We bought our Malagasy Orange and Telma SIM cards on the first full day in the country, the 16th of November 2022. The last SIM card in Madagascar, Airtel, was trickier to get in the capital. I’ll explain below why we’re getting multiple SIM cards from different providers. TL;DR Which SIM Card in Madagascar Should I Choose? So far, we think the best SIM card in Madagascar is Orange. It connected well in Antananarivo and worked immediately. Tethering worked perfectly and it works both on iPhone and Android devices. Orange also worked in Ampefy, the first smaller town we visitedContinue reading
Africa
Madagascar Tourist Visa Extension in Toliara: 30 Days Extra
We tried to extend our tourist visa in Madagascar in the coastal city of Toliara, aka Tuléar or Toliary. Our first visit attempt was on Friday the 23rd of December, and the next time Monday the 26th of December. Trying the Madagascar tourist visa extension around Christmas was obviously not ideal. Why Extend the Madagascar Tourist Visa? When we arrived in Madagascar in mid-November 2022, we only got a tourist visa for 60 days on arrival. That cost us €40 per person, which we paid in Euros. Sadly enough, the information about obtaining a 90-day visa upon arrival was alreadyContinue reading
Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants in Port Mathurin and Beyond
Finding vegetarian food in ‘mainland’ Mauritius is incredibly easy. But is it also possible to maintain a vegetarian diet on the smaller island of Rodrigues? I found out there are quite some restaurants in Port Mathurin and the rest of the autonomous island that serve delicious meatless and fishless foods. Below you’ll find them with a description and a location on the map. These restaurants are in no particular order. All of them are in Port Mathurin unless indicated otherwise. What’s the Food Situation in Rodrigues? Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants in Port Mathurin Now let’s talk about the best veg-friendly restaurants inContinue reading
Arriving in Rodrigues by Plane from Mauritius
This article is about how we finally managed to travel to Rodrigues by plane on the 12th of April, 2022, despite some hurdles. Rodrigues is a smaller island in the Indian Ocean that’s part of Mauritius and much further east of it. It’s autonomous, which is why they’ve closed to international tourism and even domestic travel for about two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Idea of Visiting Rodrigues Booking the Flight + Rodrigues Entry Requirements Finally, in late March, we were ready to book the flight on the Air Mauritius website. Despite success in booking the flight, they chargedContinue reading
How to Get the 1-Year Mauritian Premium Visa – Digital Nomad Special!
This article is about the (elusive) Mauritian Premium Visa, also known as the ‘Digital Nomad Visa’. It is valid for 1 year. You can apply for it before you travel to Mauritius or while you’re already in the country. You can only apply for this visa if you work online—this is not a tourist visa. To read about how to get the maximum days on your Mauritian tourist visa and how to get the 90-day tourist visa extension in Mauritius, visit the dedicated article. What is the Premium Visa? The Mauritian premium visa is a long-term visa that allows youContinue reading
How to Get a Tourist Visa Extension in Mauritius (90 Days Extra!)
This article details how we (EU passport holders) obtained our 90-day tourist visa extension in Mauritius. This was in addition to our original 90 days for a total of 180 days. To skip over our experience and find out what documents you need + the address, click here. If you’re looking for info on how to get the 1-year premium visa, read the dedicated article. This article also has a Russian 🇷🇺 translation: «Как продлить туристическую визу на Маврикии (90 дополнительных дней!)» How to Get the First 90 Days in Mauritius? Read this before you travel to Mauritius! Failed Attempt!Continue reading
Getting the J&J Booster Vaccine in Mauritius as a Non-Citizen
This happened on Tuesday the 15th of February, 2022. Jonas and I had an appointment at the Wellkin Hospital in Moka for a booster vaccine. The only vaccine available to us as people under 40 years of age was Johnson & Johnson. This is a European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved vaccine, so this will help us travel in Europe too. Before this, we only had two doses of Sinopharm thanks to Kyrgyzstan. First of, Fuck the European Medicines Agency Secondly, I Was Not Excited about the Booster But it had to be done. Predicting shit during this pandemic is extremelyContinue reading
Sail Mauritius: Dinghy Sailing a Tiny Catamaran in La Gaulette
This happened on Friday the 14th of January, 2022. We received the message that there was enough wind to go sailing. We met our instructor Christopher at the waterfront in La Gaulette where his two small (dinghy) sailboats are at: one catamaran and one monohull. Click the menu in the upper-right corner so you have the “catamaran” layer on. This map contains the approximate routes of all 3+ sailing classes we took with Christopher. The Idea + Gaps in Our Resumés Finding someone in La Gaulette willing and capable to rent us a kayak was very difficult, but findingContinue reading
Île aux Bénitiers + Crystal Rock by Kayak! (Mauritius)
All this happened on the 10th of January, 2022. After asking around far and wide for a place that would rent us a kayak, someone came through. The caveat? The two-person kayak only had one paddle. But we made do and paddled to île aux Bénitiers and Crystal Rock. Watch the vlog to see what that’s like! Green Village Saves the Day During our stay in La Gaulette, we had quite some trouble getting both a scooter and a kayak. We eventually got a scooter, but the kayak was still such a difficult quest. We had messaged and called severalContinue reading