The day started off good, our driver picked us up from out hotel on time and was very friendly and efficient! If you are not a morning person please note that the start time is NOT the pick up time and if your hotel is not located near the beach then you may have to wake up earlier. For us we has to wake up at 5am for a 6am pickup time from the east.
We arrived at the location on time and our driver took us to some toilets before we got there which was super considerate! However when we got there, we spent a lot of time just stood about and we weren't really sure what we were supposed to do/who we were going with. There were a lot of other tourists as well who I assume were waiting for similar things but again no one looked like they knew where to go.
Eventually our guides came and walked us to the boat we were going to be using for the trip. We had Vic and Zen (sorry if this is misspelled) who were super informative and really cared about our experience. I have to say their energy and commitment really made this trip worth it and I'm very glad we had them!
First they explained that we would need to look for the dolphins to swim and we ended up finding some where a lot of the other boats were. These are wild dolphins and the reason why the excursion is so early is because that is the only time they will be close to the shore. It was a bit difficult to swim with the dolphins because they would often submerge themselves in the sea to get away from all the boats, so you'd have to time it really well to swim with them. I was somewhat lucky and got to see them swim under me but they weren't very close. You can request a life jacket if you're not a strong swimmer. My mum didn't even get a chance to swim 'with' them because as she got in the water they'd be gone. After a few attempts our guides asked us if we wanted to move on (again really lovely people) and our group agreed that it would be best to start the next activity. Something to be mindful of when you're in the water is where your boat is! I lost my bearings and was swimming in the opposite direction but luckily my mum called out to me. I don't think I wouldve been left stranded in the water as there are so many boats around and someone would've helped but still a bit of a scary situation.
Our next activity was snorkelling in a lagoon area with lots of fish! They put some fish food in the water so you end up being surrounded by them which is quite cool! And the water is not to deep and not too shallow so you can really explore.
After, we when you Crystal Rock which is a gorgeous coral which grows outside the water! I recommend wearing some goggles/snorkelling here because the water is shallow enough that you can stand up in it, however there are a lot of sea urchins and sea cucumbers so it's easier to avoid them if you can see them.
Our last stop was the island which we spent a lot of time on. There are no toilets on the island so if you need to do your business, you either do it in the water or in the woody areas. Also because the boats they use are speed boats, again no toilets on there, so your only option is really when you are in the water. Where we were sat there were loads of flies which is quite off putting when you're eating but hey, that's nature. I'm not sure if it was just where we were sat or if other groups experienced it too but just something to note. There isn't a lot to do on the island except swim or buy items from some of the stalls they have. Quite good prices and lots of variety too! I guess my issue was the amount of time we spent on the island, because we had to wait almost an hour before we ate, and then after we ate we had an additional 2 hours. So a total of around 3 to 4 hours on there which isn't super entertaining when there's not much to do except sunbathe, shop or swim. For food we had a BBQ lunch which was delicious, accompanied by unlimited drinks. Again our guides were amazing, serving us our drinks and telling us about things you can do on the island. They always made sure we were feeling good and were having fun!
I booked this trip for just me and my mum and we had it nearer the end of our holiday. That being said we had experienced some excursions in Mauritius before this so I think our opinion would be different if this had been the first excursion on our holiday.