Mauritius can be cheap or expensive depending entirely on where you sleep and eat, not on anything you are forced into. Here is what an honest day actually costs, broken into three realistic ways to travel.
Food
A street-food breakfast of dholl puri runs about 25 to 40 rupees for two, and a full morning of eating well, a dholl puri, a bag of gateaux piments and a plate of mine frite, comes to well under 200 rupees a head. A sit-down lunch or dinner at a small Sino-Mauritian or Creole place runs roughly 250 to 400 rupees a head. A resort dinner is a different budget entirely, often several thousand rupees a head once drinks are included.
Getting around
Local buses cost roughly 17 to 47 rupees a ride depending on distance. A full day with a hired taxi and driver runs somewhere around 2,500 to 4,000 rupees, usually split between three or four people. A return crossing to Ile aux Cerfs runs roughly 700 to 1,200 rupees per person.
Connectivity
A tourist SIM with a month of unlimited data costs around 1,500 rupees, which works out to roughly 50 rupees a day if you are staying that long, less value if your trip is shorter.
Three realistic days
- Backpacker, self-catering or street food, bus and bar stools: food under 300 rupees, transport under 100 rupees, a beer or two in the evening, for a day comfortably under 1,000 rupees before accommodation.
- Mid-range, sit-down meals and the odd taxi: food around 800 to 1,200 rupees, transport and activities around 500 to 1,000 rupees, for a day in the 1,500 to 2,500 rupee range before accommodation.
- Resort, most meals on-site: food and drink easily 3,000 rupees or more a head, plus excursions; accommodation is the real cost here, not the day-to-day spend.
What this does not include
None of this covers where you sleep, which swings the total far more than anything above. A guesthouse, a mid-range hotel and an all-inclusive resort can differ by a factor of ten a night. Food, transport and small activities are the part of the trip you can actually control day to day; accommodation is the decision that sets the ceiling.
