PRACTICAL ADVICES
TO PASS HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Mauritius is not a dangerous country. But you must be careful, as there are pickpockets like everywhere. Keep your money and your papers locked in the safe of your room.

There are no tropical illnesses here in Mauritius, so no need for vaccination…except chikungunya. The small day mosquitoes transmit the illness. So you should protect yourself with anti-mosquito-cream and burn the spiral on the terrace, especially around 5 p.m.

Take care of the sun burn! We are in the tropics. And the sun is treacherous. Its rays are strong, even through the clouds and in the shadow. They are burning even more on the water. If you have a delicate skin, swim with a T-Shirt and use anyhow sun cream with a high protection factor.

You may drink the tap water in the NILAYA, eat and drink on the beach and in all the restaurants without fear, except after a cyclone.

Coming from England and Europe, you don’t need an entrance visa to come to Mauritius. But you must show your return ticket. At the customs, you must also give your residence address in Mauritius.  Entering in the country, you may shop tax free. This is especially interesting for foreign alcohol and luxury products, which are heavily taxed in the country.

Come with a light luggage. It won’t be cold and you may buy cheap summer clothes, such as jeans, t-Shirts, polos. There are less and less copies. But some labels produce in Mauritius like Billagong, Cerruti, Max Mara, Karl Kaiser…

English is the language of the administration and the school, the media are in French and everybody speaks Creole. The Mauritians speak also the Indian and Chinese languages.

The rupee is the official money. It is not exchangeable outside of Mauritius. You can change already a little bit of money at your arrival at the airport. All the banks have the same exchange rate. There is a private money changer, Shibani, in Flic en Flac, who gives a slightly better exchange rate for your money, except in case of traveller’s checks. There are ATMs everywhere and you may pay with your credit card in nearly every restaurants and big shops, except in the petrol stations.