Paradise Direct
Mauritius Direct
With two airlines featuring non-stop services from London Heathrow to Mauritius and a number of others offering one-stop flights, there’s no shortage of choice to fly down to this Indian Ocean Paradise.
Sofitel Imperial Mauritius Exterior View
Mauritius is a 12-hour flight from the UK. The time difference is GMT +5 hours in winter and GMT +3 hours in summer, making it a relatively jetlag-free long-haul destination.
Air Mauritius and British Airways offer non-stop scheduled flights from London Heathrow to Mauritius, while Air France, Air Seychelles and Emirates provide slick and easy connections through foreign hubs, so UK travelers have plenty of choice. Return economy class flights start from approximately 680 per person (depend on season).
Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius leads the field in frequency with four flights per week from April – adding a Wednesday service – increasing to five in July/August with a new Monday service. The service will then be permanently five times a week from the end of October/early November moving to six times a week (with a new Tuesday service) in the December/January 2011 peak. The airline hopes to move to a daily service in 2011.
British airways offers three direct flights a week plus a further three flights a week via Johannesburg with South African partner airline Comair, Which may prove very popular during the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa this summer.
While all non-stop flights to Mauritius operate from London Heathrow, Emirates’ strong UK regional network to Dubai represents a welcome alternative for British travelers living outside London. Instead of travelling to the capital to connect with onward flights, holidaymakers from Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow can fly directly to Dubai and change the airline‘s recently increased serves Mauritius, now nine flights a week.
Emirates also fly from Heathrow with the new double-deck Airbus A380 and from Gatwick.
British Airways
Air France is another good option for regional British travelers seeking to sidestep Heathrow on the way out. The French flag carrier maintains an excellent UK regional network of flights into Paris Charles de Gaulle where Air Mauritius operates a daily service to its Indian Ocean base.
In recent code sage deal, Air Mauritius has teamed up with Air France to offer through check-in for any passenger travelling out of the UK’s regional airports to Mauritius. This means the same terminal transfer at Paris Charles de Gaulle with luggage transferred seamlessly on to Air Mauritius flight to Mauritius.
Getting Around
Driving along roads lined with vivid green sugar cane and flame red flamboyant trees with fresh lychee stalls by the road, you know you are somewhere special. Although it might be tempting to stay in the Luxury of your beach resort, getting out and about is a rewarding experience. You have come this far after all!
All the leading resorts have a car rental desk on site with international such as Hertz, Avis, and Europcar, along with a number of reputable local companies. Driving is on the left and road sign look curiously familiar, so you should be fine. Get advice on driving times as journeys take longer than expected. For example the spectacular southern coastal road is at least tow-hour drive. The route from Le Morne in the southwest up to Tamairn is about an hour, and round about two hours up to Port Louis. However you won’t find too much traffic outside of the capital, Port Louis.
If you want to take out the hassle of finding your own way, local tour companies offer a range of excursions while taxis are plentiful.
If you are of a greener persuasion, pedal power is the answer. There is a push to make Mauritius a bike friendly island and most resorts have bikes either complimentary or to hire.
This is a popular way of getting into the heart of the countryside. Just make sure you take a hat, sunscreen and lots of water and avoid cycling in the midday heat. Early morning is best.
Fast Fact
Air Mauritius
020 7434 4375
www.airmauritius.com
British Airways
084 4493 0787
www.ba.com
Emirates
084 4800 2777
www.emirates.com/uk
Air France
087 1663 3777
www.airfrance.co.uk