Practical Travel Tips

Fast Facts for Mauritius

Practical Travel Tips

GEOGRAPHY

 Mauritius is located approximately 2000 kilometres to the south eastern coast of Africa and lies east of Madagascar on 20°5, 57.5E. The country covers an area of 1865km with 330 kilometres of coastline. Mauritius is 45km in width and 65km in length. Mauritius is 4 hours ahead of Greenwich (-4 GMT)

CAPITAL & PRINCIPAL TOWNS
Port Louis is the capital centre and harbour of Mauritius, located in the West North West region of the island. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is located in the South East, near the historical town of Mahebourg. Major towns inland include Beau Bassin, Rose Hill, Quatre Bornes, Vacoas and Curepipe.

ECONOMY

Mauritius has one of the strongest economies in Africa and is based on four sectors: Textile, Tourism, Sugar and Services.



GOVERNMENT
Mauritius is a democratic state based on the Westminster model and enjoys political stability.

 

• A value added tax(VAT) of 15% is included in all bills relating to goods and services, including hotel and restaurant bills (except when mentioned otherwise)
  
  
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• Tipping is generally not expected but is left at personal discretion.
  
  
  
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• Beachwear by day and casual wear by night are the general trends. Light woollens and sweaters may be useful for the cooler months from June to September. Mauritius is GMT +4 hours, 3 hours ahead of mis European time and 2 hours ahead of South African time. Power supply throughout the island is 220 volts. Three pin, British type plugs or two pin French type plugs are found.
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• 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 or bhojpuri. 
  

  
  
  • Sun Screen Lotion: 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.
    

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.




 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.

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. 

RADIO/TV:-

Broadcasts feature mainly French and Hindi programs but also some in Creole, English and other oriental languages. Satellite television is available,
but limited.

NEWSPAPERS:-

Most of them are in French but articles in English are occasional.

WEATHER
The temperature on the coastal areas varies between 22°C in winter and 34°C in summer.The sea temperature varies between 22°C and 27°C. In the central part of the island, the maximum daytime temperature varies from about 19°C in August to about 26°C in February. The western and northern regions are warmer and relatively drier than the East and the South


DRIVING:-
Driving in Mauritius can be a lifetime experience; in fact, walking on the streets as well. Although most roads are in good shape, it is the way the Mauritians drive that makes it a bit scary. First of all, the cars are right hand driven but people drive more towards the middle of the road rather than on the left hand side as the streets are often crowded with pedestrians, dogs, hens etc.

• Mauritius is a left-hand drive country, with priority to the right.