Stuff to Do in Mauritius: A Practical Guide for Visitors and Residents
Mauritius is a 2,040 km² island in the southwest Indian Ocean, roughly 900 km east of Madagascar, and it rewards the kind of traveller who plans carefully and leaves room for the unexpected. The island offers a dense concentration of things to do, water sports, cultural sites, mountain trails, and one of the most sophisticated financial and professional ecosystems in Africa, all within a two-hour drive of each other. Whether you are here for two weeks or considering a permanent move, the range is wider than most people expect.
Outdoor Activities Worth Prioritising
The Lagoon and Reef System
The west and north coasts hold the calmest waters and the most accessible reef snorkelling. Blue Bay Marine Park in the southeast is the most ecologically protected stretch, coral cover is dense, fish populations are high, and the park authority limits boat traffic. For kite surfing, Le Morne on the southwest peninsula generates consistent trade winds between May and November, drawing competitive riders from across the Indian Ocean region.
The east coast lagoon runs from Trou d'Eau Douce south to Mahébourg and is reef-protected, clear, and relatively uncrowded outside school holidays. Île aux Cerfs, accessible by a short boat crossing from Trou d'Eau Douce, is the most visited island day trip on the east coast, the golf course here is one of the few in the world played partly over water.
Hiking and the Interior
The Black River Gorges National Park covers roughly 67 km² of native forest in the southwest and contains the island's most serious hiking trails. The Macchabée ridge trail offers unobstructed views across the gorges and out to the coast. Le Pouce (812 m) and Corps de Garde are closer to Port Louis and accessible in a half-day. Neither requires a guide, but both demand proper footwear, the basalt rock becomes slippery quickly in rain.
The Seven Coloured Earths at Chamarel is a geological formation of volcanic ash dunes in seven distinct pigments. It is a short visit but genuinely worth the drive through the sugarcane plateau.
Cultural Sites and the Capital
Port Louis is the financial and cultural capital. The Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is where indentured labourers arrived from India between 1834 and 1923, and the museum documents one of the most significant migration histories in the Indian Ocean. The Central Market in Port Louis is functional rather than touristic: vendors sell fresh produce, street food, and local spices. The Caudan Waterfront area alongside it has restaurants, galleries, and the only casino in the capital.
Mahébourg in the south houses the National History Museum, which covers the 1810 Battle of Grand Port, the only Napoleonic naval victory engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Food, Rum, and the Table
Mauritius has a genuinely layered food culture built from Creole, Indian, Chinese, and French culinary traditions. Dholl puri, a flatbread filled with split pea purée and served with rougaille, is the most common street food and costs under a dollar at roadside stands. The fish market at Grand Baie and the morning market at Flacq (the largest outdoor market on the island, held on Wednesdays and Sundays) are both worth visiting for produce and prepared food.
The island produces rum at several distilleries. Rhumerie de Chamarel offers a full distillery tour with tastings; St Aubin in the south combines rum production with a colonial estate lunch that runs to five courses.
Living and Working in Mauritius: Career Opportunities
For internationally mobile professionals, Mauritius presents a serious relocation case. The island has positioned itself as a regional financial hub, with a favourable tax regime (flat income tax rate of 15%), a growing fintech sector, and a government actively issuing occupation permits to skilled foreign nationals.
Job Opportunities in Mauritius
Job opportunities in Mauritius are concentrated in financial services, ICT and business process outsourcing, hospitality management, and increasingly in renewable energy and blue economy sectors. The Mauritius Board of Investment (now Economic Development Board) maintains a register of in-demand skills. Professionals in accounting, software development, engineering, and healthcare find the most direct pathways to employment.
Career opportunities in Mauritius for foreign nationals are accessed primarily through the Occupation Permit scheme, which combines a work and residence permit into a single document. Applications are processed online and decisions are typically issued within a few weeks. The permit is valid for up to ten years for investors and three years (renewable) for professionals.
Local job listings are aggregated on several platforms, searching for jobs in Mauritius or Mauritius job opportunities on LinkedIn, MyJob.mu, and Careers.mu returns active listings across sectors. The government's own job portal at emploi.govmu.org lists public sector vacancies.
The Financial Infrastructure
For residents and businesses, the banking infrastructure is mature. Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) is the largest commercial bank on the island by assets and was founded in 1838. Internet banking through MCB, often searched as internet banking MCB Mauritius or internet banking Mauritius Commercial Bank, is available through the MCB Juice platform, which handles personal transfers, bill payments, and foreign currency transactions. The platform is accessible via browser and mobile app, and MCB's international banking division serves clients across Africa and the broader Indian Ocean region.
Other major banks operating in Mauritius include SBM (State Bank of Mauritius), AfrAsia Bank, and Barclays (now ABSA). All offer online banking services, and the local SWIFT infrastructure connects seamlessly to international wire transfer systems.
Practical Notes for Planning
The best time to visit Mauritius for outdoor activity is May to November, the austral winter brings dry conditions, lower humidity, and consistent trade winds. December to March is cyclone season; the island rarely takes a direct hit, but heavy rain and rough seas are common.
The south of the island, from Souillac to Baie du Cap, is the least developed and most worth the drive. The Gris Gris cliffs, the natural arch at Rochester Falls, and the fishing villages along the coastal road carry a different register than the resort north. The roads are slower and the signage is sparse, but that is precisely the point.
Mauritius has no entry visa requirement for most nationalities for stays up to 90 days. The main airport is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, located in the southeast near Mahébourg, with direct connections to London, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, and several African capitals.