Travel to Mauritius in October if all goes well. Image: iStock
Mauritius is working towards opening up the destination to travellers on 1 October 2021 and the prospect of an unrestricted holiday in paradise brings hope and excitement to South African travellers.
Coinciding with the grand opening of Mauritius’ borders, Air Mauritius will resume weekly flights between the destination and Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on 1 October.
According to Air Mauritius’ flight schedule, flights will operate on Fridays. Philippa Piguet, senior consultant for MTPA SA Representative said: “Indeed, we are thrilled about the developments with the opening of borders and can’t wait for the 1st of October!”
Mauritius has been ranked as one of the top countries in the world for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the phased reopening of the island destination to travellers commenced on 15 July. The island destination has prioritised its tourism staff during its vaccine rollout, ensuring visitors’ safety amidst these uncertain times.
While travellers are currently restricted to certain hotels and resorts on the island, fully vaccinated travellers will soon be free to book resorts and roam the island as they would on a proper holiday in paradise.
At the moment, travellers who want to visit Mauritius need to spend 14 days outside of South Africa before boarding a flight to Mauritius from an approved travel hub like Dubai or Paris, due to the current travel ban for travellers from South Africa.
This ban has been extended until 31 August and forms part of Mauritius’ first phase of opening up its borders to fully vaccinated and non-vaccinated travellers under strict conditions.
Fully vaccinated travellers can currently stay at hotels and resorts that have been approved by the Mauritian authorities and will have access to the hotel or resort’s facilities and private beaches, but won’t be allowed to explore other parts of the island.
Non-vaccinated travellers can book their quarantine stays at one of eight of the island’s approved quarantine hotels and will need to have PCR tests done on day seven and 14, in addition to the PCR test before arrival on the island. They will need to quarantine in their hotel rooms for two weeks, with meals delivered to their rooms.
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Once Mauritius has opened its borders for travellers come the first of October, all Phase 2 protocols will need to be observed. For fully vaccinated travellers, there will be no quarantine restrictions and they will be free to book a resort and explore the island. They will, however, still be required to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of their departure to Mauritius.
There is not much change regarding non-vaccinated travellers, though. Non-vaccinated travellers will need to quarantine at an approved quarantine hotel for 14 days, with requisite PCR tests as per the island destination’s Phase 2 travel protocols. It is only once a negative test result is returned on day 14 of the travellers’ quarantine that they will be allowed to explore the rest of the island and its beauty without restrictions.
The Mauritian authorities currently recognise AstraZeneca, Covaxin, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer, Sinopharm and Sputnik.
You will be considered fully vaccinated 28 days after you have received the single-dose vaccine like the one from Johnson & Johnson or 14 days after your second dose of the two-dose vaccine like that from Pfizer.
Apart from your usual travel costs, you will need to consider the costs of PCR tests as well, which will be for your own account. The costs range from 2,500 MURs (R862) to 12,000 MURs for resort and quarantine hotel lab tests.
According to Travelstart’s search results, non-stop return flights in December start from R8,459 per traveller from OR Tambo International Airport. An all-inclusive visit to Club Med will cost around R20,519.00 per person based on double occupancy, with kids under 12 staying for free. This excludes the festive season and transport, and prices are subject to change. Terms and conditions apply.
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