LOOKS Travel Diaries

The Hidden Gem of the Indian Ocean: Rodrigues Island

Today I’m very excited to share this post because certainly this is my new favorite destination and I would recommend anyone to visit now while this is still a hidden gem: Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean! This beautiful island was on my bucket list since last year when I made my first trip to Africa, but because of time issues I didn’t have time to visit.

In my previous post, I shared that we were recently in Mauritius, so this was my second chance to be able to visit Rodrigues Island. And thanks to Air Mauritius that offers a direct flight of about 2 hours to Isla Rodrigues, it made this possible!

Rodrigues is the sister island of Mauritius and is about 600 km east of Mauritius on its own in the ocean. It can only realistically be reached by plane. Many locals in Mauritius said to me that Rodrigues island used to be like Mauritius was 20 years ago. This meant that there are no large hotel chains, it truly is immersed in an isolated old world experience with totally virgin beaches. I don’t know about you guys but there’s something very fascinating about taking a trip to the past – Don’t you agree?

Rodrigues island is remote and small enough that you can easily travel around it by car. The best way is actually to rent a 4WD like we did.

Before going to this remote island there’s some things you guys need to know:

Prepare your mind to be disconnected from the modern world and enjoy a completely heavenly and isolated place. By this I mean little use of communication such as social networks, calls or emails. For me it was a bit difficult at first but I gave up because it really is not worth spending so much time in such a beautiful place where Wi-Fi is very weak and very challenging to get access to.

Carry enough cash to pay for things, whether you go to the market, a restaurant, coffee, ice cream or even take a tour or boat you only pay in cash. Almost no-one accepts credit card and you are lucky if your hotels accept them.

Very few people speak English, so prepare your French speaking skills a few months before.

For being a fairly isolated and French-speaking island the schedules of local’s shops like supermarkets, cafes, restaurants etc. are really short, which means that from after 3 pm-4pm everything is closed.

The mobile signal is really low so if you plan to put your roaming on, bear in mind that it might not work.

Where to stay?

We had the opportunity to stay in 2 hotels and both were completely different experiences.

Cotton Bay was the first hotel where we stayed the first 2 nights, which is located in the eastern part of the island. This is the most luxurious hotel on the island which offers good facilities in terms of its own pool and spacious rooms. It has good food and coffee, its own beach front, Wi-Fi (weak), accepts credit cards, it will change local money, and will for sure help you coordinate any touristic activity or even a car rental. The property is located on an excellent beach which is super easy to walk to and has incredibly photogenic views.
La Belle Rodriguaise is a charming family-run boutique hotel located in the southern part of the island which is operated by a beautiful French family and a totally different local experience. The property itself is quite attractive, filled with beautiful gardens, incredible sea views and has a jacuzzi pool surrounded by colorful and cute rooms. The food is quite exceptional and I have to say that their rooms are small but super charming with every detail that surrounds the room. I’ve to say it is a bit difficult to get to so get a 4×4 car to go because the road is quite rocky and turbulent. This hotel is quite popular as it is located in the area where the kite surfing is practiced. In fact, the hotel offers its own kite surfing school which will be open to the public probably by next year.

What to do?

Visit Île aux Cocos which is 4 km west of the island of Rodrigues. It is one of the most unknown treasures in the world and undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. This is a tour that you should take by boat which costs around 45 euros per person and it will take you almost a whole day. The meeting point is at Pointe Diable, Baie du Nord and the tour includes drinks and lunch so do not worry about that. The lunch is quite yummy and big. I recommend wearing hat, sunglasses, bikini, sunblock, and bring a towel because the sun is quite strong. The color of the water is one of the most transparent and turquoise waters I have ever seen. The island itself is a nature reserve of many birds and is surrounded by many trees that there is very little space of white sand especially when the tide is high.

You cannot miss going to the southeast coast of the island where you can find several beautiful-virgin beach coves. Be prepared to hike so I highly recommend comfy shoes for long walks and of course you cannot forget your swimwear and jump into those virgin and beautiful beaches.

Visit the local market in the main village in Port Mathurin where you will find veggies, fresh fruits, flowers, beautiful hand-crafted bags and accessories, souvenirs, local jelly and jams, spices, etc.

If you are a kite surfing lover this is the destination to practice this sport without doubt one of the activities that is most practiced on the island, and that will surely become very popular for many tourists to visit.

I hope you enjoyed this post and that you can manage to visit this hidden gem before it becomes the next viral destination.

Xoxo

Marcy