A holiday in Mauritius is usually trouble free. Generally, Mauritians are friendly and honest people, but being in a foreign place, you should take a few basic precautions.
Personal Safety
Petty crime can be a problem and it is not advisable to roam around alone at night outside the grounds of hotels.
If you are shopping in Port Louis Central Market, then you should take care of pick pocketing. Always take proper care of your bags and valuables while visiting popular tourist destinations such as Pereybere, Grand Baie, Flic en Flac and Tamarin. Beware of taxi drivers if they have some excuse for not taking you to your desired destination as they might want to direct you to a destination from where they could earn a commission and therefore you would end up spending more.
You should contact few locals and learn about all the places, taxi fares and commodity rates so that you don’t get cheated.
Medical Safety
The visitors travelling to Mauritius don’t need any vaccination certificates for entering into Mauritius, unless they are travelling from a country infected by yellow fever.
It’s ideal to pack shoes that are suitable for wearing in the sea to protect against sharp coral, sea urchins and stonefish. Stonefish or Jellyfish stings are very rare but can be fatal in some cases. You should obtain immediate medical attention if stung. Many hotels in Mauritius provide anti-venom serum.
You should take precautions against mosquito bites, as there have been several cases of the Chikungunya virus, which is spread by mosquito bites. Malaria has been quarantined in Mauritius, so you need not fear it. If you are travelling from a country like India, Pakistan, Nepal, etc. then you would need to take a blood test within 2-3 days of your arrival for Malaria. If found infected, you would be required to go back to your country immediately.
Travelers’ diarrhea is the most common disease in Mauritius and thus, you should always go for packed mineral water. Diarrhea mostly has its concurrence with vomiting and nausea. There can be fever as well as blood in the stool. Medicines can be had after consultation with the local doctor.
Medical facilities are good and free in public hospitals compared to private clinics that are expensive and medical insurance is recommended there.
Service Aide Medicale Urgence or the SAMU is one of the organizations under the government of Mauritius that offer emergency services to the guests. Another private organization that offers emergency assistance to the visitors is MegaCare.
Numbers that might be very useful in case of an emergency are Service Aide Medicale Urgence – 114 and MegaCare – 116.