MAURITIUS, if needs to be explained in a word 'its a best place in the world to spend the best time with our best partner'.
Geographically it is an island created by a volcanic eruption and located in the Indian Ocean off Africa's SouthEast coast. It is a very small island which is just 45km width and 65km length and almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs. Best time to visit the island as heard from local people is between September and February.
Since the destination is not the motherland, a considerable amount of preplanning is necessary to protect us from country's policy, financial burdens, racial discrimination, ethical issues, medical expenses and any untraumatic situations.
Mauritius' major income is on its tourism, hence it provides free visa on arrival for most of the visitors; India is also one of the countries whose citizen can gain access to Mauritius without a prior visa. The visa is they provide is valid for 60 days.
Next important planning is on the financial expenditure. Of course, everyone wants to get the best goods and services at the best price. Things we need to consider are flight tickets, accommodation, local transportation, communication charges, sightseeing, and sea activities.
For the flights, there are lots of websites to compare and consider where to book. An important item to note is to book with a little transit time when I was looking, I could find flights to Mauritius from Mumbai only. Air India and Air Mauritius are the two operators who have direct flights.
Accommodation I felt like Mauritius is cheaper than India and to find a right stay browse thoroughly for the list of hotels available. I used http://www.booking.com to shortlist the accommodations and to finalize one. The booking.com website helps to find out the perfect accommodation of our choice like whether we need a stay with kitchen, non-smoking rooms, type of view etc. And they show the final price in INR.
Seafood lovers can enjoy the Mauritius cuisine to the core as there are lots of varieties; for vegetarians, it is very difficult to survive for a day as they use fish oil even for preparing vegetarian food. For vegetarians, it is good to book a studio apartment where can enjoy cooking our own food and feel heavenly.
If we use our SIM card of Indian networks then our bill will shoot out, best is it deactivate the SIM after landing. For communication within Mauritius and to India, we can take local SIM card, the major operator there are Orange and Emtel. There are two ways to buy Mauritius SIM card, either we can buy that from the airport terminal in India after taking the boarding pass or from the airport terminal post office in Mauritius. I purchased the Emtel SIM card from Mumbai airport, choose the plan that suits the need, I choose the one which has more data packets.
The advantage of buying the SIM in India airport is we can insert the SIM and configure it when we wait for our flight and as soon as we land in Mauritius it gets activated. For me, even before the immigration check, the SIM got activated with the complete feature of voice and data.
Choices for commuting with Mauritius are as follows public transportation, taxi, self-driven cars. Public transports are very cheap but not convenient as we have to wait for a long time and we have to change multiple buses to reach the destination. Taxi services are very reliable and quick but very expensive. So the last option is with self-driven cars, roads in Mauritius are properly marked and has sufficient sign boards in necessary places. I booked a rental car from http://www.rentalcars.com/ website. Again we could find lots of choices in selecting the car ranging from 800cc engine with manual gear to Jaguar models.
As soon as we collect our baggage and exit the airport gate, we could see all the rentals companies. They will ask us to provide passport copy, driving license and a security deposit. The security deposit can be paid either by credit card or cash. Debit card will not be accepted,
Ideally, this should be the first step of preplanning as Mauritius will not take India rupees. We won't be very much comfortable to carry huge cash in hand, carry a decent cash reserve and keep remaining in cards. Before leaving, good to check the status of debit card and credit cards, whether it is enabled for international usage and what are the charges when we use etc., Better to have a couple of additional cards. Within airport, we could find plenty of Forex counters shouting '0% commission, good deal, good deal..., come here'.
It is very fascinating to read about the geography and history of Mauritius. It is a volcanic island by geography and is used as a colony by Dutch, French and British (Read more from https://mauritiusattractions.com/about-mauritius-i-15.html).
The country is completely surrounded by water and we can drive and cover the whole land in a day. Even though it is small, it is self-contained with its vegetation, rivers, mountains, lakes, nature park, forest, waterfalls etc to keep the survival cycle active. The country is divided into many districts but since the beauty of Mauritius is on spending time in beaches. We could find lots of hotels and resorts around the beach areas. If interested in water sports and activities then Northern Mauritius is the best choice, for the lonely lovers, east and south east of Mauritius is perfect. Down south has lots of scenic roads and small hills, view of the sea from hill top is a spectacular view and shouldn't be missed.
The first day in Mauritius we took rest in the day and thought of roaming in the evening but to our surprise nothing was open and all the roads are deserted. Here all business activities will be closed between 5 pm and 6 pm, so if we need to stock anything, we should plan accordingly. Only few cafe's and restaurants we can see open after 6.
We could see lots of Hindus who are mostly third or fourth generations of Indian migrants sent by Britishers on indentured labor for the sugar plantation. These Hindus still maintain the Indian culture, customs, and attires. The time we went was during Ganesha festival, and we witnessed the 'visarjan' function followed by a grand and tasty meal to everyone. We could even see the people wear traditional Indian dresses.
There are a countless number of sea activities like full day catamaran cruise, sunset cruise, speed boat, underwater scooter ride, underwater walk, deep sea dive etc etc., Either we could book prior to arrival from https://mauritiusattractions.com/ website or after going there. The advantage of buying directly is we could negotiate the price and get some discounts if we are taking multiple rides. Montchoisy and La Cuvette beaches in North have lots of sea activities.
When it comes to food, for vegetarian it is extremely difficult. Foods we could find are Panini, which is like a bread sandwich, french fries. We found dhol poori, is like our Indian wraps, they kept veg masala inside the roti and gave. We can find Alouda Pillay in the food market, their Alouda is a must try, I think falooda is changed to the local slang like Alouda. Fresh cut fruits and mangos are served in streets which are good. And tender coconut is tastier as per them but we felt our Indian tender coconut is far better than this one. On thing to be very cautious when we buy in street shop is, some seller quote extreme price if found to be a tourist, in such cases it is better to refuse without talking anything. Another interesting item we tried was 'Vannila tea' in caudan waterfront, it is really a wonderful tea to try. There is one Punjabi cafe in Caudan waterfront which serves samosa, dosa, paratha etc.
Roads in Mauritius are clearly marked and has proper sign boards. Roads are broad enough and no potholes. The drive is very smooth and easy. In many places of the road, we could see irrigations with overhead watering technique. Petrol pumps are there in decent distances, even our Indian Oil has lots of fuel stations. While driving, we could find lots of beautiful spots to stop and take snaps.
Drive from North to South will be an awesome experience as it would be a good stretch. On the way we could see Chamarel village, seven color sands, Chamarel waterfalls and can spend time in Le Morne Beach, which is a white sand beach.
As a souvenir people buy dodo (extinct flightless bird) carved wooden articles, handcrafted bags, keychain, vanilla. Flea market and craft market in the best place for shopping
Geographically it is an island created by a volcanic eruption and located in the Indian Ocean off Africa's SouthEast coast. It is a very small island which is just 45km width and 65km length and almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs. Best time to visit the island as heard from local people is between September and February.
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| In Mauritius Aiport with maximum natural lighting |
Preplanning
Since the destination is not the motherland, a considerable amount of preplanning is necessary to protect us from country's policy, financial burdens, racial discrimination, ethical issues, medical expenses and any untraumatic situations.
Mauritius' major income is on its tourism, hence it provides free visa on arrival for most of the visitors; India is also one of the countries whose citizen can gain access to Mauritius without a prior visa. The visa is they provide is valid for 60 days.
Next important planning is on the financial expenditure. Of course, everyone wants to get the best goods and services at the best price. Things we need to consider are flight tickets, accommodation, local transportation, communication charges, sightseeing, and sea activities.
Flight booking:
For the flights, there are lots of websites to compare and consider where to book. An important item to note is to book with a little transit time when I was looking, I could find flights to Mauritius from Mumbai only. Air India and Air Mauritius are the two operators who have direct flights.
 |
| Ready to board Mauritius Flight |
Hotel booking:
Accommodation I felt like Mauritius is cheaper than India and to find a right stay browse thoroughly for the list of hotels available. I used http://www.booking.com to shortlist the accommodations and to finalize one. The booking.com website helps to find out the perfect accommodation of our choice like whether we need a stay with kitchen, non-smoking rooms, type of view etc. And they show the final price in INR.
Seafood lovers can enjoy the Mauritius cuisine to the core as there are lots of varieties; for vegetarians, it is very difficult to survive for a day as they use fish oil even for preparing vegetarian food. For vegetarians, it is good to book a studio apartment where can enjoy cooking our own food and feel heavenly.
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| Mont Choisy Beach Villa - Exterior view |
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| Mont Choisy Beach Villa - Interior view |
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| View from Mont Choisy Beach Villa |
For More information on Mont Choisy Beach VIlla and availability http://www.montchoisybeachvillas.com/
Communication:
If we use our SIM card of Indian networks then our bill will shoot out, best is it deactivate the SIM after landing. For communication within Mauritius and to India, we can take local SIM card, the major operator there are Orange and Emtel. There are two ways to buy Mauritius SIM card, either we can buy that from the airport terminal in India after taking the boarding pass or from the airport terminal post office in Mauritius. I purchased the Emtel SIM card from Mumbai airport, choose the plan that suits the need, I choose the one which has more data packets.
The advantage of buying the SIM in India airport is we can insert the SIM and configure it when we wait for our flight and as soon as we land in Mauritius it gets activated. For me, even before the immigration check, the SIM got activated with the complete feature of voice and data.
Local Commutation:
Choices for commuting with Mauritius are as follows public transportation, taxi, self-driven cars. Public transports are very cheap but not convenient as we have to wait for a long time and we have to change multiple buses to reach the destination. Taxi services are very reliable and quick but very expensive. So the last option is with self-driven cars, roads in Mauritius are properly marked and has sufficient sign boards in necessary places. I booked a rental car from http://www.rentalcars.com/ website. Again we could find lots of choices in selecting the car ranging from 800cc engine with manual gear to Jaguar models.
As soon as we collect our baggage and exit the airport gate, we could see all the rentals companies. They will ask us to provide passport copy, driving license and a security deposit. The security deposit can be paid either by credit card or cash. Debit card will not be accepted,
 |
| 1. Public Transport 2. With Rental Car |
Currency Conversion:
Ideally, this should be the first step of preplanning as Mauritius will not take India rupees. We won't be very much comfortable to carry huge cash in hand, carry a decent cash reserve and keep remaining in cards. Before leaving, good to check the status of debit card and credit cards, whether it is enabled for international usage and what are the charges when we use etc., Better to have a couple of additional cards. Within airport, we could find plenty of Forex counters shouting '0% commission, good deal, good deal..., come here'.
 |
| Mauritius currency with Tamil text |
What to expect in Mauritius:
It is very fascinating to read about the geography and history of Mauritius. It is a volcanic island by geography and is used as a colony by Dutch, French and British (Read more from https://mauritiusattractions.com/about-mauritius-i-15.html).
The country is completely surrounded by water and we can drive and cover the whole land in a day. Even though it is small, it is self-contained with its vegetation, rivers, mountains, lakes, nature park, forest, waterfalls etc to keep the survival cycle active. The country is divided into many districts but since the beauty of Mauritius is on spending time in beaches. We could find lots of hotels and resorts around the beach areas. If interested in water sports and activities then Northern Mauritius is the best choice, for the lonely lovers, east and south east of Mauritius is perfect. Down south has lots of scenic roads and small hills, view of the sea from hill top is a spectacular view and shouldn't be missed.
The first day in Mauritius we took rest in the day and thought of roaming in the evening but to our surprise nothing was open and all the roads are deserted. Here all business activities will be closed between 5 pm and 6 pm, so if we need to stock anything, we should plan accordingly. Only few cafe's and restaurants we can see open after 6.
Indian in Mauritius:
We could see lots of Hindus who are mostly third or fourth generations of Indian migrants sent by Britishers on indentured labor for the sugar plantation. These Hindus still maintain the Indian culture, customs, and attires. The time we went was during Ganesha festival, and we witnessed the 'visarjan' function followed by a grand and tasty meal to everyone. We could even see the people wear traditional Indian dresses.
 |
| Mauritians celebrating Indian festival |
Sea Activities:
There are a countless number of sea activities like full day catamaran cruise, sunset cruise, speed boat, underwater scooter ride, underwater walk, deep sea dive etc etc., Either we could book prior to arrival from https://mauritiusattractions.com/ website or after going there. The advantage of buying directly is we could negotiate the price and get some discounts if we are taking multiple rides. Montchoisy and La Cuvette beaches in North have lots of sea activities.
 |
| Underwater Seawalk |
 |
| In La Cuvette beach |
Food:
When it comes to food, for vegetarian it is extremely difficult. Foods we could find are Panini, which is like a bread sandwich, french fries. We found dhol poori, is like our Indian wraps, they kept veg masala inside the roti and gave. We can find Alouda Pillay in the food market, their Alouda is a must try, I think falooda is changed to the local slang like Alouda. Fresh cut fruits and mangos are served in streets which are good. And tender coconut is tastier as per them but we felt our Indian tender coconut is far better than this one. On thing to be very cautious when we buy in street shop is, some seller quote extreme price if found to be a tourist, in such cases it is better to refuse without talking anything. Another interesting item we tried was 'Vannila tea' in caudan waterfront, it is really a wonderful tea to try. There is one Punjabi cafe in Caudan waterfront which serves samosa, dosa, paratha etc.
 |
| 1. Dhol Poori 2. Alouda 3. Panini with french fries |
Enjoy the self-drive
Roads in Mauritius are clearly marked and has proper sign boards. Roads are broad enough and no potholes. The drive is very smooth and easy. In many places of the road, we could see irrigations with overhead watering technique. Petrol pumps are there in decent distances, even our Indian Oil has lots of fuel stations. While driving, we could find lots of beautiful spots to stop and take snaps.
Drive from North to South will be an awesome experience as it would be a good stretch. On the way we could see Chamarel village, seven color sands, Chamarel waterfalls and can spend time in Le Morne Beach, which is a white sand beach.
 |
| 1. Tortoise in Chamarel 2. Chamarel falls 3. Chamarel seven colour sand |
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| Le Morne Beach |
Shopping
As a souvenir people buy dodo (extinct flightless bird) carved wooden articles, handcrafted bags, keychain, vanilla. Flea market and craft market in the best place for shopping
