How to Reach (Mauritius)

Mauritius lies in the African continent. It lies very close to Madagascar just off the coast of Mozambique in Africa. Due to its location as a far off island on the south west of India, there is only one way for how to reach Mauritius. No points for guessing- Flights!

India to Mauritius

Flights

The Mauritius’s international airport is Sri Seewoosagur Ramagoolam International Airport. It is located in Plaine Magnien area located on the south east coast of Mauritius. It is not located in Port Louis as you may come across on some platforms. Please keep this in mind before travelling.

airport entrance
airport exit
inside Mauritius airport

There are direct flights between Mumbai to Mauritius operated by Air India, Air Mauritius and now, Indigo. There are several other budget as well as premium airlines with flights to Mauritius but they are not direct. Fares for direct flights are around ₹27,000 one way with 2 check-in luggage of 23kg each. Kenya Airways has the cheapest flights around ₹22,000 one way with layover at Kenya and a total travel time of minimum 14 hours. Directly, it takes about 6.25 hours from Mumbai to Mauritius. It is better to take a direct flight for the price difference. There are several reasons for it specially one related to airlines. We have covered the points in our research post.

air mauritius flight
coastal view of Mauritius

Our onward ticket was with Vistara (now Air India) while our return flight was with Kenya Airways. Our return trip became quite interesting but in a good way. To know how it all happened check this post.

Visa

Mauritius VISA is free of cost for Indians. You do not need eVisa or any type of visa before travelling. However, once you arrive at the immigration counter at Mauritius airport you must show the following documents to the officer:

  1. Passport
  2. Boarding pass
  3. Return tickets
  4. Details of your place/s of stay
  5. All in One Travel Form (to fill online click here)

Once the authorities check everything, they stamp your passport with Mauritian Visa free of cost. Well, it is one of the very few countries whose Visa is free for Indians.

Currency

Mauritius uses Mauritius Rupees as its official currency. Although, several vendors accept cash payment in Euros also. The value of Mauritius rupees is nearly double of Indian Rupee i.e 1 MUR = ₹2. The exchange rates in India is around 2.02 to 2.09 INR for 1 MUR. If you take indirect exchange via USD (US Dollar) you may get a resulting exchange rate of about 1.79 INR for 1 MUR. You may also get EUROS as they are widely accepted in Mauritius.

Credit cards/Forex cards may be used at most medium to large stores. Indians can now travel freely without having to worry about currency exchange. You can withdraw cash using RuPay branded International cards at ATMs in Mauritius. Also, you can make payments via UPI apps to any vendor using QR based payment apps of Mauritius like Juice. You need to activate international UPI on the app first.

Currency exchange

There are many currency exchanges available in Mauritius. Currency exchanges are frequent in tourist areas like Grand Baie, Port Louis, Flic en Flac and Quatre Bornes but difficult to find in the south of the island like La Gaulette, Souillac and Bel Ombre area. Make your plans accordingly. Thomas cook, Western Union, BA Exchange, Shibani Finance and several other local outlets are available for currency exchange. The following Banks in Mauritius like the State Bank of Mauritius and MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank) also exchange currency. You just have to locate their branches in the area and you can get any currency exchanged. The rates that the banks offer are lower than other agencies but they are available throughout the country.

It is convenient exchange the currency at the airport as the rates offered are same as anywhere else in the country. Unlike other countries including India where you get poorer rates at airport than at city outlets. We used Shibani Finance for all our currency transactions as they offered the best rates while we were in Mauritius.

Note

Always try to use authentic government registered exchange companies to avoid any fraud or scams like getting fake notes or misuse of passport etc. When in doubt always go to the Banks for getting your currency exchanged. Banks may also accept slightly torn or worn out currency while other exchanges do not.

SIM Card

Getting around Mauritius on your own will require a good connectivity. Once you land, ensure to get yourself a tourist SIM. There are two telecom network providers widely used in Mauritius- EMTEL and My T. They both have good connectivity around the island. You can purchase a tourist SIM card of any of these networks at the airport by paying around 750MUR for 200GB data, 200MUR call time, unlimited SMS and a validity of 30 days. You can also pre-book the SIM online at their respective websites.