Numerous car hire firms include major international and independent firms. Prices vary widely starti

Mauritius park plaza hotel austin (French: L'île Maurice , Mauritian Creole: Moris ) is a small, multi-cultural island in the Indian Ocean , east of Madagascar , NorthEast of Reunion and southeast park plaza hotel austin of the Seychelles . Mauritius also controls Rodrigues Island and the remote, sparsely populated Agalega and Cargados Garayos (Saint Brandon) islands.
The island of Mauritius was first discovered by Arab sailors, at some time in the 9th century, the exact date is unknown. At that time the island was uninhabited and covered in a dense forest. The Arab sailors were not interested in settling on the island which they named Dina Arobi or Dinarobin . Diogo Fernandes Pereira, a Portuguese sailor found the island in 1505 and decided to give it the name of Cerne . However, park plaza hotel austin the Portuguese did not settle permanently on the island either.
The first to colonise the island were the Dutch. They took possession of the island in 1598. The Dutch settlers landed on a bay in the south-eastern part of the island which was named Warwyck Haven after the commander VanWarwyck, the bay is now known as Grand Port. Mauritius also got its name during this period; the island was named after the Prince of Holland Mauritz de Nassau.
In 1710, the Dutch abandoned the island, leaving behind macaques, the java deer, sugar cane, fugitive park plaza hotel austin slaves and, also, an irreversible damage to the endemic and indigenous flora and fauna of the island - the Dodo was, by then, extinct due to extensive hunting, the bird being very easy to capture, while the once abundant black ebony tree population was almost park plaza hotel austin completely depleted due to over-exploitation for its timber.
The French settled on the island in 1713, also landing at the bay in the south-east. They renamed the bay Port Bourbon and renamed the island Ile de France . They settled on the north-western side of the island and established their main harbour there, Port Louis, the present-day capital of Mauritius. During the French settlement there was a lot of development in the country. Mahé de Labourdonnais , whose statue can be seen across from the harbour in Port Louis, park plaza hotel austin is known as the founder of the capital city and the island prospered under his governance (1735-1746).
In August 1810, the British tried to take over the island but lost after a fierce battle against the French in the famous Battle of Grand Port - the only victory of the French over the British. However, the British came back in December 1810 and successfully defeated the French. From then on, the island was renamed Mauritius and remained under British rule until it attained independence.
In 1835, slavery was officially abolished and, as most of the African slaves chose to abandon the agricultural fields and move to small coastal villages, indentured labourers (coolies) were brought in from India (Tamilnadu Bihar) to work in the growing sugar-cane industry.
On 12 Mar 1968 Mauritius became an independent nation within the Commonwealth led by Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, also known as the "Father of the Nation", led the island to independence and did a lot to develop the country.
A stable democracy park plaza hotel austin with regular park plaza hotel austin free elections and a positive human rights record, Mauritius has attracted considerable foreign investment and has one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth park plaza hotel austin leading park plaza hotel austin to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.
Tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May); Natural hazards : tropical cyclones (November to April), most cyclones park plaza hotel austin usually occur from the end of December until March. Mauritius has only two seasons, winter and summer. There is not much temperature difference between the two seasons of the year. The climate on the central plateau is cooler than on the coastal areas.
Variable day in January/February for the Hindu festival of Cavadee celebrated mostly by Mauritius' Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai. Fire-walking, sword-swallowing, body-piercing and tongue-skewering
The nationals of many countries, including Japan , Malaysia , Singapore , New Zealand and most Western countries do not need a visa in advance. For more information, visit the Passport park plaza hotel austin and Immigration Office website .
If you require a visa to enter Mauritius, park plaza hotel austin you might be able to apply for one at a British embassy, high commission or consulate in the country where you legally reside park plaza hotel austin if there is no diplomatic post of Mauritius. For example, the British embassies in Al Khobar [1] , Amman [2] , Belgrade [3] , Guatemala City [4] , Jakarta [5] , Jeddah [6] , Pristina [7] , Rabat [8] , Riyadh [9] , Rome [10] and Sofia [11] accept Mauritius visa applications (this list is not comprehensive). British diplomatic posts charge £50 to process a Mauritius visa application and an extra £70 if the authorities in Mauritius require the visa application to be referred to them. The authorities in Mauritius can also decide to charge an additional fee if they correspond with you directly.
The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport ({{IATA|MRU}}) park plaza hotel austin , ☎ +230 603 6000 ( airportinfo@aml.mru.aero , fax : +230 637 5306 ), [12] . at Plaisance in the southeast of the island is the major gateway park plaza hotel austin for travellers coming from abroad. edit
International airlines such as Air France [17] , Emirates [18] , Austrian Airlines [19] , British Airways [20] , Condor [21] , South African Airways [22] , Air India [23] , Meridiana [24] , Kenya Airways [25] , Egypt Air [26] , Malaysia park plaza hotel austin Airlines [27] and Corsairfly [28] all serve Mauritius from their home bases.
The arrivals hall can get rather congested in the morning when most of the flights from Europe arrive. Immigration officers tend to be rather slow and the whole immigration process can be a frustrating experience.
Vessels that arrive at the port are mainly cargo ships. The Mauritius Pride and the Trochetia are the Mauritian vessels that usually sail to and from Reunion Island, Rodrigues Island and Madagascar . Costa Cruises ships have recently started an Indian Ocean cruise including a visit to Mauritius.
As of April 2008, one way passage prices to travel from Tamatave in Madagascar to Mauritius by boat were €275 first class or €255 second class, compared to €212 to fly from Antananarivo on Air Madagascar. The journey takes at least four days, possibly more if transiting through Reunion. A boat leaves every other Wednesday.
The prices quoted are for a passage in a first or second class cabin. In attempting park plaza hotel austin to go directly to the port in Tamatave to negotiate with a boat captain for a non-cabin berth, tourists are turned away at the gate. Visiting the Nautical Club in Tamatave to enquire about yachts that might be heading to Mauritius also yields no results.
park plaza hotel austin Numerous car hire firms include major international and independent firms. Prices vary widely starting from MUR800 per day. To be on the safe side, with full insurance, park plaza hotel austin visitors should rent cars from companies holding a tourism enterprise license. These cars are identifiable by their yellow registration number plates, while private cars ( unsuitable for rent ) have black plates. If you hire a car at the airport keep in mind that you will need to pay a MUR20 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 110km/h (68mph) on the motorway and 50km/h (31mph) in built-up areas. Seatbelts are compulsory. Foreign licences are accepted.
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 it.
Taxis are the best way to visit the island. Various tours are available from MUR2500: The holy lake, Chamarel 7 coloured earth, Le Morne, dolphin tours in Tamarin park plaza hotel austin and Ile aux Cerfs are among the most appreciated by visitors.
Coraline park plaza hotel austin , ☎ +230 208 5900 ( +230 217 2285 , sureka.toolooa@coraline.intnet.muz , fax : +230 210 5176 ), [32] . 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. edit
International Charter Group - [33] - Yacht charter and sailing, park plaza hotel austin one of the worlds largest park plaza hotel austin yacht charter companies, can take care of all charter requirements, from bareboat to crewed. Operating from nine offices worldwide (USA, Spain, UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Caribbean, Honk Kong and Dubai).
The official language in Mauritius is English. As such, all government park plaza hotel austin administrative documents are in the Commonwealth variety of English . However, French is the language most commonly used in formal settings, and is by far the dominant language in the mass media, as well as in corporate and business dealings. In fact, even English language television programs are usually park plaza hotel austin dubbed into French. Most subjects are taught in and examined in English in the education park plaza hotel austin system.
The most commonly spoken language is Mauritian Creole , a French based Creole which has incorporated some words from diverse sources including but not limited to English, Dutch and Portuguese, and has slight pronunciation differences park plaza hotel austin from standard French. While there is no official written standard for Mauritian Creole, when written down for informal communication, words are often spelled differently from standard French. The next most commonly spoken language is French , which is spoken fluently by most locals, with English being a not too distant third. Virtually everyone working in the tourism industry will be able to speak fairly decent, albeit heavily accented