A Day Trip to Grand Baie, Mauritius

Grand Baie (or Grand Bay) is an upscale resort village on the north coast of Mauritius, 25 km from Port Louis. Besides its high-end tourism, Grand Baie is renowned for its stunning coastal scenery and, above all, its vibrant nightlife. Since we aren’t quite rich, we didn’t consider spending a single night there. Instead, we settled in Mahébourg, in the cheaper south, for our entire two-month stay in Mauritius. We did, however, set aside a day to visit Grand Baie on a day trip, along with the nearby sites of Balaclava, Cap Malheureux, and Mont Choisy.

Aerial view of Grand Baie, mauritius — Aerial view of Grand Baie

We arrived in the hot early afternoon, and as we rolled on our motorbike along the coastal road, salty air brushing against our faces, we quickly understood what the buzz was about. The bay left us gaping in awe. It was grand in both literal and figurative senses. Stretching a mile across, its mouth tapering to half that breadth, it boasted an impossibly grandiose ice-blue hue. A flotilla of exclusive yachts and catamarans dotted it with pristine white.

grand baie beach in mauritius — Looking out from the bach

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As we slowed down before the beach, looking for a parking spot, a dude motioned us onto the pavement. He was a guide and used the opportunity to tout his speedboat tour to the outer islets. We let him down and set off strolling.

Fruit stall in Grand baie, mauritius — Fruit stall

The Grand Baie Public Beach, spanning half a km along the bay’s eastern end, is one of the village’s two accessible beaches. The other is La Cuvette Public Beach located a little further away, on the east side of the bay’s entrance. Strangely, although it was a Sunday, the beach was rather vacant. Not a single swimmer was in the water, and only a handful of locals lazed about in the palms’ shade.

Grand Baie Public Beach, mauritius — Grand Baie Public Beach

Away from the beach, the coast was lined with luxurious hotels and apartments, restaurants, bars, boutiques, and sports car dealerships, among other posh establishments. Besides being a Sunday, it must have been some kind of public holiday because most of them were shut. Only a few souvenir stalls and food places operated. After exploring each one, we satisfied our hunger at a Greek restaurant called The Trojan Horse. The owner was indeed Greek. As expected, the prices were steep, but the food was delicious and authentically Greek.

apartments and luxury cars in grand baie, mauritius — Grand Baie backshore

trojan horse greek restaurant in grand baie, mauritius — My first Greek meal in nearly five months

Finally, we loitered a bit on the rock seawall between the two public beaches, where a few locals napped in the comforting shade. After capturing the scenic views with our drone, we rode off to Mont Choisy to conclude the day trip.

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