Terms & conditions

A booking is confirmed once we have replied to you by email or WhatsApp with the date, the trip, the number of guests and the agreed price. Until you receive that reply, the date is not held.

Please tell us at the time of booking about anything that affects safety or comfort on board: pregnancy, reduced mobility, heart conditions, epilepsy, allergies, or guests who cannot swim.

Our trips are generally deposit-free for individuals, couples, families and small groups. Payment is made on the day of the trip, preferably in cash (Mauritian rupees), or by card if arranged in advance.

Karlos Excursions reserves the right to request a deposit for large groups or in special circumstances.

Prices are quoted in Mauritian rupees (Rs/Mur). Any euro amounts shown on this website are indicative only and may vary depending on the exchange rate.

Payments in euros are accepted only in exceptional circumstances, when no other payment method is possible, and provided that banknotes are in perfect, like-new condition. Damaged or marked banknotes cannot be accepted, as they are difficult to exchange at local banks.

We may postpone or cancel a trip when:

• weather or sea conditions make it unsafe to go out. We will tell you as early as we can - sometimes only on the morning itself, because sea conditions can change quickly;
• for shared group trips, the minimum number of guests is not reached. We will offer an alternative date, a half-day private trip or another trip where possible.

If we cancel and no alternative suits you, any amount you have already paid is refunded in full. For this reason we recommend booking for the earliest possible date in your holiday, so there is room to move the trip.

We trust our guests to honour a booking.

Plans change, and we understand that. Please tell us as soon as you know, so we can plan the day and offer the place to someone else. Where a deposit was paid, we will confirm in writing at the time of booking whether and how it can be refunded or moved to another date.

Under Mauritian law, children and babies count as one passenger on the boat.

One baby aged 0 to 2 travels free per couple or booking; we will confirm this with you. Children remain under the supervision of their parents or guardians at all times, on board, in the water and on the island.

• Please follow the skipper's instructions at all times while on board.
• Life jackets must be worn outside the lagoon.
• Swimming with dolphins is not recommended if you are not a confident swimmer, or if you have a heart or cardiovascular condition, high or low blood pressure, epilepsy, or any condition or treatment that can cause loss of consciousness. It takes place outside the lagoon where currents can be strong and dolphins move fast.
• Whether swimming or snorkelling from the boat is possible depends on sea and weather conditions, the dolphins' location and behaviour, the presence of jellyfish, and the skipper's assessment of each guest's ability to safely enter the water and get back aboard. The skipper's decision is final and is made with everyone's safety in mind.

Alcoholic drinks are generally offered free of charge on Île aux Bénitiers and during some lagoon excursions, such as sunset trips. Guests who appear to be under the influence of alcohol may not be permitted to swim or snorkel if the skipper considers it unsafe.

• Do not touch dolphins or other marine life. While snorkelling, take care not to touch or stand on coral. This helps protect both you and the marine environment.

• Do not remove coral, shells or starfish from the sea.

• Where possible, wear a long-sleeved lycra top to reduce sun exposure and the need for sunscreen.
• If using sunscreen, choose a reef-friendlier option and apply it 10 to 15 minutes before entering the water, allowing it to absorb into your skin.

Our team and partners have many years of experience, but no one can guarantee a catch. The catch belongs to the boat captain.

Our boats are insured to cover guests for injury on board. Our team and partners take great care while guests are in the water and on Bénitiers Island, but Karlos Excursions and its partners cannot be held liable for incidents there. In case of an accident, our team will get the guest to the nearest health centre as quickly as possible.

We are not responsible for personal belongings brought on board. Boats are open : leave valuables at your hotel where you can.

We strongly recommend that all guests hold their own travel and medical insurance.

Our skippers may take photos and short videos during the day. We may share some of these on our website or social media. If you would prefer not to appear in any photos or videos used for these purposes, please let your skipper know or contact us directly.

When you send an enquiry we collect your name, your contact details, your preferred way of being contacted and whatever you tell us about your trip. We use it only to reply to you and organise your day at sea. We do not sell it and we do not send marketing you have not asked for.

Write to info@karlosexcursions.com at any time to ask for a copy of what we hold about you, or to have it deleted.

This site keeps cookies to a minimum. We use only what is needed to make the site work - for example remembering whether you are reading in English or French, and keeping an enquiry form filled in while you move between pages. These are strictly necessary cookies and do not identify you personally.

We do not run advertising cookies and we do not sell browsing data. If we ever add visitor statistics, we will use a privacy-friendly measurement that does not track you across other websites, and we will say so here.

Pages that embed something from another service - a map, a video, a review widget or the WhatsApp chat - may set cookies from that provider once you interact with them. Those are governed by the provider's own policy.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time. If you do, the language choice and form memory simply stop working; nothing else on the site breaks.

This website was designed and built with the help of artificial-intelligence tools, and some of the text and illustrations on it were drafted or generated with AI assistance. Everything published here has been reviewed by our team.

That said, mistakes can slip through. Prices, timings, itineraries and conditions on these pages are indicative and can change with the season, the sea and availability. The details we confirm to you in writing by email or WhatsApp are the ones that apply to your booking. If anything on this site looks wrong, please tell us - we will fix it.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Mauritius, and the Mauritian courts have jurisdiction over any dispute.