Visiting Mauritius quickly? Right here’s what you should know earlier than you go.
If you happen to dig a gap straight by the earth’s middle from the west coast, you find yourself within the ocean simply south of Mauritius Island. Mauritius hadn’t been on our radar till lately, and after reserving our journey, we realized there was a lot to be taught in regards to the island on the opposite facet of the world. If you happen to’re planning a visit to Mauritius Island, right here is the whole lot we discovered throughout our time right here that can assist you take advantage of your go to.
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Final Up to date: February 23, 2023
The place is Mauritius?
Mauritius is off of the southeastern African coast within the Indian Ocean. Sixteen islands and islets comprise the Republic of Mauritius, together with Mauritius Island, together with Rodrigues, Agalega, St Brandon, and plenty of others.
Time Distinction: It’s +4 hours Greenwich Imply Time (12-hour distinction from PST)
See Extra: 15 Greatest Issues to Do in Mauritus + How you can Plan the Good Trip
Issues You Should Know Earlier than Visiting Mauritius
1. English is the Official Language
The three important languages are English, French, and Creole. English is the official language, however the majority language used is French-Mauritius Creole, which was correct on our journey. Many resort workers additionally communicate German, Italian, and Spanish. If you happen to plan on venturing outdoors the resorts and standard vacationer sights, studying some primary French will allow you to.
Most Mauritians are bilingual, and plenty of are expert in three or 4 languages, which makes them a preferred recruit for cruise ships. It is usually value noting that 70% of the inhabitants can communicate “Morisyen.” In addition they communicate Indian languages akin to Bhojpouri (31.4%), Tamil (3.5%), Hindi (2.8%), and Urdu (2.7%).
2. It’s Far! (From the US)
If you happen to’re visiting Mauritius from the US, be ready for 2 twelve-hour flights, particularly from the west coast. Give your self an prolonged layover (no less than 6 hours) to clear customs and stretch your legs. You can also make it even longer if you would like a relaxation day or to go to a layover metropolis. We deliberate to stroll round Paris on our layover, however our flights received delayed.
3. Who’s Visiting Mauritius
Due to Mauritius’ location, we seen most vacationers had been Europeans. France, the UK, Germany, and Spain deliver probably the most vacationers, adopted by China.
After we visited, we received a number of feedback asking if we had been from China. The borders have been closed due to the pandemic, so the Mauritians had been excited that we is likely to be among the many Chinese language vacationers beginning to go to once more.
4. Convey your Benjamins
Mauritius isn’t thought of a funds vacation spot. Most individuals go to Mauritius for luxurious, and so they pay for it. Though you may journey right here on a funds, there are higher locations in case you’re searching for an inexpensive seaside trip.
5. Their Forex is the Mauritian Rupee
They use the Mauritian Rupee, and roughly USD 1 = MUR 43.95.
We solely wanted money for ideas and avenue distributors. Different spots took bank cards. You may alternate currencies on the airport and most lodges or withdraw from an ATM. If you happen to withdraw from an ATM, we heard you need to restrict every transaction to MUR15,000. In any other case, the machines may get jammed.
6. Tipping Is Not Necessary however APPRECIATED
Tipping is just not necessary in Mauritius. Here’s a fast guideline in case you are trying to tip for distinctive service: Spas (5-10%), Tour guides (10%), Taxis (100-200 Rps), Resorts (100 MUR), and Eating places (10-15%).
7. Visiting Mauritius throughout Excessive and Low Seasons
Temperatures are heat all 12 months, making it a year-round vacation spot. The water temps keep between 71-80°F (22-27°C).
The excessive season is throughout their summers (October-April) and winters (Might-September). Throughout peak season, you need to guide lodges three months upfront and actions/eating places round one week earlier than. Shoulder season runs March-April and September-October.
- Summers (Oct-Apr) – The imply temperature in the summertime is 76°F (24.7°C). Dec to Mar are the wettest months. Thunderstorms are widespread however go. Throughout our December go to, the waterfalls had been dry (often late winter/early Summer time) however had been dryer than common. As soon as the rain begins in Dec/Jan, the rivers and falls fill again up.
- Winters (Might-Sep) – The imply temperature within the winter is 70°F (21°C). Winter is windier and the most effective time to go to in case you like delicate temperatures and sports activities that require wind, like kitesurfing.
Native Tip: They often get a cyclone every season, and each ten or so years, it’s going to hit the island immediately. The final large one was in 1992, so locals have been anticipating one any time now.
8. Locations Shut Early
Many locations closed sooner than anticipated, and plenty of companies closed for holidays and Sundays. Additionally, sure eating places have random days they aren’t open.
9. Renting a Automobile vs. Getting a Taxi
Renting an (automated) automotive is an possibility on the island, and also you don’t want a global driver’s license. Simply bear in mind they drive on the left facet of the street, which might be disorienting.
Roads outdoors the town are simple to navigate and never too crowded, however driving in a metropolis might be annoying. Navigating by way of google maps labored effectively going to standard sights, and the roads had been in good situation in comparison with different international locations we’ve explored. Pace limits are often round 40 kph (25 mph) in cities, 90 kph (50 mph) outdoors of them, and 110 kph (68 mph) on the freeway.
Taxi prices range and are not regulated. For instance, from Port Louis to Flic n Flac, it could value between MUR 800 and MUR 1,000. Be cautious of taxi drivers, since some are affiliated with retailers they are going to attempt to take you to for “an excellent deal” to obtain a lower of income. However now that I give it some thought, it’s much like some bloggers and influencers too.
10. Visitors can get loopy
It could take 1-2 hrs to get from one facet of the island to the opposite. Preserve that in thoughts whenever you plan actions or the place you’re visiting. We had quite a lot of early days since we had so as to add within the journey time.
Visitors on the island begins round 8 am and 4 pm. Though we didn’t see site visitors, they stored telling us how dangerous site visitors was, so we all the time left earlier or means later to keep away from it.
Native Tip: If you happen to booked a resort with breakfast however have an early exercise, you’ll almost definitely miss breakfast. Ask for a to-go bag.
11. Faucet Water is Technically Secure
Locals drink faucet water, nevertheless it isn’t beneficial for guests. No matter secure consuming water, we pack this self-cleaning water bottle on all our journeys to refill on the resort or airport.
12. Mauritius has quite a lot of historical past, and Sugar is a Massive a part of it
A lot of the fields in Mauritius are sugarcane fields, and sugarcane farms nonetheless dominate 70% of the land. The most effective locations to be taught extra in regards to the historical past of sugarcane in Mauritius is Sugar World (L’Aventure de Sucre). Right here, you may as well do a sugar tasting and a rum tasting.
As a result of sugar trade, after slavery was abolished, the British examined out indentured labor and unfold it to the remainder of the world as a consequence of their success. You may be taught extra about that at Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Website, the stays of an Immigration Depot inbuilt 1849.
Do you know the now-extinct Dodo chicken can also be from Mauritius? You’ll discover them on souvenirs and branding all around the island.
13. Souvenirs
- Sugar from L’Aventure du Sucre – we purchased a number of for buddies again residence that love baking or consuming espresso.
- Phoenix is the island’s hottest native beer. We by no means verify our luggage, however you may deliver again some native beer or liquor in case you do.
- Native Rum or Fruit Wines – Most cocktails are made with rum since they supply from native rhumeries. There aren’t native grape wines, however you will discover native fruit wines.
14. If you happen to Love Golf, You’ll Love Mauritius
{Golfing} could be very standard in Mauritius. There are ten 18-hole programs and 4 9-hole programs, some designed by Gary Participant and Ernie Els. Mauritius was residence to the primary golf course within the southern hemisphere.
15. World Class Diving Over Snorkeling
We weren’t impressed with the snorkeling on the reefs, however Mauritius has world-class diving. There are round 50 dive websites throughout the island. If we may have a do-over, we might have taken a PADI refresher course and booked some diving excursions as a substitute.
Native Tip: Don’t neglect coral-safe sunscreen. We had been dissatisfied by all of the bleached coral we noticed.
16. The underwater Waterfall can solely be Seen from a Helicopter
The underwater waterfall, an optical phantasm, is a well-known landmark you have to see whereas visiting Mauritius. It could solely be seen by way of helicopter, which is all the time climate dependent. Plan your journey early in your go to in order that if it will get canceled, you’ll have loads of time to reschedule.
The place to Keep in Mauritius
We break up our keep between two completely different areas on the island to maximise our keep. Normally,
- The northern shore is extra touristy,
- the south facet is wilder,
- the west facet is nearer to standard sights,
- and the east facet is quieter, with extra luxurious resorts.
Native Tip: There are over 100 seashores alongside the coast. Most pristine ones in pictures are personal seashores for resorts and lodges.
Are you planning on visiting Mauritius within the close to future? Have you ever been already? Are there any ideas that we have to add?
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“Discovery consists not of searching for new lands however in seeing with new eyes” – M. Proust
Esther + Jacob
Esther and Jacob are the founders of Native Adventurer, one of many prime 5 journey blogs within the US. They imagine that journey might be discovered close to and much and hope to encourage others to discover domestically. They discover a brand new metropolis in depth yearly and at present base themselves in Las Vegas.
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