - it’s chaotic as people enter the water to see the turtle - the water is murky and it’s just a waste of money. The changing facilities are beyond basic. The trip was also to Port Louis the red church and pamplemousse gardens all of which are worth visiting and our car and driver were excellent but swimming with turtles is just a set up and shouldn’t be allowed you dont swim with them and the whole management of this part of the day was shambolic and should be avoided .

The turtles are the highlight of this trip. They are amazing and majestic creatures, and you can get very close to them (but keep a respectable distance). It was great also seeing Port Louis, the Red Church and Pamplemousses Gardens in the same trip. Our guide was very helpful and clued us up on lots of local knowledge. He was relaxed and gave us more than enough time at each stop.

Snorkelling with the sea turtle was a once in a lifetime activity! Our taxi driver was lovely although on the way home dropped us off at a cashmere shop unsolicited which we didn’t want. Apart from that the sight seeing of the north was good.

I was really looking forward to this trip, but it was a letdown. Our driver (manoj) talked too much and rushed us at every stop, giving us only 40 minutes at the port and taking us to just one shop. We felt pressured to buy without any choice. The skipper mostly spoke French, ignoring the English-speaking guests, which made us feel excluded. We saw one turtle—nothing else worth mentioning. I wouldn’t recommend visiting the Red Church, and while the botanical garden is nice, it's too hot to enjoy fully. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this trip.

The highlight of the trip was swimming in the sea with turtles. It was also wonderful to see The Red Church, Pamplemousses Garden and Port Louis. Our driver Anil looked after us very well.

The turtle experience was amazing and also the other stuff, the only problem was the rude driver that brought us everywhere. And also it's not a real tour because you will be alone and without a guide so at the end you are just paying the turtle thing and the taxi because he stay with you all the day. I hope you will get a different driver then mine.

San was a lovely guy and really informative about the island. Leisurely tour and no rushing and given plenty of time at each stop. Unfortunately turtles didn’t come out to play but still enjoyable trip. Would highly recommend.

Very mixed bag of a day but all in all i found it to be a good day out! Firstly, our driver arrived to pick us up 30 minutes before we were expecting (totally not his fault he showed us the agency booking he received, there was a issue of the agency telling him one time and the trip advisor booking telling us another). Our driver was just amazing, he was so friendly, passionate and engaging with us. We were staying on the south end of the island so it took us around 1.5 hours to get to the first location but the drive and car were pleasant. First stop was the red church which was beautiful. Located on the coast, it boasted a very picturesque beach view. There is a small dock just to the side which you can walk on and see various fish etc swimming about. You can enter the church by pulling the cage door open (it does look closed but try the door!). Once inside there are signs asking for quiet while people look around as it is still a place of worship. Snorkelling with turtles was definitely a highlight of the trip. Once dropped off at the beach, you are met by a guide who goes through the safety rules (don't touch, don't chase, don't dive etc) and then you are shown onto a boat (BRING WATER SHOES!). He the again went through the rules while driving to the location. This is where the trip took a bit of a turn, it was very suddenly a rush to get in the water, very GO GO GO now! there was our boat and around 4/5 others within the same area and around 10 other people, all shouting and directing us where to go while others in the water were doing everything we were told not to do. Our boat driver then told us when we were done to get onto the glass bottom boat when we were done as that is where he would leave our stuff and then quickly left before we could confirm what boat he was referring to. There was a mixture of trying to find where the turtles were, listen out for directions, not hit other swimmers, not swim into the boats around all while fighting the current. All in all, this experience, although great because we got to see turtles, was very stressful and if you aren't a strong swimmer, I would not recommend. Pamplemousses gardens were very nice and pretty but didn't have a lot of plant variety. But it was nice to walk around and relax. Finally Port Louis - quite a chaotic city and smells very heavily of fish. Our lovely driver offered to accompany us around due to haggling in the markets which was massively appreciated. We started at the craft market which was very nice and we did pick up some souvenirs, while our driver stayed in the background, only jumping in to support us when asked. We then walked 30 minutes in what felt like a convection oven (no air and all heat) to the fish / veg market. Honestly, I wouldn't bother unless you are intending on buying fish or veg.

My partner and I booked this and had a great time during the gardens, the guide was knowledgeable and engaging. However the rest of the tour felt rushed and not very well organised. We unfortunately ended up coming back early and not visiting some parts of the tour that was in the description. Was disappointed overall.

The swim with turtles was good managed to see one turtle and the crew were friendly. We visited the church at a quiet time which was very idyllic with the bay behind. The gardens were beautiful and we had a very informative guide showing us around where we also saw fruit bats flying.Port Louis was very busy and the market life was thriving with local produce and people. Our driver was very nice and explained about many sites and daily Mauritius life.

Group of 14 adults attended this trip. This trip was 1 of 3 trips we had done and was our least favourite The swimming with turtles, consisted of only 1 small Turtle 🐢 and was a little crowded due to other boats and tourists. I probably wouldn't recommend this trip. But would look to find a better Turtle excursion.

Keno was amazing communicative, helpful, well spoken, friendly and informative. We enjoyed the tour from start to finish and highly recommend this! The swimming with turtles was amazing and so was all the other parts of the tour. We saw a beautiful Tamil temple as an extra bonus stop. The botanical gardens were so beautiful and a must see!!!! Beautiful tour!

This tour was amazing! From start to finish. Our driver/guide Keni was great; informative, friendly, punctual, helpful. Swimming with the turtles was wonderful. The botanical gardens a must see too! We even got a quick visit to a beautiful Tamil temple stunning! Very happy thank you.

A really great experience and a fab way to see lots of things if you are short on time. Our driver was great- chatty and knowledgeable and very patient with us at each of the sites. The beaches we visited were particularly beautiful. I would definitely recommend this tour - especially if you are short on time visiting Mauritius. Only taking away a star as we didn’t see any turtles- not the tour’s fault but it was the main reason we booked so feel a bit disappointed. Otherwise 10/10!

First of all, credit to my driver, Luv. He was extremely helpful, informative and flexible. I didn’t feel rushed and he was on-hand when needed. I started with a trip to the red church, which is a great photo opportunity. A brief stop at Baby Baie beach for a wander along the sand, before heading off to meet the boat for the turtle encounter. Swimming with the turtle is an experience I won’t forget. I got really close to it, respecting the wildlife guidelines explained to us by the captain. From the ocean to the Botanical gardens next. I could quite easily have spent more time in this stunning place. I made the mistake of not hiring a guide, which were very well priced at Rs75. My highlight was seeing the giant tortoises. A stop for lunch at an amazing seafood restaurant was followed by a trip to the citadel/fort of Port Louis. To be honest, the fort could have been better presented. It is an amazing structure, but the lack of information boards or guides left me a little disappointed. As I’m very interested in history and having more info to hand would have made the visit a lot more worthwhile. Then on to Port Louis centre to visit the aquarium and a bit of a mooch around the shops. The aquarium is well worth a visit, albeit a little on the pricey side at Rs1200. Some amazing phot ops here though. The nearby shopping centre was very pretty and certainly worth a window shop. There is a mixture of high-end retailers, food & drink outlets and gift shops. All of which are very expensive. My driver Luv was waiting immediately outside when I had finished my strole around and he took me back to the hotel. By this point I must admit, I was pretty worn out and there may have been a nap involved on the journey back 😂 Total excursion time was around 8 hours. All in all, excellent value for money and I made sure to tip my driver for his efforts.

Very enjoyable trip, we particularly liked Pamplemousses but snorkeling with turtles was not great. The snorkeling equipment provided was not fit for purpose and the boat had seen better days. Unfortunately I did not get to see any turtles which can't be helped but they did offer for us to come back the next day free of charge. Our driver San was brilliant he really gave an insight into what life is like on the island and was super friendly and chatty.

We had a great day, our guide Aslim was fantastic, nothing too much trouble. Swimming with the turtles was amazing.

The trip was a bust . No turtles. We were not very satisfied. The driver was friendly and very knowledgeable and helpful, but we should have done something differently

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.

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.

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 !

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 .

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 viator . 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

was a lot of fun and a little scarey (in a good way)... The guide was great, friendly and informative, the church was interesting and had some great pictures. The turtles were bigger than expected and scared me in a good way... and were amazing to see! The Botanical gardens were amazing as we had a guide and he knew everything and was very friendly, and finally the capital, Port Louis was nice, though much more modern than I had expected :o

Snorkeling with the turtles was a fantastic experience we reallyenjoyedit. We didn't really get to see much of port Louis as was only given half hour, so by the time we got across the road and into the market we only had time for a quick walk up and down a couple of rows before heading back to the car.

Such a surprise day, I've booked this last minute when in Mauritius. I haven't realised we have a private driver, Dave, for the whole day. We had to text directly him after we booked the day for the location pickup, he was punctual and very discreet. He was accompanying us when we asked him to do so, and giving us a really good guide for the attractions when we asked him. The driver was very polite and kind, friendly, and always asked us how much time we wanted to spend at each location, waiting for us outside, so when we finished we just jumped in his car and went to the next place. We first visited Tea factory, then Port Louis, then he drove us to L'Ocean seafood restaurant (definitely try the crab soup, it's amazing) then we headed to swim with turtles - we've seen so many of them, then we've been taken to the Botanical garden. It was well over 5pm when we got home, and noticed then that the driver didn't need any map, all the routes were in his head. The Red Church is a Catholic Church in the middle of a beautiful beach so definitely visit it. The day was an absolute pleasure, thank you 😊

Swimming with a giant turtle was probably the highlight of my trip to Mauritius. Was genuine concerns about if we’d get a chance to as they didn’t appear in the morning due to the tide. However, Kesaven who was our guide/driver for the day worked hard to keep up to date & even when at the end of the day it looked like they weren’t going to appear, he took us to meet the person who runs that part of the day so we could come back if needs be on another day with no additional cost to do it. But, our luck came in as whilst we were having that chat they spotted a giant turtle. So we rushed into the boat & went out, for what was an amazing experience. There was only 1 but frankly that didn’t matter. This was much better than “chasing” dolphins as we were in a small group actually swimming with the turtle. The rest of the day was great. Visiting the tea exporter/factory was great, the guide there was super friendly & knowledgable. Pamplemousses Botanical Garden was great, but that was because for the small cost of 75RPS per person (around £2) you can get a guided tour. Frankly don’t think I’d have appreciated it without them & again they were so friendly but importantly knowledgable. The Red Church is also amazing & there was a wedding at the time so we kept a little further back, but that was fine as the views out to sea were unreal. Port Louis was probably the only drawback in that I’d have happily have gone after a quick look around the quay & market. Would recommend.

Swam with a turtle but the fish were amazing moray eels and Parrot fish. Only the two of us on the boat.

The snorkling was great! We saw a turtle and a lot of different fish. We did not have much time in Port Louis. So would recomend to skip red Church and Pamplemousses Garden. We had a super driver!

What an incredible experience! Snorkelling with the turtles was just amazing! We highly recommend this tour to anyone. As soon as the boat arrived in the lagoon we were greeted by a turtle and for the whole 90 minutes we were there we were swimming with them. Along with countless tropical fish among the corals. You get so close to the turtles, they are not shy. They swim all around you. The rest of the tour was also just excellent. Top marks. Our driver guide, San, was lovely and took us to great places and was very informative. The transportation was very comfortable. Its a long tour though! Overall, absolutely fantastic and we recommend booking this!

Our driver, Asleem, gave us a lot of explanations about mauritian life and answered all of our questions. He took us to a place to shop spices at a fair price, proposed another stop to an activity that was not specified in the tour(rum tasting) . The snorkeling with the turtles was amazing, they even touch us. The Pamplemousses Garden is nice, but I recommend to take a guide(MUR75/person) from the entrance because there are a lot of information that you can’t find by yourself. (Ask for “Radio Pakistan” - Ibrahim - he is very funny and has a lot of information to share).

Not much. Basically you pay a taxi to drive you around. Port Louis was interesting. Encounter with the turtles is a rip off. We had to pay our entrance fee for the botanical park, which should be included as the trip was already expensive. The taxi driver was driving very dangerously, always on the phone, texting while driving above speed limit in the rain! I would not recommend this trip, if you want to visit the island book a taxi and make your itinerary!!!

The experience of the trip was amazing ..The driver was very informative and helpful ..I my self would of preferred a bit longer in port Lois instead of going to the tea factory, but the whole experience was amazing and swimming with the turtles a dream come true ..

Dear All, This was such an amazing experience. We saw 2 gigantic turtle 🐢 with an eel swimming with them!! We went straight into the sea and swam with them. I touched the neck of the turtle and her shell. Was not aware not allowed - it felt so overwhelmed- don’t think of the price, it’s fully worth it. This memory will stay forever with you.

Great experience the tours itself we generally found in Mauritius are different to elsewhere in the world in that you’re essentially just paying a taxi driver to escort you for the day. We probably could have engaged our driver a little more to try to stay longer in a few of the places but we enjoyed the day overall and the snorkelling was great to experience a wide variety of marine life not just the turtles.

We are a family of 10. 6 adults and 4 children. Seeing the turtles was amazing but for half of us we was are not very confident in the water. The boat we was on only had one life jacket and they did NOT have snorkelling gear for us all. Well they had two. So half of our party stayed on the boat and watched the others swimming with the turtles. As for our driver he was very patient, He didn't seem to speak much English though. we was stuck in such a lot of traffic which seemed not to be going anywhere and by the time we eventually got to the waterfront the shops was closed. Which was a shame Before the waterfront the driver did take us to a restaurant for lunch which he recommended. we would not go back there, it was a lot of money for what we had. My family was not impressed!!

The Snorkelling with turtles, Red Church and Pampelmousses botanical gardens were superb. Unfortunately this trip was let down by or driver. First thing he done was take us to one of his friends shops, he said "go in you don't have to buy and I get gift at the end of the month". This happened again after swimming with turtles and he "said I take you to another friends shop", I said no more shops. His driving was dangerous trying to overtake on a blind bend and having to slam the brakes on to avoid a head on collision, and we counted on 8 occasions he was driving whilst on his mobile phone. Before our final visit to Port Louis after being told not to take us to any more of his friends shops, he took us to his friends Tea shop, I said we don't drink tea, but he still lead us inside. Would recommend this trip but not with this driver. We were glad to get back in one piece. Hence he did not get a tip.

The swimming with turtles was a once in a lifetime opportunity and would highly recommend to anyone considering as they were so close and swam all around us. Only real negative I have which is quite an important one at this moment in time was that our taxi driver picked us up late meaning we were late to the swim with turtles part of the trip. On arrival we had to change from the speedboat to the glass bottom boat and was each given a recently used snorkel set to use that hadn’t been sanitized. The girls who had recently used the same one recommended us to wash it in the sea as there was no more available and we would have missed the experience altogether. Very bad and could have ruined our experience completely.

We had a good experience, our guide was friendly and the visiting sites were beautiful. Overall we would recommend this trip.

Snorkling with the turtles was great and tasting the tea but the rest was ok. Port Louis in my opinion isnt a nice place.

Boat guy was super nice and driver was constantly checking in with us, overall good exp just long for me

The tour went smoothly, it took over nine hours including the transfer (from and to La Gaulette) for what we have not been charged extra. First we visited the waterfront in Port Louis, then the citadelle (Port Adelaide) then the tea factory (which was more of a tourist trap since at the end of the visit you were expected to buy a veeery expensive tea) then botanic garden (which was definitely a highlight - we spent an hour there but one could easily be three hours inside, it is so beautiful). The last sightseeing stop was the Red Church. Afterwards we headed for the Biches beach (no pan intended ;)) to board a small motor boat and see the turtles. Unfortunately the turtles were there in the forenoon that day (but in the afternoon the previous day - they do not have a fixed schedule ;) and the skipper had to guess the best time to meet them the next day with no guarantee of course). Instead we were offered another try free of charge the next day (which we had to decline due to organisational reasons) and if not - a snorkel and dolphins watching in a glass bottom boat (this one was a success - we saw dolphins and did snorkeling in a nice place; you have to keep in mind though that a large part of the reef is dead due to bleaching events in the last twenty years). At the end we had to skip the lunch due to longer activities at the beach which was not a problem. Overall the tour was OK, our taxi driver was a very nice man and could speak English feeding us from time to time with some insiders knowledge about living in Mauritius. The support from Bonjour Mauritius was quick to responde and helpful, they do not however have and phone number on their web site which is a bit irritating.

Seeing the wonderful turtles 😊 Glorious day and really enjoyed all the stops along the way. Thank you San the temple, church and botanical gardens were all very beautiful. Everything worked well and seamless.

This is an ambitious programme attempting to cover a lot in one day from a resort in the South of Mauritius. Due to the tides the order of the programme had to be changed with the snorkelling in the middle of the day. Consequently the initial time in Port Louis was somewhat rushed and several sights were missed out. The turtle snorkelling was amazing and Pamplemousse Botanical Garden lovely. Jay our driver was competent especially when the driving conditions were challenging. He did however appear grumpy at times and impatient with us.

Great trip, Rocky, our driver was awesome ! North of this island is beautiful and it was awesome to swim with sea turtles.