Travel to Rodrigues – An Island Escape

If you’re searching for Indian Ocean islands to escape it all, then the island of Rodrigues is just the ticket. According to Mauritians, the unspoiled beauty of Rodrigues is what Mauritius was 50 years ago. So, experience both sides of the coin, and while you’re in paradise, travel to Rodrigues. Just over an hour away by air, and you’re in paradise of yesteryear.

About Rodrigues

The Mauritian territory is located 650km from Mauritius, but, beyond the beautiful beaches, it couldn’t be more different. While Mauritius has drawn a steady stream of tourism, and development over the last few decades, Rodrigues has not. The ultimate result of this is a tropical island without too much of the modern-day trappings of development.

Rodrigues has a small population – under 40,000 inhabitants – and the pace of life is slow, perfect for a holiday escape. The official language of the island is English, however, French and Créole are the most widely spoken.

The island’s natural beauty has been kept intact, and, as a small volcanic outcrop in the Indian Ocean, it’s surrounded by a turquoise lagoon and coral reefs teeming with marine life. Volcanic mountains, cloaked with rich vegetation provide ideal hiking routes, while coves and caves make for great exploring along the coastline.

Explore

There are plenty of islets dotted around Rodrigues
Explore the islets dotted around Rodrigues

For a small space (the island is only about 18km in length), Rodrigues packs a lot in.

The Grande Montagne Nature Reserve offers panoramic views over the island. Wind through the trails of the forest to reach the 300-350m high summit. The nature reserve is a prime spot to view the island’s rare plant life, endemic trees, and previously endangered bird species.

After working up a sweat, cool down on a boat trip to Île aux Cocos, one of the smaller islands neighbouring Rodrigues. White crystal white sands and turquoise seas are somewhat ubiquitous in this region, Île aux Cocos’ charm lies in its size – 1,2km in length and 250m across. Ensuring that you feel like you truly have escaped it all. You’ll find as your companions on your day trip, seabirds of varying species.

You’ll feel like you stepped into the pages of Treasure Island when visiting Trou D’Argent. Flanked by rugged cliffs, protecting pristine waters and picturesque beach, this little cove is only accessible by foot. Indian Ocean pirates and corsairs once sailed these waters, and it’s easy to imagine them choosing this spot to hide their loot. This spot is an ideal day trip for families as the path is easy-going and well marked.

The island has plenty to offer visitors, from intricate cave systems, to giant tortoises, and incredible diving, a few days spent here while on holiday in Mauritius is worth the trip.

Your Visit

When to visit: Rodrigues usually experiences pleasant weather all year round. November to April are the summer months, and temperatures usually peak at the mid-30oCs. The winter months, between May and October see temperatures peak at the mid-20oCs. Cyclone season usually runs from December to May, although this is often difficult to predict.

Where to stay: The island offers a range of accommodation types, although you won’t find the sprawling resorts you would in Mauritius. We love the charming beachside boutique hotel, Tekoma, or, the relaxed, garden retreat of La Belle Rodriguaise, with endless views over the ocean.

How to get there: Rodrigues is a Mauritian territory, so travel via the main island. Air Mauritius is due to restart flights to Rodrigues soon. Under usual circumstances, the airline operates daily return flights between Rodrigues and Mauritius.

Current restrictions: Until the 30th of September, fully vaccinated travellers can enjoy an in-resort stay at select hotels for 7 days. PCR tests: 3-7 days prior to travel. There is still a travel ban in place for arrivals from some countries.

From the 1st of October, Mauritius fully re-opens to vaccinated travellers. After presenting a PCR test no older than 72 hours, these arrivals are free to explore the island. Non-vaccinated travellers need to quarantine in their hotel rooms for the first 14 days.

>> Travel to Mauritius: Now Open to South Africans

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How SafeScore Helps Airports Recover

Airports are in trouble. The strong recovery needed to overcome the hurdles put in place by the pandemic is being hurt by a number of factors. Confusion and chaos are reigning king and queen, and not giving travellers the confidence to put their money towards international holidays that they aren’t guaranteed of getting. SafeScore is here to change this.

Chaos at Airports

Re-opening for tourism was never going to be smooth sailing. However, the ease of re-opening might have been underestimated as has been illustrated at a number of airports in recent weeks. Dublin Airport had to issue an apology at the end of August as passengers were required to wait in queues for over 2 hours. Over 100 passengers missed their flights as a result.

In Heathrow International Airport, travellers reported queuing times of over four hours. In fact, the queues were so long, and so poorly managed that some passengers even fainted. The same scene appeared to play out in other airports across the United Kingdom.

In Malaga Airport, in Spain, some passengers reportedly took out their frustration at the long waiting times by knocking down the barriers in the arrivals terminal.

And, in each of these cases, social distancing rules weren’t followed, and there was often little access to food and water.

Why is this happening?

Travel requirements and restrictions are a minefield of confusing, ambiguous, and often misleading information.

Passengers aren’t arriving at the airport with the correct documents, and often aren’t meeting key requirements. Some travellers are denied boarding as they didn’t receive the correct tests. In most cases, customers haven’t completed forms that are recommended to be filled in at home. Why? Because they didn’t know they had to. In Ireland alone, it was reported that two passengers were being denied travel every two hours thanks to incorrect travel information and documentation.

A lack of access to clear, concise, and up-to-date information is one cause to blame for this. In many cases, there is no clear point of contact for the aviation industry to communicate government mandates to its customers. Airport and airline staff, are expected to know specific requirements for exiting, and entering numerous destinations. They haven’t been given the correct tools for the job.

Checking travel details like these take time, and it’s a labourious task – leading to even longer queues. Sometimes airports have been given incorrect information, which they convey to the passengers. SafeScore’s CEO experienced this himself – luckily, he had the correct data to hand.

In fact, UK watchdog, Which? released a study highlighting just how many UK airlines were giving their passengers incorrect, incomplete, or unclear travel information. And, if the passenger fails to meet the requirements at the airport, there is no recourse for a refund – hardly an enticing prospect for a would-be customer.

Travellers are facing delayed flights, and missed flights thanks to chaos at airports

Damaging Recovery

So, how are the queues, and information stumbling blocks hurting airports and airlines?

Queues are the unpleasant reality of the modern world – but when they lead to fines, refunds, and loss of customers, they become a different beast. Whether it’s the airlines facing hefty fines for exceeding their allotted time on the tarmac, or the compensation paid to customers, or irate customers posting on social media, the damage is clear in every corner.

How we Help

SafeScore provides clear, up-to-date, and reliable travel information.

We have all the data airports and airlines need to ensure smoother transitions, and improve the customer experience. Some of the important data points we include are, child PCR testing ages, locator form information, specific vaccine requirements, and more. We are origin and destination-specific, so we tailor our data according to the routes required.

Our API packages are customisable, and our products are concise, and easy to use. We know how long it can take to find the correct information in a government website – nobody wants to queue for that. This is why we’ve made everything straightforward, and accessible with just a few clicks.

Let’s help the travel industry recover, together.

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