Mauritius Mid-range
The food is the real surprise — Creole, Indian, Chinese and French all at once. Street dholl puri is the national snack and costs almost nothing. Rougaille and vindaye are the dishes to look for, and the rum is very good.
Budget travel in Mauritius
What a visitor's money does in Mauritius: every guide rated from very cheap to very expensive, cheapest first, then the things that cost travellers money without buying anything — the ATM, the taxi, the SIM.
Mid-range average across 1 guide · 5 is very cheap
Money
Mauritian Rupee (MUR) · 1 EUR = 54.6 MUR · 1 USD = 47.6 MUR
Bank rates beat the hotel desks by a wide margin and there are branches in every town. Cards work almost everywhere. Keep some cash for markets, street food and the buses.
ATMs
Avoid: hotel exchange desks, which are well below the bank rate
Use: MCB, SBM, Absa
Machines are everywhere and reliable, fees are modest, and cards work almost everywhere. Keep some cash for markets and buses.
Getting around
A short ride in Mauritius: about €1 a kilometre — middling
From the airport: Plaisance airport to Grand Baie Rs 1,800–2,500, about 75 minutes
A taxi flagged down or called by a hotel is negotiated and has no meter — agree the fare before the door closes. Uber removes that conversation and prices the same cars by distance.
A local SIM
About €23 for thirty days, unlimited.
The counter in airport arrivals, or any petrol station — the forecourt kiosks sell them.
The same thirty days unlimited as an eSIM is around $99, so the local card is roughly a quarter of the price.
City by city, cheapest first
The cost rating is this site's own, for a visitor, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in. The general rules — the conversion prompt, shoulder season, the airport taxi — are in budget travel tips.
