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Ile Aux Cerfs, Mauritius Overview

Ile aux Cerfs Island, also known as “Deer Island”, is a private island located near the east coast of Mauritius. There aren’t any deer left here, but it remains a hugely popular tourist spot for its beautiful beaches, lagoons, and wide variety of activities and facilities. With homestays and hotels available on the island, Ile aux Cerfs is ideal for both day trips and multiple-day stays.

The white sand beaches and crystal clear waters are ideal for water activities like parasailing, diving, snorkelling, and underwater walking. Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club has a massive 18-hole golf course. And for those who’d like nothing better than to enjoy a day of doing nothing, there are beach chairs, personal waiters, and delicious cocktails to lounge away the hours without a care in the world.

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Things to Do at Ile Aux Cerfs

Along the beaches of Ile aux Cerfs, one’ll find multiple kiosks offering different kinds of water sports. The best times to enjoy the island’s water sports are the summer months from November to March when the waters are warm.

Scuba Diving: Ile aux Cerfs offers opportunities to swim alongside boxfish, clownfish, tuna, marlin, moray eels, and even sharks with excellent visibility. There are diving schools available with PADI-certified courses. These typically start at around MUR 1,300.

Underwater Walk: One is provided with a helmet with a transparent visor and breathing equipment and taken around 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) underwater to walk along the ocean-bed. The walk is anywhere between 10 minutes to 20 minutes long and one gets to see over 200 species of coral and fish pass by. This is usually priced at around MUR 1,500.

Parasailing: If interested in parasailing to enjoy bird’s eye views of Ile aux Cerfs and miles of gorgeous blue Mauritian waters, there are parasailing packages starting at MUR 500. They are usually open to anyone above 10 years of age.

Golfing: The island has an 18-hole golf course with all holes having views of the ocean. One is required to wear proper golf apparel and can make a booking for any day between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. On average, the duration of this course is 4 hours. Other facilities here include on-course refreshments, locker rooms, bag storage, driving range, and a clubhouse with golf packages priced at MUR 6,000 for adults and MUR 4,900 for children under 17 years.

Zip-lining: There is a treetop zip-lining course available for both children and adults. Taking place on weekdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, it includes footbridges and zip-lines along the island’s great tree cover. It has easy and more challenging obstacles. The children’s circuit, priced at MUR 550 with 17 tree stations, takes around 30 minutes while the adult’s circuit, priced at MUR 1,100 with 30 tree stations, takes around 1 hour 30 minutes.

Restaurants and Dining

There are restaurants and bars in both the northern and southern parts of the island for you to enjoy fresh food and drinks. They are popular event locations for birthdays, weddings, and even corporate events.
  • La Chaumiere Masala is built on stilts with a gorgeous hillside view of Il aux Cerfs. It’s known for its wonderful Indian, Mauritian, and Asian offerings.
  • Sands Grill and Bar has fantastic seafood along with Mauritian dishes and pizzas. It overlooks a lagoon, promising a beautiful turquoise view. The bar services tropical cocktails with fresh fruits – definitely try their Mauritian rum cocktails.
  • Langar’s Bar and Grill is located in Ile aux Cerfs Golf Club with a view on the 18th hole. It’s believed to be built on the highest point of the island serving a variety of Asian, Mauritian, and international cuisines.

How To Reach Ile Aux Cerfs

Ile aux Cerfs can be reached from Trou d’eau Douce, Pointe Jerome, or Pointe Maurice on the mainland. Dozens of boats at these locations offer water-taxi services for MUR 230 round trip. They run every half hour from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and it takes around half an hour (depending on the boarding point) to reach the island. Due to the frequency of the service, it’s not necessary to book ahead.

Alternatively, there are plenty of private operators offering travel packages. The Catamaran cruise takes place on a 45-feet luxury catamaran that includes sunbathing spots, a shaded cockpit, queen-size cabins, and showers. This starts at MUR 1,900.

The budget/standard tour by motorboat include a buffet lunch at La Chaumiere Masala. Before reaching the island, it stops at the lagoons and waterfalls around Ile aux Cerfs. This package costs around MUR 1,100. The customised full-day trips by motorboat costs around MUR 2,000 and includes sun mattresses, drinks and barbeque lunch buffet at the Sands Grill.

The pirate boat trip is a themed travel package that has exciting pirate shows, live music, and lots of dancing. At the lagoon, the boat drops anchor to allow one to swim or snorkel around freely. It has a very friendly environment with lots of Sega dancing, drinks, and a barbeque lunch. This package is priced at MUR 2,100.

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