Mauritius Travel Tips – DOs and DONTs

Welcome to Mauritius!

The soul elevating and the boundless beauty of Mauritius is Africa’s wealthiest city, a fascinating paradise on earth with the beauty of azure sky, turquoise sea, the pristine, serene beaches, and the gleaming sands. The island is loaded with historic sights, cultural diversity, geographic variation and almost limitless activities besides natural beaches, the mountains, forests and green nature reserves. Mauritius is a blend of diverse cultures and religions, constitute of Hindus, Creole, Chinese, Muslims and Europeans, who respect each other and enjoy different ways of life with different traditions and customs. So for a tourist, it’s important to respect their values and not to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong attitude. The following Mauritius travel tips, dos and donts will provide a guideline for this.

Mauritius Travel Taboo

Talk about sex and pornography in Mauritius is taboo.  The state does not allow pornography of any type on the island even erotic is a taboo. 

Mauritius Travel Donts

• Do not wear shorts, mini-skirts or sleeveless shirts when visiting religious shrines.
• Do not touch the statues, carvings and religious artefacts in places of worship.
• Do not sunbath topless. Sunbathers should note that nudism and topless sunbathing are frowned upon on public beaches. No hotel permits nude sunbathing on beaches.
• Do not involve in drug trafficking which is illegal and carries very heavy penalties.
• Do not go alone to isolated locations or on deserted beaches at night, although Mauritius remains a safe place with a low criminality rate.
• Do not leave your valuables and important documents in a rented room, nor leave your personal belongings or valuable items such as camera, purse, wallet, or handbag unattended in public places.
• Do not swim in the sea where a danger notice is displayed.
• Do not accept lift from strangers, especially if you are alone.
• Do not make jokes about bombs or security threats. This is a criminal offence.
• Do not be surprised to see girls holding hands together. In Mauritius, female friends often hold hands while walking and touching.

Mauritius Travel Dos

• Do shake hands. Handshaking is the customary form of greeting, although friends and family commonly share a kiss on each cheek.
• Do address properly. In most hotels, walking around in surfer shorts or bathing suits after sunset is simply prohibited. Mauritian women are very conservative.
• Do remove shoes (and possibly leather belts) when entering mosques and temples. Women should carry a scarf if planning to enter a mosque.
• Do respect local customs. It is prohibited to introduce sugarcane and parts thereof, soil micro-organisms and invertebrate animals.
• Do bring a gift for appreciation if invited for a meal.
• Do tip for excellent services although tipping is not compulsory.
• Do have travel insurance cover for yourself and your family.
• Do take one or two tubes of mosquito repellant if you intend to visit Mauritius in summer.

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