Everything about Mauritius

Nightlife in Mauritius

Before considering the night scene of Mauritius one should keep in mind that Mauritius and its people is more stuck-up than it should be. Fun and pleasure seem to be prohibited in some ways.

However, there is a permanent uprising of the youth nowadays and the scene is now much livelier than it was 10 years ago.

Nightlife in Mauritius is closer to the continental style than to an exotic scene in the sense that it is mainly in restaurants, bars, and discoth�ques; there are unfortunately neither beach parties nor full-moon parties… at least not officially.

Bars and Discotheques

Most bars & discotheques are open every night except Sundays but the evenings that work best are Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Bars get fuller after diner (between 9 and 10 and this lasts only 2 to 3 hours. Typically, bar people are not discotheque people; the bar people tend to be a bit older (25 to 50) whereas the discoth�que crowd is more between 18 and 40.

The liveliest area at night is definitely Grand Bay; mostly for its restaurants but it has also a fair amount of bars and discotheques.

Discotheques and Bars in Grand Bay

Stardance and Godz discotheque situated on Royal Road Grand Bay. It is technically the largest and best discotheque of Grand Bay with excellent sound system. The Stardance is unfortunately like all of the most famous discotheques of the world: purely commercial. It attracts people of all regions and kinds.

The Banana Cafe, (bar) Royal road Grand Bay, is a nicely set-up semi-open bar under trees and was the first of its kind. Jamming sessions occur every weekend and sustained (sometimes too much) recorded music plays along the rest of the time. The place gets pretty full on weekends as it is of good professional quality with a good mix of expatriates and local people. Prices are reasonable.

The Zanzibar (fun bar / discoth�que) is located at Royal Road, Grand Bay. The Zanzibar is situated in the same yard as the Banana; however, the concept is completely different and there is only a small proportion of the Banana clients that move to the Zanzibar afterwards. The Zanzibar is in between a fun bar and a pretty small discoth�que. It is often crowded with young people of all origins preferring the hip hop and R&B influence to the commercial / tech school. The music and quality of sound is far from the best. The crowd being generally very young, behaved and clean, the Zanzibar remains one of the two acceptable places of Grand Bay.

Le Bamboo nightclub, Chemin Vingt pieds, Grand Bay. Fairly maintained nightclub where lonely men and couples are welcome.

Zeclaire nightclub, Chemin vingt pieds, Grand Bay. Not really a discotheque… To be strictly avoided.

Discotheques and Bars outside Grand Bay

The Saxophone on Royal Road, Beau Bassin, was the first place for house music in Mauritius when the worldwide house movement started. Since then, it has had ups and downs but managed to run. It maintained a pleasant and faithful clientele that, with their peaceful attitude, help the newcomers in feeling at ease.

Arena Nightclub in Pasadena complex, Royal road, Flic-en-Flac, has an excellent potential, as the core architecture is modern and well designed. The sound system could have been improved but is sufficient for spending a pleasant night.