Are you heading to Mauritius and wondering if it’s safe to rent a car and drive? Driving in Mauritius has its own unique challenges so in this post we will cover everything there is to know about driving in the small African island nation. Once you’ve read through you’ll be in a much better position to decide if renting a car on your trip to Mauritius is for you or not.
So read on to learn everything you need to know about driving in Mauritius!
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Renting a Vehicle
Renting a car is a good idea in Mauritius. It’s not a necessity, but if you plan on leaving your resort and doing some activities – like a catamaran tour or hiking – life will be much easier with your own vehicle.
Most of the big international rental agencies like Sixt, Budget, and Avis have locations at Sir Seewoosagur International Airport (MRU). On top of the household names, there are tons of smaller, local rental agencies. You’ll find the local agencies usually have much better rates, and most of them are quite positively reviewed on Discovercars.
I usually just go with who is cheapest for my dates unless they have terrible reviews. I recommend supporting the local economy and using a local rental agency in Mauritius.
Click here to find a great rate on a rental car in Mauritius!
While there are options to rent cars away from the airport, you’ll most likely pick up your car when you arrive at MRU. The rental car terminal is a small building just outside of the main exit. Follow the signs and you can’t miss it. There are small desks for each rental agency.
Pay attention when you book, however, to make sure you are getting a car from “in terminal” if you don’t want to deal with a shuttle to an off-airport location. Many of the smaller companies don’t have a spot at the airport so they have to pick you up and take you to their office. If you have time and want to save the money it’s not a big deal. If you just want to get your car at the airport, though, make sure to pay attention when booking as to where the rental office is located.
Travel Insurance
Another thing you want to strongly consider when driving around Mauritius is having a good travel insurance plan. We use World Nomads when we travel the world. World Nomads provides coverage to travelers in over 100 countries. You can find a great policy on World Nomads by using the link below.
Rules of the Road
The rules of the road are no different in Mauritius than your standard western country, other than driving on the left. Speed limit signs are regularly posted and, in general, signage is sufficient. As in most countries, turning on red is not allowed (take note Americans).
Driving in Mauritius is more similar to driving in Eastern Europe than driving in a developing nation. Think like driving across Greece or Slovenia. The roads aren’t the best, so not quite driving in Canada or France, but the drivers are mostly good and the road is not absolute chaos (with one exception as we will see below). Drivers follow the rules and anyone can drive there, no special third world driving experience needed.
Some countries are fussy about needing an International Driver’s Permit to rent a vehicle, but this is not needed in Mauritius. Just make sure you have a valid drivers license and a credit card and the rental company should not give you any trouble. There are also no toll roads so you don’t have to deal with that either.
Road Conditions
The roads in Mauritius are pretty well maintained. It does rain a lot on the island, especially in the mountainous center, so potholes and road construction are not uncommon. The island has a vast network of paved roads and there aren’t many unpaved roads. If you do have a route that takes you on an unpaved road – like if you’re going to hike Le Morne Brabant – just allow some extra time because the unpaved roads can be incredibly bumpy.
In general, the roads are pretty narrow. Even the trucks in Mauritius are pretty small, and if you’re behind a sugarcane truck, good luck getting past it. The lack of straightaways doesn’t help either. Most roads in Mauritius are winding with curve after curve. And if you’re not sticking to the coast, you’ll be climbing up and down hills too.
So in summary, the roads themselves in Mauritius are very good quality for an African nation and have more in common with most modern developed nations than developing nations. Now what’s on the side of the road is a whole other issue. But know that the roads themselves are good.
Highways and Motorways
As Mauritius is a small island I’m sure you can imagine that motorways are limited. There is one motorway, the B2, on the island and it connects Port Louis in the north to the airport in the south. By motorway I mean a divided highway with at least two lanes in each direction.
There is also the TerreRouge-Verdun-Trianan Link Road that has two lanes on each side, but I wouldn’t call it a true motorway since it has roundabouts. The M2 has proper exits.
Other major roads on the island, which you might consider highways, are single lane in each direction and quite narrow overall. They don’t move a whole lot faster than the other roads .
Driving on the Left
Even though modern-day Mauritius might have its closest ties to France, the British rule left its mark on the island when it comes to the roads. You drive on the left in Mauritius, like most other former British colonies and commonwealth nations.
If you’ve never driven on the left before, don’t worry. It’s something most people as pick up right away. Mauritius is not the easiest place to have your fist at left side driving experience, but certainly not the worst. It’s not like it’s India or anything. If you’ve never done it before, that shouldn’t scare you away.
Stopped Vehicles
If you read only one section of this post I hope it’s this. I’ve driven in over 50 countries and never experienced anything like the amount of stopped vehicles in the middle of the road as you see in Mauritius.
What I mean by this is that drivers in Mauritius literally just stop in the middle of the road and leave their cars. For what, you say? For anything, really. To go to a store. To wait for someone. To have a nap (seriously). Or my personal favorite: to have a conversation with someone else also stopped on the other side of the road.
I’ve seen cars stopped in the road before in many countries but it’s just extraordinary here. It’s everywhere and all the time. And to make matters worse none of the roads have medians or breakdown lanes so the only way to get by is to go into the other side of the road to get around the stopped car. And naturally the stopped cars are usually in the villages and towns right where you don’t want them to be.
All this is to say that you have to be constantly looking out for stopped cars in the road. Do not take your eye off the road and be careful when passing by. And, I guess, if you wanna just stop in the road for the hell of it nobody will bat an eye!
Traffic in Mauritius
Building on the last section, stopped cars often lead to traffic. Luckily there aren’t too many people in the countryside so the delays to get around a stopped car are usually minimal. A bigger worry would be getting stuck behind a truck (see next section), as the roads are mostly too winding to pass safely.
The majority of the population lives in and around the capital city of Port Louis. This means that traffic can actually get pretty bad during the morning and late afternoon rush hour getting in and out of the city. I say late afternoon because literally everything closes by 4:30 in Mauritius. Okay not literally, but most shops and tourist sites close down by then. The city is actually pretty dead after 5:00.
Either way, assuming you’re not coming to Mauritius to hang out in the city, traffic is not too bad but you can get stuck for one reason or another just about anywhere.
Sugar Cane Trucks
I mentioned earlier about getting stuck behind a sugar cane truck. Sugar cane harvesting is big business in Mauritius. Half the island is covered in sugar cane fields and the sugar cane processing plant looks like something out of the Industrial Revolution.
If you’re driving a significant amount in Mauritius you’ll likely get stuck behind one of these trucks at some point. And I legit mean stuck. They go slow as a sloth and they are so big and the roads so winding that it’s really tough to get around them.
Luckily you’re on island time and there’s no rush, right!? Just be sure to factor in some added time for getting from point A to point B if you’re on the eastern side of the island where the sugar cane fields mainly are. The western side of the island is mountainous with dense rainforest so no sugar cane trucks there.
People on the Road
As I’ve already mentioned, roads are quite narrow in Mauritius and there are no breakdown lanes. There are also no sidewalks in most villages. People just walk on the side of the road.
Be especially careful as you pass through towns and villages not to hit anyone walking on the side of the road! Between populated areas this is not an issue, but extra caution is definitely required where people are out and about.
Cars in Mauritius
Cars are pretty modern in Mauritius. It’s not like your rental is gonna have a CD player and lack power steering. My recommendation is to get as small of a car as you can handle due to the narrow, busy roads. The less surface area you have to hit someone or something the better.
The western half of the country is also very mountainous so smaller cars will be cheaper when you go to fill up the tank. For a large family this obviously isn’t possible but just keep in mind the vehicle type when renting.
Driving at Night
The biggest concern with driving at night is not seeing people walking on the side of the road. There is ample light in most towns and villages but you still gotta be on the lookout. Other than that there is no real reason to avoid driving at night.
Final Word
Driving in Mauritius is a great way to get around the country and explore everything this amazing island has to offer. There is so much more to Mauritius than just sitting at a beach resort, and renting a car and driving gives you the freedom to explore anything from hiking to playing with tortoises. So long as you are not afraid of driving on the left, having your own vehicle is the best option for a wonderful vacation in Mauritius!
