Hosts in Mauritius

Google road map has been updated for all towns and major villages in Mauritius. Information such as road names, major buildings, schools, supermarkets, petrol stations etc are now available on the following link:- http://maps.google.com/

Where we are . Beau Bassin Fond du Sac Khoyratty PORT LOUIS Pte aux Sables Quatre Bornes R. du Rempart     Updated April 2010 1 1 1 1 1 1 1   Servas Mauritius      The country : Mauritius is a tropical island situated in the Indian Ocean about 3 000 kms from the east coast of Africa. It has 160 kms of coastline almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs , a great central plateau and picturesque mountains. The population is made of 1.2 millions consisting of Hindus, Muslims, Chinese, Creoles and Europeans. The economy is based on agriculture, textiles, light manufacturing and tourism. Mauritius has introduced offshore banking, a freeport and the Stock Exchange provides a modern capital market on the island. The two sides of Mauritius Mauritius does have stray dogs, street venders, some buses can be old, crowded and slow, there are typical markets selling everything, local fishermen with bamboo poles, old mopeds, some unfinished buildings look like a bomb hit them, some people living in cement or metal shacks, the merchants have difficulty providing change so they have to run down to their buddy at next stall for change. Shoes or shirt are not necessary in public places and there are less rules of conduct. Mauritius also has many characteristics typical of a developed country such as new modern super markets, good drivers that follow traffic rules, plenty of BMWs, nice paved roads, very few touts or beggars, car washes, nice taxis that have a full tank of gas and windshield wipers, public restrooms with toilet paper, commercial centers with air con, quality cuisine, everything pretty organized, good infrastructure and services are efficient and professional.

Transport Taxis : These can be hired at taxi stands. The fare should be discussed before starting the journey. ( Airport to Port Louis around Rs800 to Rs1000 ) Buses : Bus service is excellent and cheap and almost every part of the island can be reached by bus. The buses operates from 05.30 to 20.00 in urban regions and 06.30 to 18.30 in rural regions. The fare Mahebourg/Airport - Curepipe - Port Louis is Rs 26. Buses are still manned by a driver and a conductor (who walks around collecting fares and issuing tickets after passengers have boarded). Tell the conductor where you want to go and he'll tell you the fare amount. Upon payment, he'll give you a ticket with the charged amount printed on. Most conductors are very helpful in providing directions to tourists. In the local creole dialect, the conductors are called con-tro-lair (literally controller).     Main Bus route map The The Mauritius Shipping Corporation links Reunion/ Rodrigues several times a month. External: Flights : Direct links to Dubay, Europe, RSA, Kenya, Seychelles, Madagascar, Comoros, Reunion, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia Climate: Air temperature on the coast varies from 22 C ( 72 F) in winter to 31 C (72 F) in summer. Water temperatures ranges from 22 C (72 F) to 27C (81F). Like all tropical islands, there are no well defined rainy and dry seasons. The island is lush green, and colourful vegetation abounds throughout the year. The hours of daylight are approximately from 05.00 to 19.00 in summer and 06:00 to 17:30 in June, July, August, the winter months.   Health: Yellow fever and cholera vaccination certificates are required if arriving from infected areas.     Culture: Mauritius being a traditional society, you'll make life easier if you look neat when you first meet a family. Particularly disliked are shorts, mini-skirts. It's advisable to dress conventional for formal occasions.     Currency: The monetary unit is the Mauritian rupee which is divided into 100 cents. Major credit cards are widely accepted and ATMs are widespread... Language: English is the official language but French and Creole are widely used. Hindi and other oriental languages are also spoken.   Time: Mauritius time is 4 hours ahead of GMT.   School holidays : 5 - 16 April, 3 - 20 August, 1 Nov - 7 Jan