Nature Discovery Tour: Dolphins, Tortoises, the Wild South & More

Overview

Available languages

English

French

8 hours

Mobile ticket

Note: This tour is private, except for the swimming with wild dolphins portion.

The Nature Discovery Tour is a full-day excursion, including hotel pickup and dropoff in an air-conditioned vehicle with a friendly driver:

• Experience swimming with wild dolphins in their natural environment and snorkelling near the coral reef in the morning

• Visit the stunning and picturesque viewpoint of Macondé, which is one of the most photographed sceneries of Mauritius

• Discover beautiful flora and impressive fauna, including Nile Crocodiles and giant tortoises, at La Vanille Réserve des Mascareignes nature reserve

• Admire the rugged scenery of big, powerful waves crashing on the cliffs at Gris Gris.

Additional Info

Not recommended for pregnant travelers

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

The dolphin portion of this outing is not recommended for pregnant women. All children under 12 years old should be accompanied.

In almost all cases (90%+) you will see the dolphins. However, if this is not the case, a second outing will be offered on the boat free of charge (transportation to and from your hotel are not included for the second outing). It’s important to note that there will be no refund once you have completed the activity.

This tour lasts up to eight hours, and you will be able to choose how long you spend at each attraction (except for the dolphin portion). Depending on your group’s speed you may not have time to see all the listed attractions. You will be able to stop for lunch but the price of the lunch is not included

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

What‘s Included

Private transfer for your group to and from your hotel

Air-conditioned and insured taxi, minibus or coach

A 2.5-hour encounter with wild dolphins in the open sea

Snorkeling near the coral reef (time permitting - snorkeling gear provided)

Services of a fully licensed, qualified driver

Waiting time

Parking Fees

La Vanille Nature Park:

Lunch or snacks

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

What To Expect

Tamarin Bay

You will start your day with the experience of a lifetime, and one of the most popular activities in Mauritius, swimming with wild dolphins in their natural environment. Once you get on board the speedboat, the professional and qualified skippers will start by briefing you on the most important aspects of this experience, including the types of dolphins that you will encounter and their habits and guidelines for sustainable dolphin watching. You will then head to Tamarin Bay for the dolphin encounter. The skippers will accompany you in the water when it’s your turn to swim with the dolphins. You will enjoy 2.5 hours on the open sea viewing the dolphins and swimming with them. Depending on the amount of time left, you will then go to The Aquarium, a popular snorkelling and diving site with beautiful coral and tropical fish.

2 hours • Admission Not Applicable

Le Morne Brabant

After swimming with wild dolphins, your driver will take you to discover one of the most photographed sceneries of Mauritius: Macondé. This picturesque viewpoint is located in the south-west part of Mauritius, where the coastal road is built around a sharp curve along a cliff, giving it its dramatic and breathtaking appeal.

1 hour • Admission Not Applicable

Options

Nature Discovery Tour: Dolphins, Tortoises, the Wild South & More

Pickup included

Reviews

4.00

8 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Fun, amazing and beautiful
Charlotte E,
Sep 4, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
It was so much fun too swim with the dolphins and we even got to see a whale!! The beaches are beautiful and very picture friendly (most forbidden to swim by) To see many animals at la vanille nature park was so much fun. A lot of time in the car since we lived in the north but it was worth it, we got a tour on almost everything in Mauritius from our amazing tour guide
Giant Tortoise
Eva B,
Aug 21, 2024
- Review from Viator
4.00
Unfortunately our swim with dolphins was cancelled due to bad weather, however we were refunded money to compensate for this part of the trip straight away. The remainder of the trip was great with our friendly driver who showed us around. Spectacular views of the ocean with dramatic waves by Gris Gris giving us clear sight of the rough seas this day. The highlight of the day was seeing the crocodiles but more amazingly the free ranging Giant Tortoises- our son loved feeding them and they loved walking amongst the visitors.
Positive only for the sea trip
alexislE7553LG,
Jun 16, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00
A little disappointed with this excursion. We had a great time at sea and managed to see dolphins and beautiful corals and fish. But we only spent 2 hours at sea. The rest of the tour involves spending a lot of time in the car! The guide took us to see 2 pretty viewpoints and told us some anecdotes about the island. But we had to drive for about 45 minutes for the first time, then for the second time again for a good 30 minutes. So it took us 1h30 to get back to our hotel. We thought we would spend more time discovering nature. If you simply want to see the dolphins I do not recommend this excursion, you will find other packages at more affordable prices. Thanks all the same to the guides who accompanied us at sea, they were very kind and gave very good advice!
Awesome tour, worth it!
430tiberiusb,
Sep 27, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Awesome! You will swim with the delphines and get a great tour to the mauritius Nlnational park. Definelty worth it.
Unforgettable and magical moments in the south of Mauritius
KaPhi2022,
Dec 26, 2022
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
An incredibly beautiful and very recommendable tour! Our guide Kesaven took the time to explain everything about the island and left no questions unanswered. Our personal highlight was swimming with wild dolphins. It was a wonderful and magical day that we will remember very well. THANK YOU! Careful and skilful driver to find quick detours and saving us time in traffic. We recommend Kesaven as a guide, we were very satisfied with his services.
Sadly not 2.5 hours in the water...
david w,
Jul 8, 2016
- Review from Viator
1.00
Sadly not 2.5 hours in the water with dolphins. the entire boat trip lasted under 2 hrs, with most of the time travelling. Lots of boats with you jumping in for 2 Min swim, then out, race ahead and repeated. +No snorkeling even thou had time. Rest of day was good, great driver and tortoise park was fun.
This tour is definitely recommended...
Gizem Y,
Feb 23, 2016
- Review from Viator
5.00
This tour is definitely recommended! The private tour car picks you up at your hotel early in the morning. First we went to Tamarin Bay and from there, took a speed boat of 10 people into the depths of Indian Ocean to chase dolphins. It was an incredible experience to see wild dolphins swim around you in their natural habitat! From there, we went to Crocodile Park, where we saw animals wandering about freely inside a park, which is not like any other animal parks. We saw tortoises in free environment, deers walking around guests. It is a must-see place in Mauritius. We also went to see Gris-Gris, rocks with amazing landscape and waves. It was a tiring day but definitely worth doing. This tour is so recommended!