Transportation (Mauritius)

Mauritius is approximately 2,880 square kilometer which makes it easy to cover by any means of transport. However, you have the following options for transportation in Mauritius:

  1. Car Rental
  2. Taxi
  3. Scooter/ Motorbike
  4. Public Transport

Car Rental

This is the most preferred mode of transportation in Mauritius. If you know how to drive and have some experience this is the most suited option. Although an international driving license is preferred, a valid driving license of your country along with your passport are enough to rent a car. You may choose from options like hatchback, sedan, SUV, pick-up trucks, luxury cars or even vintage cars. The rental cost starts from around ₹1,250 per day. Several operators offer discount for longer periods. Basic insurance and damage is covered in the price but you can avail additional insurance if you want.

Do check if they provide road side assistance all over the island, just in case. Ensure to take a video of the car while pick-up so that there are no unwanted issues while dropping off. They might ask for a security deposit amount according to the car to be hired. Pre –booking is also available online with some of the operators. You may arrange car pick-up and drop off at the airport making your trip very smooth.

Advantages

This mode of transportation has many benefits over other modes while travelling. You can carry your luggage with you helping you utilize every minute of trip on the go. You can cover all the places at leisure, spending as much time as you want at a particular place. This also gives you liberty to choose your accommodation in any part of the island. Furthermore, while visiting some of the tourist spots in Mauritius, you will be glad that you rented a car. We have covered all such places and explained about this in our places of interest post.

Mauritius follows Left Hand Drive system similar to India. In addition to it, the roads have excellent markings to guide you. You only need to follow the traffic rules and the symbols along the road and you would be fine. Just so you are aware, accidents are not uncommon in Mauritius due to its landscape and narrow roads in some places. There are also traffic police on some routes and they may stop you for routine checking. So keep all your documents correctly. In case of any breakdown, contact your provider and they will guide you accordingly.

Taxi

For some reason using taxis in Mauritius may cost you a limb. When we enquired, we got to know that there are majorly two reasons for it. First, the gasoline prices are very high (almost same price as in India). Second the taxi permits are zone-wise, meaning a taxi driver permitted to drive the car in one area cannot operate it in other area unless their client has asked to be taken there or the clients have particularly asked for that taxi driver having known from before.

Minimum charge for hiring a taxi is 500 MUR for maximum 5 kilometers. Most of the private taxi drivers are affiliated to some hotel or resort. If you want to go sightseeing, you can hire taxi for day trips to various parts of the island. A day trip would cost you minimum of 4000 MUR which varies according to the type of car and points you choose. You may also use taxi for changing hotels if you are using modes of transportation other than car rental.

We found hop-on and hop-off taxis in some specific areas. These taxis operate at the cost of buses i.e. approx. 20 MUR for up to 3 km. But, while boarding these please ensure that these vehicles do have the taxi signage on top of them. It means that vehicles with the taxi signage only are licensed to operate as taxis. In case a traffic police stops an unlicensed taxi for inspection, all the occupants of the taxi along with the drives get penalty. This we came to know through a local.

Operators

There is no UBER in Mauritius. But, they do have online car services. Ala Lila, Yugo and MoRide are some online platforms for advance taxi booking. Ala Lila allows booking up to 40 minutes prior to departure only. It does not facilitate immediate taxi booking. Yugo allows both immediate and advance taxi booking. We have provided our experience with booking taxi in our suggestions page. Try to avoid taking a taxi unless you have no other choice. It leaves you feeling robbed.

Scooter/Motorbike

You can easily rent a scooter or motorbike in Mauritius. It is easily available in the popular tourist areas. It might be difficult to find a scooter rental in other areas. Nevertheless, there are many scooter rentals which you can find online as well. 700-900 MUR per day is the cost of renting a scooter in most areas. But, this goes up to 1200 MUR also in certain localities like Grand Baie. If you rent it for more than 5 days you may get reduced charges of up to 100 MUR discount per day.

The scooter we rented

You can check online for scooter rentals in Mauritius. All you need is your passport and a valid driving license (either international or of your country). Some providers take security deposit and advance payment, so please clear all the terms and conditions before hiring. Also, make a thorough inspection of the vehicle before accepting delivery.

Generally, it is very convenient to drive in Mauritius. It wouldn’t be a problem at all if you follow the traffic rules and signage. Avoid driving a motorbike or a scooter at night. If unavoidable, ensure to wear a high visibility vest before driving (it is for your own safety). These vests and two helmets are provided by the operators. Always look for reliable and trusted operators. Check the reviews before selecting one. We have shared some in this post.

Advantages

A scooter/motorbike is the best choice to go local sightseeing. You may also use it to travel long distances if you are fit enough and the weather is good. There are no concerns regarding parking the vehicle as well. Although, it would be difficult to use it for transferring from one place to another unless, you have only backpacks as luggage. Moreover, you cannot leave your luggage on your bike unattended as they might get stolen. The carrier provided with the bikes or scooter may accommodate either a helmet or a small bag only. So, while it is a convenient mode, the rest is up to you.

Public Transport

Mauritius has two modes of public transport which is fairly used by the local population. Since taxis are quite expensive, most people use public transport. The public transportation in Mauritius of two types:

  1. Buses
  2. Metro Rail

We used both of these as our ultimate aim was to reduce the expenditure on conveyance. In our opinion, it was an excellent choice except on certain occasions. So, we will discuss all about the public transportation of Mauritius in details hereunder.

Buses

Mauritius has a well-connected network of public buses. Some are operated by private transport companies and some by national transport. You can move from one part of Mauritius to any other part using buses. Since Mauritius is not very populated, the buses here are very convenient to travel on. Some routes have the facility of AC buses as well. The minimum fare is 20 MUR and maximum can go up to 55 MUR depending on the destination. A travel of around 40 km would cost you 45-55 MUR.

Buses are the most affordable mode of transportation in Mauritius. They are convenient also as they go to almost all the tourist places. If you have time, you can easily take the bus to explore every spot. Buses also form the best alternative to taxis in order to travel between cities. Whether you are travelling light or have one or two luggage with you, this is the go to transport. If you have more luggage or you are travelling in a group, this might not be the better option. Check out our blog for more info on how we travelled around Mauritius.

bus seats
inside of a bus
luggage storage
Here are a few tips to use buses:
  • You can board and de-board a bus at the bus stops only. Bus stops are located every half a kilometre or so. Some bus stops have shelters as well as seating facility. While others may be easily missed. At some places you will just find a small sign saying “Bus Stop” on a 6 feet pole in the middle of nowhere. Also, sometimes the sign may be worn out and it becomes difficult to point.
  • Each route is identified by a number. Each bus whether up or down has the same route number/bus number. The buses display the bus number and/or the destination name on a placard on the top right corner of the windscreen. If you know the bus number of your destination, you can hop on. The time interval between successive buses of a route is mostly 20 minutes. In some routes it may go up to 35-45 minutes also. Some of the routes have buses only two times a day. The first bus departs at 5:30 AM and the last bus at 08:00 PM for most routes. These timings vary on holidays. You need to confirm all of this before you plan on using the bus.
  • You just have to name your drop point and the conductor will print the ticket and collect the fare. Do not have to worry about fare overcharge. To stop the bus there are buttons on top of windows which sound a buzzer when pressed indicating the driver to stop the bus at the next bus stop. If you do not know where to stop, you may just inform the conductor where you are going. They are very helpful and will instruct you when you will need to get down.
Bus information

To know which bus you need to take, check out this website www.mauritius-buses.com. It is an excellent site giving you all the details of the buses, their routes, schedule and even fare accurately. The website is not up to date as it lacks some info about the new routes, buses and the updated fares. But, it is very helpful in guiding you for most of the routes. Once you get a knack of using buses in Mauritius, you may ask around for bus numbers from the locals.

The bus drivers are fast, sometimes dangerously fast. Being on one of the bus reminded me of the Knight Bus from the Harry Potter books. If you are aware of the franchise books or movies you might know what I am talking about. Yes, it felt like that sitting on the bus. But, that is not the case with all the buses. Some buses also had the pace where you could just get down and walk along with it and board again. Deboarding passengers alight first and boarding passengers wait until every person de-boards. Until the last person to board has sat down, the buses do not start. We appreciated this discipline.

Drawbacks

We used the buses for most part of our trip and were quite happy. It also saved us a lot of money. Notwithstanding, there are a few drawbacks to using the buses.

  • Although the buses ride fast, they take time as there are many stops in between. So you end up losing quite a bit of time travelling.
  • The buses ply on the main roads mostly. So if your accommodation is not located on the route, you might end up walking quite a lot. Mauritius has a hilly topography which adds to more cardio activity. If you are travelling with luggage then you are done with.
  • Although most of the sightseeing spots are enroute bus routes, on odd occasions, they are quite far away from the bus stops. A few of them are Chamarel Geopark, Le Morne beach, Alexandra waterfalls etc. Check more such places in our places of interest post.
  • The buses do not have dedicated space for luggage. So, you need to mind your luggage. Of course, the bus conductor helps you with it but still you need to control the bags or trolleys when the bus makes steep turns.

Metro Rail

The metro rail is called Metro Express in Mauritius. The metro rail network connects the cities in the central part of the island where the relief is more consistent. The coastal areas do not have metro rails. Currently, the metro connects Port Louis to Curepipe via Quatre Bornes, majorly central Mauritius. If you wish to travel between these cities, metro is an excellent mode of transportation. Here’s how you can use the metro in Mauritius:

  • You can purchase the tickets from the automated ticket vending machines on the metro stations. It is simple to operate but if you find it difficult, you can ask the staff present on the platforms to help you. If you are staying for longer you may get a metro card for yourself. The details of the fare, types of card and how to operate the vending machine is available on their official website here.
  • The metro operate at an interval of 10 minutes so you do not waste much time in waiting.
  • You cannot consume either food or drinks inside the metro.
  • The ticket inspectors will come to you for checking. So do have a ticket before boarding or there are heavy fines.

This is all about the transportation options available in Mauritius. You may analyse the mode best suited according to your needs. You may also plan the trip in such a way that you can combine a few to save cost. Check out our suggestions page to see which mode is best for you.