So it’s official - we can tentatively start booking holidays again. I’m choosing to Staycation this year now but there’s always a bit of time for wanderlust so I thought I’d relive the second part of my honeymoon. You can read all about Part 1 here if you haven’t already read it and I’ll pick up where I left off…

After leaving my heart in Marataba Safari lodge, we made the long journey back to Johannesburg and had an overnight stay a the Intercontinental Airport Hotel. At first I wasn’t keen on this idea - an airport hotel on our honeymoon? But Charlie from Paperplane Travel persuaded me it was the right thing to do and she wasn’t wrong! We were exhausted from the car journey and it was so nice to just retreat to our room, order room service and watch TV in the massive bed. We had an early flight in the morning and it gave us the perfect amount of time to chill. Mauritius is a 4 hour flight from Johannesburg making it a great choice for a twin holiday.

I had researched and researched hotels in Mauritius almost compulsively. I knew what I wanted - small, boutique and beautiful. Paradise Cove hit all the boxes on paper. It is set in a gorgeous private cove on the North Coast. On arrival we weren’t disappointed by the beautiful interiors and the overall calmness of the space. I want to add that almost immediately after booking, the hotel shut down for refurbishment and we spent many months panicking it wouldn’t be open in time. Luckily all the holiday Gods got together and it was reopened a few weeks before we arrived.

My favourite thing about Paradise Cove was it was specifically designed for honeymooners and couples. Everything was about the two of you with lovely little sunbathing spots dotted around, private enough to be just the two of you but also easily accessible to the hotel bar - very important for those holiday cocktails!

Mauritius is a tropical island though and we went in October which is supposedly the best month to go according to the internet. Although we can’t complain, there were definitely cloudy days and a few showers which temporarily put a stop to the sunbathing. The hotel bar, however, provided a sufficient place to wait for the sun to reappear - pina colada anyone?

One thing I would highly recommend doing is to get out of the luxury hotels and go explore the island. Mauritius is so much more than it’s glorious beaches. We dedicated 2 1/2 days to excursions and didn’t regret it.

Because we booked through Paperplane Travels, we had private transport to and from the airports and a rep met us on the first day to book in any other travel we wanted. You can easily hire cars in Mauritius and they drive on the same side as in UK but because it was our honeymoon we spent a bit extra on private tour guides.

Highlights included travelling inland to the denser wilder side of the island. We saw craters, waterfalls, and the famous geologic formation Seven Coloured Earth. We also tasted lychee wine , bought a lot of bottles and completed a Rum tour, surviving the copious amounts of rum poured.

Another amazing place to visit is the famous giant Hindu statues at Grand Bassin. The sacred lake was buzzing with people and they had actual fishing cats which I was in awe of!

One afternoon we ventured into Port Louis which is the capital of Mauritius for some renowned street food. A lot of the hotelier and taxi drivers tried to put us off doing this activity but it was named Telegraph’s best cities for street food so being foodies we just had to go and explore. It’s not that the food at the hotel wasn’t good, we just wanted to sample authentic Mauritian cuisine. The market itself is a giant, vibrant bustling place that appeals to all the senses. We wandered around for a bit, taking it all in. Then we did what every tourist would do and found the street food vendor with the biggest queue of locals. Those Roti's did not disappoint and we’re so glad we ignored the advice.

All in all Mauritius has it all and I loved the experience. It was the perfect antidote to the South African Safari and gave us time to chill and recover from all the wedding planning. Would love to know if you’ve been to Mauritius and any extra tips you have for future travellers. Comment below!