GETTING AROUND MAURITIUS
“Getting around the island of Mauritius might not be as straightforward as you'd expect, with high taxi prices and not the most reliable bus services you might want to think about your transport options in advance.
Here I have given insight into what it's like getting around Mauritius from my own experiences, I cannot guarantee that your experience will be the same as mine! So if you don't find what you are looking for you can always contact me by clicking on one of the inquiry form buttons throughout this site".
Karen
TAXI
First and foremost, taxis, as this will probably be the transport you take from the airport to your new home or holiday stay. Taxis aren't very popular for residents on the island as they are fairly expensive. There is no uber or grab so taxis are able to put their prices up.
Taxis have a big yellow sticker indicating their hotel/region, other than this taxis come in all shapes and sized and even small minivans can be organised for large groups.
Some taxis have metres in them but many don't work and drivers prefer to agree on a price, make sure you agree before the ride starts! It is also always a good idea to ask around and see what the usual rates are, as it is known that locals/residents pay a different price to expats and tourists.
20 minute drive day time 600RS
20-minute drive after 12:00 AM 800RS
Mahebourg Airport to Grande Baie 2,000RS
CAR HIRE
Renting a car, whether it's short term or longer term might be a better alternative to taking the bus or taxi. There are some big named car rental agencies such as Europe Car and ABC Car Rental, as well as many small privately owned and run businesses belonging to locals.
Before buying a car here in Mauritius we rented one for a few months before we were set on staying long term. We happened to make really good friends with a young man who would chat with my husband at the gym in the morning. It turned out he had been saving up to buy an extra car to rent it out so his mother could retire from factory work. We were very pleased to help him and once we bought our own car passed his contact to friends of ours. If you can find an opportunity like this you will be helping out friends and saving a little bit of money.
Long term rental is usually charged per month and is approximately 15,00RS
Short term rental is usually charged per day and is approximately 2,000RS
*These figures are for smaller 4/5 seater cars
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BUS
The famous brightly coloured buses of Mauritius are definitely an experience and very cheap in comparison to cars and taxis! Famous not only for their lovely decoration but also slightly erratic driving and bad exhausts, if you are driving be sure to give them a wide birth.
Buses run all over the island with the main terminals being in Port Lois, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Flaq, and Mahebourg. In urban areas buses can start running as early as 05:30 Am and late as 20:30 PM however, in smaller towns they usually start at 06:30 AM and finish at 18:30PM.
Most travel destinations will need you to change buses which is confusing and time-consuming. When you have the option, opt for the Express bus, these are faster, have fewer stops, and also have aircon systems.
A typical bus journey can cost anything from 15-50RS (less than $2) and if you are a student you should contact your school about a bus pass and your travel will be free of charge.
People over the age of 60 also travel free.
TRAM
The Mauritius 'Metro Express' is a government-owned company created in 2016. Their idea was to create a new sector in the local transport industry that is modern, new, sustainable, safe, and comfortable.
The resulting transport system is the metro. The plan was to run the metro trains from the airport to the north of the island. However, the build is happening in phases and so far only phase 1 is complete and operating.
This means you can now (2022) take the metro from Rose Hill to Port Louis. Phase 2 is well underway stretching the tracks down toward Curepipe.
Friends of mine use the metro as a cleaner, cooler alternative to the bus. Although they say it is a little more pricey, they enjoy the fun of working the state-of-the-art ticket machines and trying a new mode of transport.
The metro trains come every 10-20 minutes and travel faster than the buses as they cut through the traffic.
At the moment a ticket from Rose Hill to Port Louis is approximately 40MUR.
BOAT
Being on an island you'd expect lots of people to boat around, and they do. However, it is used more for excursions to outer islands or for fishing and cruises.
To my knowledge, there don't seem to be any ferry-type boats operating to take passengers from one end of the island to the other. This might be because fuel is expensive and traveling by boat isn't the fastest mode of transport.
I know there are long cruises from Mauritius to Reunion Island or Seychelles, but these are special trips and cost a lot of money. I don't know anyone who has done this and it doesn't really count as 'Getting around Mauritius'
Having said this, friends of ours living in Tamarin often take their boats down to Le Morne beach, as this is much quicker and a lot more fun!
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CYCLING AND SCOOTERS
Mauritius is definitely not cyclist-friendly in terms of road structures. In fact, the only cyclists you see are professional road bikers going very quickly or local boys riding very beaten up old bikes, going very slowly!
Either way, it is a dangerous game as drivers are not accustomed to having cyclists on the road and the roads were not designed with cyclists in mind and so are very small with high-speed limits. The only place I would advise cycling is along the quieter coastal roads but be cautious.
Scooters are available for hire around the island and are a cheaper alternative to cars. You will see lots of scooters and motorcycles on the island, with many being very old little bikes from the 90's. Usually seen driven by older local men carrying huge piles of sugar cane, they tend to take up most of the road so watch out.
Hiring a scooter is a fun way to get around however the quickest way to get around to different areas of the island is to take the highway. Scooters unfortunately are not allowed on this highway. In addition, if you are traveling across the island trips can take up to 2 hours so maybe a car would be a better option.
Scooter rental is between 1,000 and 2,000 MUR depending on the model and year.
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