Mauritius is a 2,040 km² island in the southwest Indian Ocean that consistently rewards visitors who look beyond the beach. The north offers calm, accessible waters and a lively coastal town. The east is quieter, reef-protected, and lined with resorts that have quietly set the standard for Indian Ocean hospitality. The south is wilder, less visited, and worth every kilometre of the drive. The west catches the sunset and some of the island's most dramatic underwater topography. Between all four points lies most of what makes Mauritius genuinely difficult to leave, and, for a growing number of people, a serious candidate for relocation.
The Top Mauritius Tourist Places by Region
The North: Grand Baie and Île aux Cerfs
Grand Baie is the island's social hub, a town with a working marina, open-air restaurants, and a beach that stays busy for good reason. The lagoon here is shallow and sheltered, making it the default base for first-time visitors. From Grand Baie, catamarans depart daily for Île aux Cerfs, a small island off the east coast that represents the postcard version of Mauritius: white sand, turquoise shallows, and a golf course designed by Bernhard Langer that edges right up to the water.
Cap Malheureux, at the island's northern tip, is worth the detour. The red-roofed Notre Dame Auxiliatrice church photographed against the sea is one of the most reproduced images in Mauritian tourism, and in person it earns the attention.
The East: Belle Mare and Palmar
The east coast lagoon is the quietest argument for staying longer than you planned, reef-protected, impossibly clear, and lined with resorts that have quietly set the standard for Indian Ocean luxury. Belle Mare and Palmar are the anchors of this stretch: long, uncrowded beaches backed by casuarina trees, with the reef visible as a white line of surf on the horizon.
For something more active, the east coast is also the departure point for dolphin-watching excursions at dawn, spinner and bottlenose dolphins are resident in these waters year-round.
The South: Gris Gris, Rochester Falls, and the Coloured Earths
The south is different: wilder, less visited, and worth every kilometre of the drive. Gris Gris is the island's most dramatic coastal point, a clifftop lookout over open ocean with no reef to soften the Atlantic swells. The Rochester Falls waterfall in Souillac drops over columnar basalt formations that look engineered but are entirely geological.
The Chamarel Coloured Earths, a geological formation of volcanic soil in seven distinct hues, sit alongside the Chamarel waterfall and a rum distillery that produces some of the island's finest agricole. This cluster of attractions makes Chamarel the most efficient half-day itinerary on the island.
The West: Flic en Flac and Le Morne
Flic en Flac is the west coast's main beach town, longer and less manicured than Belle Mare, with a local character that the east coast resorts lack. The diving here is exceptional; the Rempart Serpent and Karpata sites regularly appear on lists of the Indian Ocean's best wreck and wall dives.
Le Morne Brabant is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a basalt peninsula rising 556 metres from the southwest tip of the island. The mountain was a refuge for escaped enslaved people in the 18th and early 19th centuries and carries significant cultural weight beyond its considerable visual presence. Kite-surfing conditions at the lagoon below Le Morne are among the best in the world.
Port Louis: The Capital
No visit to Mauritius is complete without at least a day in Port Louis. The Central Market is the most honest cross-section of Mauritian daily life, vendors selling fresh turmeric, street food, and handmade textiles in a covered Victorian-era building. The Caudan Waterfront offers a more polished harbour-side experience with restaurants, a casino, and the Blue Penny Museum, which houses two of the world's rarest stamps.
Practical Mauritius: Banking for Visitors and New Residents
For anyone spending more than a week in Mauritius, or seriously considering a move, understanding the local banking infrastructure matters. Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) is the island's largest and oldest bank, founded in 1838. MCB's internet banking platform, widely known as MCB Internet Banking, allows account holders to manage transfers, pay bills, and access statements online. The platform is available in English and French and supports both personal and business accounts.
Other major institutions offering internet banking in Mauritius include SBM (State Bank of Mauritius) and Absa Mauritius (formerly Barclays). For internationally mobile professionals, MCB and SBM both offer non-resident accounts that can be opened remotely with the right documentation, a practical first step before relocating.
Job Opportunities in Mauritius: What the Market Looks Like
Mauritius has deliberately positioned itself as a regional business hub for Africa and the Indian Ocean. The job market in Mauritius is concentrated in several key sectors:
- Financial services and fintech, Mauritius is a major offshore financial centre and a gateway for investment into sub-Saharan Africa. Accountants, compliance officers, fund administrators, and risk analysts are consistently in demand.
- Tourism and hospitality, The island's resort industry employs tens of thousands and regularly recruits internationally for management, F&B, and specialist roles.
- ICT and business process outsourcing (BPO), A growing sector, with several global firms operating regional hubs from Ebène Cybercity, the island's dedicated tech and finance district south of Port Louis.
- Healthcare and education, Both sectors have seen investment and carry demand for qualified professionals.
Career opportunities in Mauritius for foreign nationals are accessible under the island's Occupation Permit scheme, which combines a work and residence permit into a single document. The three categories, Professional, Self-Employed, and Investor, each carry specific income or investment thresholds. The permit is typically valid for three years and renewable.
For job listings, the MyJob.mu platform is the dominant local jobs board and the most reliable starting point for anyone searching jobs in Mauritius online. Government vacancies are listed through the Public Service Commission. Multinational firms operating in Mauritius often post directly to LinkedIn.
The combination of a 15% flat income tax rate, a stable legal system based on English and French law, and direct flights to Europe, Asia, and Africa makes Mauritius job opportunities attractive to professionals who want to work in a well-regulated environment without the cost base of Singapore or Dubai.
Planning Your Visit: Practical Notes
- Best time to visit: May to December offers the driest, coolest weather. January to March is cyclone season, not off-limits, but plan with flexibility.
- Getting around: Car hire is the most practical option. Roads are well-maintained but narrow in places; driving is on the left.
- Currency: Mauritian Rupee (MUR). ATMs are widely available, and MCB Internet Banking makes managing finances straightforward for longer stays.
- Language: English and French are both official languages. Mauritian Creole is the everyday spoken language but English is understood everywhere tourists and professionals need it.
Mauritius rewards the visitor who plans with some care, not because it is difficult, but because the island has more layers than a week-long beach holiday reveals. Those who look further tend not to leave quickly.