Indian Ocean
The islands of the Indian Ocean are not comparable:
Madagascar, with its very special wildlife, a predominantly black African population, is one of the poorest countries in Africa.
Reunion, an overseas territory of France, is part of the EU and uses the euro.
Seychelles and the Maldives are known as beach and diving paradises.
Sri Lanka, lying off the southern tip of India, is part of South Asia but has little in common with India.
travel time?
Madagascar, whose size should not be underestimated, is not easy to travel with extremely bad road conditions. Depending on the season, the north or the south is attractive.
Also in Sri Lanka the monsoon brings different travel conditions for west and east coast.
Madagascar: The vaccination recommendations correspond to the countries of tropical Africa, but there is no yellow fever. The bad roads and the size of the island make it impossible to leave the country quickly in the event of an emergency with a suspected rabies bite, so be sure to discuss the topic of rabies vaccination before you travel.
Mauritius and La Reunion: the Austrian standard vaccinations are usually sufficient, an additional typhoid vaccination can only be useful for extended stays or intensive contact with the population.
Seychelles: for pure resort stays only the standard vaccinations, for travel in the country, with visits to local restaurants, plus typhoid.
Maldives: only standard vaccinations required.
Sri Lanka: standard vaccinations and typhoid. Japan encephalitis and rabies need to be considered.
Madagascar is considered a high-risk country – preventive use of malaria medication is recommended here.
Mauritius, La Reunion, Seychelles are malaria free.
Sri Lanka has made such great progress in reducing the disease in recent years that consistent mosquito repellent is sufficient.
Madagascar’s medical infrastructure is very poor. The first-aid kit should be a bit more extensive.
In Sri Lanka, at least in the capital Colombo, very decent medicine can be found. Here you only need basic equipment.
There is little risk of disease in Mauritius, La Reunion, the Seychelles and the Maldives. However, it is a long way to the nearest well-stocked pharmacy – you should therefore be able to treat the most common symptoms yourself when traveling (diarrhea, pain, coughing).
6 weeks before departure: check vaccinations – is everything there?
For Madagascar: Get malaria advice, have medication prescribed and obtain it.
Check medicines in the first-aid kit – has something expired?
for diving holidays: have a diving suitability examination done in good time, many diving centers require such a certificate.
