The Mauritian rupee (French: roupie mauricienne) is denoted by the symbol “Rs” or “₨” with or without a full stop and placed before or after the amount (ISO international currency: MUR).

Banknotes come in Rs25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 denominations and you may find Rs1, 5 and 10 coins in circulation.

BY PLANE:

• Air Mauritius operates daily flights connecting Plaisance Airport and Rodrigues (flight time – 1 hour 15 minutes).

BY HELICOPTER:

Helicopters are available for transfers and sightseeing tours

• Air Mauritius Helicopter, +230 603 3754, helicopter@airmauritius.com.

BY CAR:

One major highway runs north to south, otherwise a good network of paved, if sometimes narrow, roads cover the island. Traffic drives on the left.

Numerous car hire firms include major international and local car rental agencies. Prices vary widely starting from Rs800 per day. To be on the safe side, with full insurance, visitors should rent cars from companies holding a tourism enterprise licence. These cars are identifiable by their yellow number plates, while private cars have black plates. If you hire a car at the airport keep in mind that you will need to pay a Rs20 charge when you are leaving the car park, and this has to be paid in cash.

Regulations: drivers are required to be over 18 years old. Speed limits are 110 km/h (68 mph) on the motorway and 50 km/h (31 mph) in built-up areas. Seatbelts are compulsory. Foreign licences are accepted.

Approximate travel times from Port Louis to other major cities, towns, and resorts in Mauritius:

• Curepipe 20 min
  
• Grand Baie, North 30 min
  
• Mahebourg, Southeast 45 min
  
• Flic-en-Flac, West 30 min

BY BUS:

Several fairly good bus services ply the island. Taking the bus is the most economical way of travelling. 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 routes and schedules are available from the Ministry of Land Transport and Mauritius Buses who list all the main operators and their schedules.

Try to pay with small denominations or the conductor may not have enough change. Intentional over-charging of tourists is not common.

BY TAXI:

Taxis are the best way to visit the island. Various tours are available as from Rs2,500: The holy lake, Chamarel 7 coloured earth, Le Morne, dolphin tours in Tamarin and Ile aux cerfs are among the most appreciated by visitors.

Taxis in Mauritius do not use meters. Negotiate the price of your trip before you enter a taxi; otherwise, you may be overcharged.

BY BOAT:

• Coraline, +230 208 5900, fax: +230 210 5176, sureka.toolooa@coraline.intnet.mu. Sails once a week to Rodrigues Island and to Reunion island from Port Louis Harbour. Mauritius Pride, launched in 1991, and Mauritius Trochetia, in service since 2001, are the two ships operating on the Reunion route, and also have Madagascar as a destination. Both vessels are used as passenger and container ships.

EAT:

Don’t hesitate to go to the various restaurants around the island. Although many of them advertise a specific ethnic cuisine, like everywhere around the world they have their own mix of traditional and local. You might discover that ‘fried rice’ can have more than one flavour.

Gastronomes will find a variety of flavours and aromas inherited from the different migrations through its history. Culinary traditions from France, India, China and Eastern Africa have been passed on through generations.

Depending on the region, rice or a variety of flat bread called chapattis or roti, called farata (paratha) by the local people, is eaten with curries. The extensive use of spices like saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves and herbs such as thyme, basil, and curry leaves are the common ingredients that provide some powerful, yet subtle, flavour. Dal, a variety of lentil soup, are many and varied according to the type of lentil used; vegetables, beans, and pickles accompany the dishes. Dholl puri, originally an Indian delicacy, has become the fish and chips for Mauritians.

Biryani from Mughal origins is a dish prepared by the Muslim community, where meat is mixed with spiced rice and potatoes.

You can buy many snacks on the streets of Mauritius including the famous gateaux piments (a variant of the Indian vadai; literally, chilli cakes), and vegetable or meat samosas (puffs), along with octopus curry in bread. The tomato and onion based dish called Rougaille (pronounced rooh-guy) is a variation of the French ragoût. The dish usually consists of meat or seafood (corned beef and salted snoek fish rougaille are very popular with the locals). Mauritians eat this dish often if not daily.

Mauritians have a sweet tooth and make many types of ‘gateaux’, as they are called. The cakes vary and you can find cakes very much like those in France and others similar to Indian sweets like Gulab Jamun and Rasgulla among many others.

When leaving Mauritius, don’t wait until you go through passport control if you want to have a snack. The coffee shop after passport control is not value for money. You would be better off visiting the snack bar before check-in and taking your purchases through with you. However, remember that due to the liquids, aerosols and gels rules, you are limited to the amount of liquids you can take through the passport control.

DRINK:

Mauritius produces a wide range of cane rum. It is very cheap and is a nice drink when mixed with cola and ice. A popular drink is coconut water with a dash of lime and a splash of local rum over ice.

The local beer, Phoenix, costs around Rs30 for a pint. Usually served very cold. The local Black Eagle beer, brewed in Nouvelle France is also good.

The Medine Estate Refinery shop at Bambous (4 km from Flic en Flac), on the west of the Island, has a wide variety of locally produced rums and liquors.

There are many international brand hotels in Mauritius but there are some luxurious hotels which are owned by Mauritian companies. An increasing trend is for tourists to choose self catered bungalows and apartments, many of them located directly on the beach.

Foreigners can buy villas, many of them in compounds located on the beach, through the IRS or RES Scheme.

TBC.