Le Morne, South West Mauritius · 1988
Karlos has been taking visitors out of Le Morne since 1988. Dolphins at first light, the lagoon at Crystal Rock, lunch grilled on the sand of Bénitiers — and no crowd on our boat but yours.
4.9 from 620+ TripAdvisor & Google reviews
4.9 from 620+ TripAdvisor & Google reviews
Showing 4-star and 5-star reviews, highest rated first.
“We were the only boat that stopped its engine. The dolphins came to us on their own terms and nobody shouted or jumped in on top of them. That respect is why we would book again.”
Dolphins at first light, the lagoon at Crystal Rock, barbecue and sega on Bénitiers, sunsets and fishing — the trips our regulars come back for, year after year.
Out early, engine quiet, and time to wait for the pods
We leave Le Morne early, when the west coast is usually at its calmest, and go looking for the resident spinner and bottlenose dolphins. Your boat is yours alone, so the pace is yours too.
From Rs 12,500per boat
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Morning with the dolphins, afternoon with the ravanne on Bénitiers
Our best-known day, and the one that started it all. Dolphins at sunrise, the lagoon and Crystal Rock in between, then lunch grilled on the sand of Île aux Bénitiers while our musician warms up the ravanne.
From Rs 1,800per person
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First the pods, then the line over the drop-off
For guests who want the dolphin morning and then something to do with their hands. Once the pods have moved on we head past the reef pass and fish the drop-off with our own gear.
From Rs 1,600per person
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Seasonal, patient, and worth the early start
Between roughly July and October, humpback whales pass along the west coast. We go further out than usual, keep the regulation distance, and wait. Nothing is guaranteed — that is exactly what makes a sighting worth it.
From Rs 1,700per person
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The shallow turquoise half of our lagoon, at walking pace
A gentle half day inside the reef: the coral gardens off Le Morne, the sandbanks, and the small coral outcrop everyone calls Crystal Rock, standing alone in waist-deep water.
From Rs 1,000per person
View detailsWooden boats, village jetties, no polish
A slower, rougher, more ordinary kind of day out — the way people here have always gone to sea. Fewer guarantees, more real life. These trips are still being finalised.
A wooden boat, a village jetty, and no schedule to speak of
This is not a polished excursion and it is not meant to be. You step into a wooden pirogue at La Gaulette, the engine putters, and you go where the fishermen go — along the mangroves, past the moorings, out to the edge of the seagrass.
From Rs 500per person
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Leave from the village, eat where almost nobody eats
A day out to a small, little-visited islet. You choose the boat — a pirogue, or the glass-bottom boat if you would rather watch the coral pass underneath you — and you choose the lunch: Mauritian curry or barbecued fish, cooked on the island.
From Rs 1,100per person
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Canvas, wind, and the old way of crossing a bay
On the south-east coast a handful of families still sail the traditional pirogue. We spend a day with them: a crossing under sail, an anchorage off a quiet islet, and lunch ashore.
From Rs 1,400per person
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A small crew, most days. You will meet several of them if you come out for a full day.
Karlos
Founder and skipper
Virginia
Karlos's daughter — bookings and guests
Judex
Musician, Bénitiers Island
Surd
Sega dancer and service
Which skipper takes you out depends on the day, the boat and the weather — we crew each trip in the morning, so we cannot promise a particular name.
About usWe only run boats in the South West. When guests ask us about the East or the North, we point them to skippers and guides we know personally. Ask us and we will make the introduction.
The east lagoon is wider, windier and a different blue altogether. A full day of island hopping and swimming with a skipper we trust. We are happy to arrange it for you — just ask.
Out to the flat islands off the north coast: deep water, seabirds, and snorkelling over reef that sees far fewer visitors. Arranged through a family we have known for years.
For a day off the water: cliffs, rivers, waterfalls and villages in the deep south, with a guide who grew up there. Not our boats, but very much our kind of day.
Engine off near a pod, wine and beer bottles returned or recycled, drinking water in plastic because of the weight we carry — sorted for recycling on the way back — and a beach clean-up on Bénitiers with the other skippers. Small, ordinary things: we would rather describe them than badge them.
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