5 WAYS TO DO MAURITIUS ON A BUDGET

Mauritius has a reputation of being expensive and exclusive but these handy tips will ensure your holiday on a shoestring budget:

1. Travel around Mauritius by bus.

2. Leave the resorts to the newlyweds. Camping is allowed on most public beaches and most public beaches in Mauritius have immaculately clean bathrooms with showers. Food sellers wander up and down popular beaches during the day selling everything from cotton candy to fresh coconuts.

3. Swap Mauritius for its sister island Rodrigues. Rodrigues is isolated, friendly, and quaint. With an underdeveloped tourism industry and a way of life that can only be described as 'chill', it's cheaper than the mainland.

4. Eat what the locals eat. Right across the island, food is trundled around on the back of motorbikes, ice creams are handed out of psychedelic ice cream trucks, and fresh baguettes are baked and sold for a few coins. One of Mauritius's best and cheapest meals is Dholl Puri, a chickpea flatbread, and curry.

5. Chase waterfalls, or hike through misty mountaintops.