Mauritius

Understand

The country consists of the main island of Mauritius and the smaller islands of Rodrigues, the Agalegas and the Cargados Carajos shoals. The British Indian Ocean Territory is claimed by Mauritius and recognised as part of Mauritius by the United Nations, but remains under de facto British control, so we do not cover it here.

History The island of Mauritius was first discovered by Arab sailors in the 9th century, though the exact date is unknown. At that time the island was uninhabited and covered in a dense forest. The Arab sailors were not interested in settling on the island which they named Dina Arobi or Dinarobin. Fernandez Pereira, a Portuguese sailor saw the island in 1505 and decided to give it the name of Cerne. However, the Portuguese did not settle permanently on the island either. The first to colonise the island were the Dutch, who took possession of the island in 1598. The Dutch settlers landed on a bay in the southeastern part of the island which was named Warwyck Haven after the commander Van Warwijck; the bay is now known as Grand Port. Mauritius also got its modern name during this period; the island was named after the Stadtholder of Holland, Maurits van Nassau. In 1710, the Dutch abandoned the island, leaving behind macaques, the Java deer, sugarcane, fugitive slaves and, also, irreversible damage to the endemic and indigenous flora and fauna of the island. The dodo was, by then, extinct due to extensive hunting, the bird being very easy to capture, while the once abundant black ebony tree population was almost completely depleted due to its timber being overexploited. The French settled on the island in 1712, also landing at the bay in the southeast. They renamed the bay Port Bourbon and renamed the island Ile de France. They settled and establish

See

Northern tourist zone

Grand Bay was the first area of the island to fully experience the tourist boom. A shopping and leisure paradise, Grand Bay is also where Mauritians go when they want a fun-filled night out (restaurants, bars and discos). La Cuvette beach is well wort

Getting there

Visa requirements Citizens of many countries, including Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and most other OECD countries do not need a visa in advance. For more information, visit the Passport and Immigration Office website. If you require a visa to enter Mauritius, you might be able to apply for one at a British embassy, high commission or consulate in the country where you legally reside if there is no diplomatic post of Mauritius. For example, the British embassies in Al Khobar, Amman, Belgrade, Guatemala City, Jakarta, Jeddah, Pristina, Rabat, Riyadh, Rome and Sofia accept Mauritius visa applications (this list is not exhaustive). British diplomatic posts charge GBP50 to process a Mauritius visa application and an extra GBP70 if the authorities in Mauritius require the visa application to be referred to them. The authorities in Mauritius can also decide to charge an additional fee if they correspond with you directly. As of June 2023 visitors are required to provide a form called "Mauritius All in One", accommodation and return ticket details to the immigration service on arrival. If you arrive in Mauritius from a country where malaria is endemic, you may receive a visit from the government health service and be required to give a blood sample for malaria screening.

By plane

Air Mauritius is the home carrier and operates a network of routes to the local islands and international destinations in Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia. Regional airlines: Air Austral, Air Seychelles, FlySafair, Kenya Airways and South Africa Airways connect Mauritius with continental Africa and the surrounding islands. International airlines such as Aeroflot, Austrian Airlines, Air India, Air France, British Airways, Condor, Corsair International, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss A

Getting around

By plane Air Mauritius operates daily flights connecting Plaisance Airport and Rodrigues (flight time - 1 hour 15 minutes).

By boat Coraline, ☏ +230 208 5900, fax: +230 210 5176, [email protected]. Sails once a week to Rodrigues Island and to Réunion island from Port Louis Harbour. Mauritius Pride, launched in 1991, and Mauritius Trochetia, in service since 2001, are the two ships operating on the Réunion route, and also have Madagascar as a destination. Both vessels are used as passenger and container ships. (updated Jan 2024)

By train

The modern Metro Express light rail links Port Louis and Curepipe, stopping at Rose Hill, Quatre Bornes and Vacoas-Phoenix along the way. Trains run every 10 minutes from 6 AM to 7 PM, taking around 40 minutes from end to end (Rs 50).

By bus Several fairly good bus services ply the island. Taking the bus is the most economical way of travelling. As of 2023 one way fare costs MUR 44. Air-conditioned buses have been introduced on some routes. The major bus companies are:

National Transport Corporation (NTC), ☏ +230 426 2938. United Bus Service (UBS), ☏ +230 212 2026. Mauritius Bus Transport (MTB), Long mountain, ☏ +230 245 2539. Triolet Bus Service (TBS), ☏ +230 261 6725. Others. Other smaller companies have amusing names such as Apollo and Turbo. In late 2014 local buses were available in the parking area of SSR airport. They are cheap and follow more interesting routes than the luxury ones, but are slower. Buses are manned by a driver and a conductor who walks around collecting fares and issuing tickets after passengers have boarded. Most conductors are helpful in providing directions to tourists. In the local Creole dialect, the conductors are called con-tro-lair (literally controller). Bus