"Grand Baie" a Grand Baie Travel Page by ZenLady34

Grand Baie is the most tourist town than any other on the island. It has only 2800 inhabitans. It is not bad place to base you as public transport connections are good and there is a good choise of accommodation and it does provide all the basic services important for tourists on extended stays such as day excursions, shops, Internet, restaurants and "life outside the hotel area".

There are numerous tour agents which provides day trips and excursions. The programs they provide seems to be really similar but if you book a trip make sure what it exactly includes.

The town quiets down after seven o'clock which was a surprise for me. Especially because I had read from a Guide book that the town resembles a mini St-Tropez and it boasts with its night life!! In reality street bars and restaurants were open but the town falls in a sleep quite early. The same was with Port Louis which is, after all, the capital city!

The Grand Baie's bay is picturesque but the beach is poor.
It is fully packed with boats, catamarans and I heard that the bay is almost dead. Luckily there are two beaches near. One is Pereybere, which is a smaller one and some say it is really a beautiful beach. The other one is Mont Choisy. This one is a long one, good to swim in. Both can easily be reached by local bus by within no time! (Grand Baie - Mont Choisy 14 Rs).

Orientation in Grand Bay is easy. Everything is strung out along the coastal road (Royal Rd) and the road (La Salette Rd) going to Super U-supermarket from the coastal road. Actually these are the two main roads. You cant get lost!
What is interesting is that there are not so many pavements in the town. Pedestrians and stray dogs both weave in and out of traffic and if it rains you need to watch out for the plashes and cars driving by.

There are several bus operators on the island but none of them covers the whole island. From Grand Baie you can take a bus to the capital, Port Louis which is one of the major hubs. Also you can rent a car, a scooter or a bike from Grand Baie and explore the island! Remember, they drive on the left side of the road... and do check the condition of the vehicle BEFORE renting it. We rented only bicycles for a day and they were on poor condition. Our mistake as we did not check them before paying for them. Well, I learned from this.