Port Louis - Post Report Question and Answers

I’m originally from Los Angeles in the United States. I’ve been living in Mauritius for about two years now, and we’ll be staying for another year as part of a work assignment. It’s an absolutely gorgeous island with a wonderful lagoon and an amazing lifestyle. That said, it is quite remote. Traveling back to the U.S. can be long and tiring, usually requiring at least one or two connections, often via Europe or the Middle East, and the journey can easily take over 24 hours door-to-door. Flights are also quite expensive, which makes frequent trips back home more challenging. - May 2026

---

We call the DC area home. We're only 8 hours ahead of DC here but this is a pretty remote region with poor air connectivity. However, there are a number of routes to get back to the East coast but none of them are quick, easy, or cheap. Here are the options: 1) The best option is to fly MRU-CDG and then catch a connection to the U.S.; you're looking at 11 hours to Paris and then the layover and additional 7 hour flight to the East coast. This route has the advantage of being overnight, so you're landing in Paris in the morning and (hopefully) you've slept a bit on the plane, making the flight seem shorter and the connection a lot easier to deal with. 2) Next best option is to fly through Dubai and then connect to the U.S. Advantage here is that you're splitting the trip into two, almost equal legs. Major disadvantage is that there is no good flight schedule; your layover in DBX will probably be between 12am and 6am, when nothing in the airport is open and the layover will be 3 to 6 hours long. 3) A lot of USG types seem to fly through ATL and JNB -- some travel agent is making a mint on this miserable route. From here, we'd have to fly MRU-JNB (4 hours), then JNB-ATL (16 hours), then connect to DC. You're look at one overnight, probably in Jo'burg, and a really long day of travel. Air Mauritius recently went through a restructuring and they have massive code share agreements with Air France, Emirates, and South African -- I'm told they're looking to add more routes. Etihad is also expanding in the region, so if you don't mind going through UAE, your options are increasing. - Jun 2014

---