Country code: 230. There are no area codes. There are a limited number of public telephone booths, mainly at the airport and in major hotels. Mauritius Telecom (website: www.mauritiustelecom.com) offers a good, reliable service and payphones are found in their customer service centres in towns around the island.

Roaming agreements with international mobile phone companies are available and coverage extends over the entire island. Local mobile calls are the same as the price of landline calls, so it may be worth renting one if doing business here.

There are Internet cafes in both main towns and tourist centres such as Grand Baie and Port Louis. Most hotels offer high-speed Internet access. 

Airmail to Western Europe usually takes seven days; by sea, mail takes four to six weeks.

Post office hours: Generally Mon-Fri 0815-1115 and 1200-1600, Sat 0815-1145.

Mauritius has a free press, which means the media is full of colourful debate. The main language is French, but all the languages are represented in a variety of media, from Chinese newspapers to Bollywood movies.

• Of the 10 daily newspapers, two are published in Chinese and the remainder in French.
• L'Express, Le Mauricien and Le Matinal have the highest circulation.
• News on Sunday is the weekly English-language newspaper.

• MBC (Mauritius Broadcasting Company) is state run and operates three channels.
• MCA (Mauritius College of the Air) tends to have more English-language programmes.
• Most hotels and resorts have satellite TV.

• MBC stations include Radio Maurice 1 and 2, Kool FM, Taal FM and One World FM.
• Other stations include Top FM, Radio One and Radio Plus.