Mauritius Airport has a single terminal at Plaine Magnien, in the island's south-east corner. Collect your car on arrival and you are ten minutes from the waterfront at Mahébourg, a quarter of an hour from the Blue Bay lagoon and about 45 minutes from the sacred lake at Grand Bassin – with the M1 motorway north to Port Louis and Grand Baie starting just outside the airport.
Mauritius Airport has a single terminal at Plaine Magnien, in the island's south-east corner. Collect your car on arrival and you are ten minutes from the waterfront at Mahébourg, a quarter of an hour from the Blue Bay lagoon and about 45 minutes from the sacred lake at Grand Bassin – with the M1 motorway north to Port Louis and Grand Baie starting just outside the airport.
Mauritius car hire: debit card, not credit card
You can rent without a credit card. A refundable security deposit is taken on your debit card at pick-up and released after return; the amount is on each car before you book.
Deposit and excess shown up front
Each car lists its insurance options, its excess and the refundable debit-card deposit before you book, so nothing about the cover is a surprise at the desk.
No airport surcharge
Direct prices from Mauritian partners. What you book is what you pay at pick-up, with no desk fee bolted on at the terminal.
Cheaper than the hotel transfer
A taxi from the airport to the north or west coast costs a good part of a day's rental each way. Collect the car on arrival and the transfer is simply your first drive.
Built for an early landing
Many long-haul flights reach Mauritius in the early morning. Add your flight number at booking and the desk works to the real landing time, not the time on the voucher.
Most visitors drive straight past the south-east on the way to their hotel. It is worth a morning: the island's first port, its calmest lagoon and a nature reserve all lie within twenty minutes of the terminal.
The old port town on Grand Port bay, where the French and British navies fought in 1810. Walk the waterfront, visit the free National History Museum in a colonial mansion, and come on Monday for the busy market.
A protected lagoon of clear, shallow water and coral gardens on the south-east tip. Snorkel straight from the public beach, or take a glass-bottom boat out over the reef.
A coral island nature reserve in the bay off Pointe Jérôme, where guided walks lead through restored ebony forest past giant tortoises and pink pigeons. Book the boat and tour in advance.
Near Souillac the reef stops and the ocean hits black basalt cliffs head-on. Gris Gris and La Roche qui Pleure are for looking, not swimming; the cliff-top lawns make a good picnic stop.
From the airport, the M1 runs north to Port Louis, and good roads climb west across the central plateau to the gorges and the south-west coast.
about 45 min to Grand Bassin
Up to the crater lake of Grand Bassin, the island's most sacred Hindu site, guarded by a 33 m statue of Shiva, then on through the forest to the viewpoints of Black River Gorges National Park.
about 1h15 one way
West to the bands of coloured sand at Chamarel and its waterfall, then down to the coast below Le Morne Brabant, the UNESCO-listed mountain where escaped slaves took refuge. Return along the south coast.
45–50 min to Trou d'Eau Douce
North up the east coast to the long beaches of Belle Mare and the jetty at Trou d'Eau Douce, where boats cross to the white sands of Île aux Cerfs. Go early on weekdays to beat the crowds.
about 1h to Port Louis
Up the M1 to the capital's Central Market, Caudan Waterfront and the Aapravasi Ghat, then on along the M2 to the north coast at Grand Baie. Avoid the motorway into Port Louis before 9:30 on weekdays.
Keep left from the car park
Mauritius drives on the left, in right-hand-drive cars. The first roundabout outside the airport is where habit takes over, so say "left" out loud until it stops feeling odd.
After a night flight, take it easy
Most flights from Europe land after a night in the air. If you are tired, drive the motorway rather than the coast road, and stop for coffee before the hour-long run north.
Watch for the speed cameras
Fixed cameras sit along the M1 and on the approaches to every town, and the limit drops quickly from 110 on the motorway to 40–60 in villages. Fines reach you through the rental partner.
Allow time for Port Louis
Heading north, the motorway through the capital slows from about 7:00 to 9:30 and in the late afternoon. On your last day, leave the north coast at least two and a half hours before your flight.
Fuel is served for you
Fuel stations are attended: say how much you want and pay the attendant, by card or in rupees. There are plenty along the M1, but fewer on the south and south-west coasts.
Unlit roads after dark
Away from the motorway, roads between villages are often unlit, with pedestrians, cyclists and dogs at the edge. It is dark by about 18:00 in the southern winter, so plan the long drives for daylight.
Yes – you rent with a debit card. A refundable security deposit is taken on that debit card at pick-up and released after you return the car. Its amount is shown on each car before you book, so you know exactly what will be held.
It depends on the car and the cover you choose, and it is shown on each car before you book. It is held on your debit card at pick-up and released after you return the car; your bank may take a few working days to show it.
Mauritius Airport has a single passenger terminal, so there is no terminal to choose. Your voucher names the exact meeting point in or outside arrivals and your pick-up time.
The car is held for an hour past your booked pick-up time, within the station's opening hours. Give us your flight number when you book and the desk can follow the actual arrival rather than the time on the voucher.
About 1h15 to Grand Baie and the north-west beaches on the M1 and M2, and about 1h15 to Le Morne or Flic en Flac in the west. Add 30–45 minutes if you pass Port Louis between 7:00 and 9:30 on a weekday.
A valid national licence is normally enough for a holiday rental, especially if it is printed in English or French. If yours uses another alphabet, bring an International Driving Permit too. The desk checks it at pick-up.
There are no tolls anywhere in Mauritius. There are many fixed speed cameras, especially on the M1 and at the entrance to towns, and limits drop to 40–60 km/h through villages, so watch the signs closely.
Twenty-one, with at least a year of driving behind you. Some vehicle categories ask for more; each car shows its minimum next to the deposit before you book.
Mauritius Airport (MRU)
Book in minutes with a debit card, see the deposit on each car before you choose, and collect at the terminal when you land.
