Mauritius Currency and Money Guide

The currency

Mauritius uses the Mauritian rupee. It is not the Indian rupee, the Seychellois rupee or the Sri Lankan rupee, and none of them is interchangeable, which matters if you are touring the region.

Cards work here, and that is unusual for this program

Mauritius has a developed banking sector and card acceptance is wide: hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, tour operators and larger shops all take cards routinely. ATMs are plentiful in towns and at the airport.

Where you still want cash:

• Markets, including the central market in Port Louis.
• Buses and shared transport.
• Small local restaurants and street food.
• Tips.
• Smaller operators and boat trips.

⚠ The vendor rule

The FCDO's advice on protecting yourself includes a line that reads oddly until you have been on a Mauritian beach: do not do business with street or beach vendors.

It sits in the crime section rather than the shopping section, and the reason is that transactions begun informally on a beach are a recurring source of disputes, pressure selling and outright theft. Buy from shops, markets and registered operators. It is not a rule about being unfriendly.

The companion instruction, also from the FCDO, is to only rent accommodation registered with the Mauritius Tourism Authority. Both are checkable before you pay anyone anything. See Mauritius Travel Safety Guide.

Keeping money safe

Most crime here is opportunist: theft of unattended bags and burglaries from tourist villas, with petty crime concentrated in Port Louis, Grand Baie and Flic en Flac. The countermeasures are ordinary. Use the hotel safe, do not leave a bag on a sun lounger while you swim, and do not walk alone at night on beaches or in poorly lit streets.

Tipping

Tipping is not obligatory and is genuinely appreciated in a large service economy. A service charge may already appear on a restaurant bill, so check before adding to it. Round up for taxis, and tip guides, boat crews and housekeeping directly in cash. Small notes are more useful than good intentions.

Costs, in shape rather than in numbers

Mauritius spans a wide range. The same island holds international resort pricing and a street-food economy, and you can spend at either end on the same day. The practical advice is to eat at least some meals outside the hotel: it is cheaper, it is better, and it is the part of the trip people remember. See Mauritius Food Guide.

We deliberately publish no prices. Every figure on these pages is one a named authority publishes, and neither government publishes a cost of living for visitors. A number invented here would be stale before you read it.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mauritius safety and security: crime, the accommodation-registration advice, drug law, police investigations and the decriminalization of same-sex sexual activity in October 2023. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mauritius entry requirements: passport validity, the 60-day visa-free allowance, the compulsory digital travel form and the health screening on arrival. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mauritius travel advice, which warns against travel to no part of the country. Accessed 14 September 2026.