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Find Mauritius
Hotels and Resorts in close proximity to many of Mauritius top attractions.
With huge list of Hotels and Resorts in Mauritius, you can choose
which one is best for your holiday needs.
What
you should know before you come to Mauritius?
Addresses
(IMPORTANT): The
full address of your Hotels or private Holidays Houses and Bungalows
before you arrive. Please note this carefully as you will be required
to write it on a card to be given to the Mauritian immigration authorities
in the airport on your arrival.
Airport:
Flic-en-Flacq
is about one hour from the airport. Le Morne/Grand Baie [1.5 Hrs],
Belle Mare/Palmar [1.2 Hrs], Port-Louis [1 Hr], and Mahebourg [20
mins].
Transfer costs varies from 500 to 1200 rupees.
We recommend
that you change some money in the airport immediately on arrival.
(e.g. no banks in Grand Gaube area, which is on the North-West coast.)
On departure
an airport tax of 500 rupees per person is payable. This can only
be paid in rupees.
You need to
re-confirm your return ticket at least 72 hours before departure.
For Air Mauritius (230-208-7171), British Airways (202-8000), Condor
(207-3000),
Malaysia Airlines (208-4685), SAS (208-5538), and Singapore Airlines
(208-7695).
Driving in Mauritius
: Due to the high import tax on new cars and spare parts, driving
on Mauritius can be expensive. Only super grade leaded petrol is
available on Mauritius and all cars use this. It costs slightly
less than in Europe. Mauritius uses the British driving system (driving
on the left).
Visas:
Visas are not required for people with EEC or American passports.
Vaccination:
Mauritius is fairly unique for a tropical country in that it is
free of such diseases as malaria, yellow fever and cholera. This
is because of the very effective efforts of the government to combat
these diseases. For most people therefore, vaccinations, etc. before
departure are not necessary. If in doubt please check with your
local Mauritian embassy before departure.
Health Care
: The medical standard on Mauritius is well advanced and the
hospitals are free of charge. This applies to visitors as well.
There are now additionally many private clinics in the island and
they offer a more attractive environment plus frequently some of
the latest medical equipment available. They are however not free
and you would be well advised to check that your health insurance
is valid for Mauritius before you come.
The local water
is relatively clean and the Mauritians drink it. You need therefore
have no fear if you use it for cleaning your teeth etc. However,
it is better you boil the water before drinking it or buy bottled
water which is freely available in the local shops.
Mosquitoes:
As in all tropical countries (even Europe in the summer) mosquitoes
do exist. We recommend using a mosquito repellant cream to keep
them away.
Some holidays
houses are equipped with electrical mosquito repellers (vapes) which
you can use at night. Small impregnated tablets are inserted into
the apparatus which is then plugged into the electricity. The effect
will last for about 8 hours. You may leave 1 window open in the
bedroom but you should ensure that there is no strong wind as this
blows the vapor away. If you run out of tablets they can be purchased
locally for about 45 rupees.
Sun Cream:
The sun is exceptionally strong on Mauritius and many people
are surprised (too late) by its strength and have to suffer sunburn
for several days. Even on cloudy days, please make sure that you
use a good sun cream.
Electricity:
The power supply is 240 volts and the power sockets use the
british 3 pin standard. If you bring electrical appliances with
you then you will probably need an adaptor.
Language:
The official language of Mauritius is English. A large number
of people can therefore understand and speak it. The main language
of the island however is Creole which is based on French. In addition
the different ethnic groups speak such languages as Chinese and
Hindi.
Holiday Clothing:
Men can usually spend most of the time in short trousers unless
you want to enter a hotel for the evening, in this case long trousers
are required. Additionally the maid in the house washes and returns
clothes by the next day so that you do not need to take much with
you. Do not overload your suitcase with unnecessary clothes. Leave
some room for any shopping that you do on Mauritius.
Mauritius has
a well advanced textile industry so that instead of taking all your
holiday clothes with you might consider buying them locally on the
local market. The shops are full of ready to wear polo shirts, T-shirts,
shorts, shirts, trousers, pullovers, dresses and beachwear at low
prices.
Disposable nappies
for babies cost about 3 times the price on Mauritius as they do
in Europe. We recommend either taking enough with you or taking
nappies which the maid can wash.
Currency:
They use the Mauritian rupee. Currency rate is EURO 1.00 = 29.00
rupees [Aug 02]. Mauritian rupees do not circulate outside Mauritius
so that you can only change money on the island. DM/EURO/GBP or
US$ travellers cheques and cash can be changed in the banks. (Please
NOTE that the exchange rate for traveller's cheques is much better
than for cash).
For more info
on currency exchange with the rates of your country,
please visit the Mauritius Commercial Bank.
There are 3
banks in the airport just after the baggage hall and there are 3
banks in Grand Bay and in other major towns on the island. Major
credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard are accepted in restaurants
and hotels and also in some shops and supermarkets. In addition
you can use credit cards to obtain cash in the banks or use them
together with the secret (PIN) number to get money from cash dispensers.
Depending on
which country you come from, you will normally find the prices in
the shops to be reasonable compared to what you pay at home. The
food and drink prices charged in the hotel bars and restaurants
are normally appreciably higher than this.
Tipping :
If you stay in private holidays houses or bungalows, the maid can
cook for you. We would recommend paying her MUR 125 rupees each
time as this is not covered in the house rent. If she washes your
personal clothes for you then the normal price would be about MUR
100 per person and per week.
Climate :
The hottest time of the year on Mauritius is December / March
when you can expect temperatures of 30 degrees C (approx. 89 F)
but with less humidity. There is always a breeze from the ocean
however so that most people will find it pleasant. Cyclones (tropical
storms) can also occurr during this period.
For those people
who do not enjoy warm weather or want a more active holiday, we
recommend going in July/August when the temperature is 24-26 C.
On the coast the temperature can go down to 16-18 C during the night
so that we recommend taking a pullover.
As you can see
the variation of temperature on Mauritius is small such that enjoyable
holidays can be spent there at any time of the year. Although the
weather is normally sunny it does rain. The rain showers are normally
short and are a pleasant change from the sun.
Things to
drink: As mentioned above you should not drink the local water
unless you boil it first. Tea is grown on the island and is plentiful
in the shops. The local people rarely drink ground coffee although
an excellent version called coffee chamarel is grown on the island.
They mostly prefer instant coffee.
Locally bottled
wine and imported South African and French wines can be purchased
from 45 - 200 Rupees per bottle. An excellent beer called phoenix
is brewed on the island and has proved to be very popular with our
guests, price is 25 rupees a bottle in local supermarket but triple
in private hotels and bars. Locally manufactured rums are also available
and cost very little.
Telephone:
1. If your house does not have a telephone then we recommend that
you purchase a Mauritius Telecom telephone card at a supermarket.
There are now many public telephones able to take these cards all
over the island. In an emergency you can also enter the hotels and
call from there.
2. Mauritius
now has a mobile telephone network which conforms to the international
GSM standard. Roaming contracts exist with the UK, France and Germany
and Mauritius Telecom is actively working to have contracts with
the other countries. If you own one of these telephones why not
bring it with you ?
Pamplemousse
Gardens: These gardens are about 20 minutes from Grand Baie and
are well worth visiting. Official guides do now exist and take MUR
200 per person for a tour. There are still however many people at
the entrance who would also like to act as your guide. If you decide
to use one of them be sure to discuss the price in advance as some
of them will try to charge you a high price afterwards.
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