All you need to know for your holiday to Mauritius
Visa Requirements
Latest Travel Updates
For up-to-date travel information from the UK government, please check:
UK Government Advice: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/mauritius
Normally, holders of the following passports do not require a visa to enter Mauritius when travelling as a tourist:
United Kingdom; United States of America; Canada; Australia; New Zealand; Ireland; Belgium; Netherlands; Italy; France; Germany; Spain; Switzerland; South Africa.
If you are a passport holder from another country, please contact your local Mauritius High Commission or Embassy for up-to-date visa requirements, as citizens of certain countries are required to obtain visas before travelling. You can also check this website: https://passport.govmu.org/passport/?page_id=605
Please note that if you are applying to the Embassy for your visa, some visas can take a long time to be processed so please do take this into consideration, as it is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct visa in place before you travel.
Your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. No additional period of validity beyond this is required. Your passport should have at least one blank page.
PLEASE NOTE: Countries can change their entry requirements at any time. Travel Butlers try to ensure that the information displayed here is correct, but the onus remains with the traveller to verify the information with the relevant High Commission or Embassy and ensure that they can comply with the applicable entry requirements.
Medical Considerations
You are advised to contact your doctor or clinic around 4-8 weeks before your trip to check whether you need any vaccinations and to get their professional medical advice regarding travel to Mauritius.
To help avoid heatstroke, drink plenty of bottled water/fluids, and keep out of the midday sun.
There is no risk of malaria in Mauritius, however cases of dengue fever transmitted by mosquitoes have been reported. Try to avoid mosquito bites wherever possible - wear loose long-sleeved clothing and trousers, and use a repellent on clothing and exposed skin.
Stonefish stings are rare but can be fatal. Seek urgent medical attention if you are stung. Many hotels stock anti-venom serum.
There is no risk of yellow fever in Mauritius, so a yellow fever vaccination is NOT required for travellers whose sole destination is Mauritius. However, in accordance with the Mauritius Ministry of Health regulations, Mauritius requires all travellers over one year of age arriving from a yellow fever risk country, or having been in transit longer than 12 hours at the airport of such a country, to have a yellow fever certificate. For the full list of countries that the Mauritius Ministry of Health deem as being infected areas for Yellow Fever, as well as further medical guidance for Mauritius, please check here: https://govmu.org/EN/infoservices/healthandmedicalservices/Pages/healthadvice.aspx
language and people
The official languages of Mauritius are English and French, with the latter being more widely spoken. Other languages on the island include Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Arabic, Cantonese and Mandarin.
Mauritius is a relatively conservative society. Although homosexuality is not prohibited by law, local attitudes can be less tolerant and public displays of affection may attract negative attention. Whilst everyone is of course entitled to their own sexual preferences and gender identity, we would advise all clients of the LGBT+ community to refrain from public displays of affection (including kissing and holding hands) and to be as discrete as possible about their relationship.
currency
They use the Mauritian rupee. Mauritian rupees do not circulate outside Mauritius so that you can only change money on the island. EURO/GBP or US$ travellers cheques and cash can be changed in the banks but please note that the exchange rate for traveller's cheques is much better than for cash. There are banks in the airport and also in Grand Bay and in other major towns on the island. Major credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard are accepted in restaurants and hotels and also in some shops and supermarkets. In addition you can use credit cards to obtain cash in the banks or use them together with your PIN number to get money from cash dispensers.
climate
Find out more about the weather on different parts of the Island and the best time to visit Mauritius.
phone coverage
The International Dialling Code for Mauritius is +230. City codes are not required. The Mauritius emergency telephone number is 999 - Fire, Police, Ambulance.
electricity
The power supply is 240 volts and the power sockets use the British 3 pin standard.
time zone
Mauritius Standard Time is 4 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+4) and they do not operate Daylight-Saving Time.