What currency do I pay with in Mauritius? How much do goods cost in a regular supermarket and how much in a restaurant?

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Mauritian Rupee (MUR)

The local currency is the Mauritian Rupee (MUR), which is divided into 100 cents.

Coins are worth 1, 5, 10 and 20 rupees and 5, 20 and 50 cents (these are rarely used). Bank notes carry values of 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 rupees.

• International currency code: MUR (numeric code 480)
• Currency symbol: Rs.

Can I pay in foreign currency in Mauritius?

Usually no. The only official currency is the Mauritian rupee.

Some hotels or tour operators organising organised trips may accept Euros and, exceptionally, US dollars, but card payments are more usual. When paying in foreign currency, beware of the often very unfavourable conversion rate offered by the hotel or agency.

We recommend always paying in Mauritian rupees or by card.

Exchange offices and card payments

Mauritian rupees cannot usually be exchanged anywhere outside Mauritius.

ATMs

ATMs can be found in all major towns and there are many ATMs at the main MRU airport.

Usually foreign card withdrawals are charged an amount 50 mur or 75 mur.

Have you come across a bank in Mauritius whose ATMs were free to withdraw from? Share with other travelers in the comments below this article!

Currency exchange

Currency exchange offices are widespread not only at the airport but also in town centres, but they usually offer worse rates than the ATM withdrawal fee.

Generally, the most favourable exchange rate is from the Euro or South African Rand.

Card payments - is cash needed in Mauritius?

Paying by credit or debit card is widespread in Mauritius. You can pay by card in all shopping centres, supermarkets, the vast majority of restaurants and virtually all tourist attractions.

Card payments are even allowed by some vendors in market places.

Cash is useful when travelling on public transport where cards are not accepted and when visiting markets (most vendors do not accept cards).

Honestly though, in the entire 10 days I was in Mauritius, apart from taking the bus, I only needed cash 3 times when buying local snacks at markets and on the beach directly from locals.

How much does what cost - how expensive is Mauritius?

Mauritius is generally an average expensive destination. Slightly cheaper than Europe, significantly cheaper than Australia or the US, but more expensive than say Asian countries or Zanzibar.

On the other hand, Mauritius is much cheaper than the neighbouring islands of Reunion and the Seychelles.

The really cheap places to eat are the street stalls, which are a tasty and inexpensive dining option. Prices in restaurants are, with a few exceptions, in the more than acceptable price range. As far as transport is concerned, the bus service is very cheap but unfortunately also very slow. Taxis are a faster alternative, but they are not cheap.

Example of prices in Mauritius

How much does basic food, tourist attractions or transport cost in Mauritius? We visited most supermarkets, many tourist attractions and paid that much:

Hotels and accommodation

• 3* hotel by the sea with breakfast in high season - from 6 500 mur
• Private apartments further from the sea without meals - from 2 000 mur
• Hotel out of season in town - from 3 000 mur
• Check hotel prices on booking.com

Restaurant prices

• Main meal in a regular local restaurant - between 100 mur and 200 mur
• Main meal in a tourist restaurant - from 350 mur
• Fast-food (burgers, Mine Frite and other hot meals) at a stand on the beach - from 75 mur
• Local delicacies (samosa, dhol puri, roti) - from 25 mur
• Drinks in the restaurant - around 55 mur for lemonade, around 30 mur for water
• Capuccino or espresso - 125 mur

Attractions and sunbeds on the beach

• Day boat trip with lunch and snorkeling - from 3 000 mur
• Kitesurfing school for 2 hours - 4 500 mur
• Diving school (2 dives) - 24 000 mur
• Scuba diving for the more experienced (2 dives) - - 8 000 mur
• Pedal boat rental for an hour - 350 mur
• Rent 2 sun loungers and umbrella per day - 450 mur (always free for hotel guests)

Food prices at the shop and market

• 1 apple, pear or orange at the market - around 10 mur
• 1.5 litres of water - 30 mur
• Lemonade 0.5 l - 45 mur
• Toasted bread 0.5 kg - 30 mur
• Packed sandwich - 70 mur
• Canned tuna - from 35 mur
• Large Pringles - from 70 mur
• 1 l juice - 150 mur
• 1 l of milk - 65 mur
• 1 kg of tomatoes - 135 mur
• 1 kg of chicken - 255 mur
• 1 kg of beef - 550 mur

Prices of cigarettes and alcohol

• 0.5 litres of local draught beer in a restaurant - 100 mur
• 0.5 litre of beer in a shop - from 70 mur
• A bottle of wine in a shop - 500 mur
• Bottle of local rum - from 350 mur
• A packet of cigarettes - 300 mur

Transport prices

• Taxi - depends on agreement or from some places there are fixed rates, usual prices are as follows
  • 10 km drive approx. 800 mur
  • 25 km drive approx. 1 200 mur
  • 50 km drive approx. 3 000 mur
  • in the direction from the airport you will always pay approximately 30% to 50% more than in the direction to the airport
• One-way local bus ticket - 15 mur to 48 mur depending on distance
• 1 litre of petrol - on average 70 mur
• Car rental for the day - from 1 700 mur depending on the season of the rental
• Compare car rental prices in Mauritius

Tipping and haggling

Locals don't usually tip, which is all the more appreciated by waiters in restaurants.

Still, tipping is not a requirement in Mauritius and if you don't tip, no one will be offended.

Bargaining is not common in Mauritius, even in markets where most items have fixed prices.

How to save

Generally, the closer to high season, the higher the prices of accommodation and car hire.

So if you want to explore rather than lie on the beach, head to Mauritius during the local winter, from May to September.

Transport

If you're a fan of low-budget travel, bus transport will be the right choice.

A dense network of buses criss-crosses the island, however, it is a very slow way of getting around and while you will save money, you will lose a lot of time. We have compiled the information and our experience in the Transport chapter.

The ideal option is to rent a car, which costs just around 30 euros per day. Remember, however, that there is left-hand driving and drivers sometimes don't respect all the rules of the road!

We describe our extensive driving experience in the chapter Car rental in Mauritius.

Taxis are the most expensive form of transport.

Food

So-called street-food in the form of kebabs in a baguette, roti pancakes, fried triple-peel samousa or freshly sliced pineapple is a very cheap and tasty option for eating out.

The food from the stalls and markets here is safe and not once did we feel sick. It is on eating out that one can probably save the most in Mauritius, as street food is very cheap compared to restaurants and supermarkets!

A baguette with kebab goes for 80 rupees, a samoussa for 5-20 rupees a piece, and a freshly cut pineapple for 30-60 rupees depending on the size.

Daily budgets

To give you a better idea, we have prepared three variations of daily budgets.

The low budget traveller - eats at street food places or cooks his own food from food bought from markets, so he spends around 250 mur on food for the day.

For accommodation in apartments with a kitchenette, they pay around 850 mur per night/person and for bus transport they pay on average around 150 mur per day. The lowest daily cost will therefore be around 1 300 mur.

Regular traveller - we recommend combining street food with regular restaurants or hotel breakfasts. In this case, a meal a day will cost you on average 600 mur. You will choose to stay in a 3* or 4* hotel near the beach for 3 000 mur / person / night.

Once during your holiday you will pay for a full day boat trip for 3 000 mur and throughout your stay you will have a rental car for Rs. 1,700 per day, or 850 mur per person / day when travelling two people. You will pay for petrol after budgeting per person about 1 400 mur.

In total, a day in Mauritius will cost you about 5 500 mur.

Holidays with a travel agent - if you trust a travel agent, prepare for a minimum of about 1 200 eur per person, but this price includes return airfare from Europe, where tours to Mauritius are most often organised.