Is Mauritius Expensive? What Our Month Actually Cost
Published 30 October 2026
Mauritius can be a very different budget depending on the trip you're imagining. We spent a month there in apartments, cooking a lot of our meals, but we also went out for coffee, did a catamaran day, had sunset drinks and spent three days learning to dive. It wasn't a resort package or a backpacker challenge, and the numbers below are exactly what that looked like.
Quick answer: what did our month cost?
Our month in Mauritius cost A$4,528.31 each, or about A$9,057 for the two of us, before international flights. That covers 31 nights of accommodation, a hire car for the whole month, groceries, eating out, activities and a diving course, from 13 August to 13 September 2026. It works out at roughly A$146 per person per day, or about A$127 a day without the diving course. Our Vitamin Sea sunrise was gifted, so there's no cost for it in here.
So is Mauritius expensive? For a tropical island, I thought it was very doable if you self-cater and rent a car. Where it adds up is resort stays, boat days and evenings at places like LUX.
How much does a month in Mauritius cost?
Here's our whole month in one table. Everything is in Australian dollars at the rates we paid, per person, with the couple total next to it.
Scroll to see the full table →
| What | Per person, AUD | For two, AUD |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (31 nights, five bookings) | 1,469.68 | 2,939.36 |
| Groceries | 833.86 | 1,667.72 |
| Restaurants, coffee and drinks | 497.06 | 994.12 |
| Hire car for the month, plus fuel | 437.90 | 875.80 |
| Activities (diving course, catamaran, day pass, Chamarel, gyms) | 903.02 | 1,806.04 |
| Cash withdrawals and other | 328.57 | 657.14 |
| Shopping (pharmacy) | 58.22 | 116.44 |
| Total before flights | 4,528.31 | 9,056.62 |
A few things to know when you read it. We worked, went to the gym and cooked, so groceries are big and restaurants are small. The diving course alone was A$578.77 each, so a beach-and-boat holiday without it would be closer to A$3,950 each for the month. And a shorter holiday usually costs more per day, because you're doing more paid things in less time.
We paid cash for some meals and gym visits and recorded them as zero, because the cash withdrawal had already been counted. That's why "cash withdrawals and other" sits in the table as its own line: it's real spending, just not split by shop. It also includes a MUR750 tourist tax.
What we paid for accommodation
We booked five places across our three bases. The three Tamarin apartments weren't equally good: the first had problems and isn't one I'd recommend, our middle stay was the favourite, and the final one was good too.
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| Booking | Nights | Total for two, AUD | Per person, AUD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Baie Airbnb | 8 | 615.00 | 307.50 |
| First Tamarin apartment | 10 | 908.26 | 454.13 |
| Middle Tamarin apartment | 5 | 500.00 | 250.00 |
| Final Tamarin apartment | 4 | 346.36 | 173.18 |
| Blue Paradise, Blue Bay | 4 | 569.74 | 284.87 |
| Total | 31 | 2,939.36 | 1,469.68 |
That's about A$95 a night for the two of us across the month, or A$47 each. Having a kitchen was a big part of how we kept the rest of the budget down. These were our August and September 2026 prices, so check your own dates. Our where-to-stay guide explains which areas and places I'd book.
Groceries, cafés and eating out
Groceries were our biggest day-to-day cost at A$833.86 each for the month, and I'm glad we spent it there. The supermarkets were really good, with great fruit, veggies and meat, and cooking at home kept everything else affordable. Restaurants came to A$314.75 each, coffee A$87.92 and drinks A$94.39.
Some real prices from our month (per person, August and September 2026):
Scroll to see the full table →
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee at Coffee Shore, Tamarin | MUR200 |
| Signature coffee at Sketch, Tamarin | MUR290 to 400 |
| Cinnamon roll at KOKO Café | MUR100 |
| Fish curry lunch at Baz Lokal | MUR500 (cash) |
| Set-menu lunch at Palais de Barbizon, Chamarel | MUR800 |
| Double-patty burger at Esco Burger, Blue Bay | MUR550 |
| Sunset drinks and tapas at LUX Grand Baie | MUR2,562 |
In Tamarin our routine was coffee or matcha at Coffee Shore, poke bowls at The Break, cinnamon rolls from KOKO and lunch at Baz Lokal, alongside cooking. Our Tamarin food guide has all of them.
Car hire and fuel
Our car was MUR13,500 each, or MUR27,000 for the two of us, for the whole month, which came to A$811.34 for two. Fuel was another A$32.23 each. We hired it through our Grand Baie Airbnb host and kept it for all 31 days.
I'd budget for a car. It's how we got between apartments, supermarkets, beaches and outings without paying for transfers, and in quieter places like Blue Bay it made a big difference. If you want to price your own dates, you can compare car rental quotes and check what insurance is included. Our driving article covers what it's like on the roads.
Activities: the choices that changed the budget
The diving course was A$578.77 each for three days and five dives, and it was one of the best things we did. Someone choosing beach days instead would have a much smaller activities line.
The rest were much cheaper. Our northern-islands catamaran was MUR2,037 each (about A$61) with a big lunch and drinks included. Chamarel waterfall and Seven Coloured Earth was MUR800 each (about A$24). The Bay day pass in Tamarin was MUR2,000 each (about A$60), and the whole amount could be spent on food and drinks, so it was basically lunch with a pool and sunbeds. Bois Chéri tea tasting was MUR250 each.
Gyms were a regular cost for us: a seven-day pass at Ennoia in Grand Baie was MUR2,750 each, a month at RM Tamarin was MUR2,600 each (10am to 4pm access), and a local gym in Blue Bay was MUR400 for a visit.
Vitamin Sea hosted our private sunrise dolphin trip as a collaboration, so we didn't pay for it. Ask them for a quote if you'd like to add it to your budget.
Cash and travel money
We took out cash four times, A$306.42 each in total. Cash came in handy for private transfers, small local restaurants like Baz Lokal and some gyms. We used our Wise card at the airport ATM with no fees on our side, and you can compare Wise for travel money before you go. Check the fees on your own account.
Flights are separate
Our flight in from Seychelles cost A$709.27 each. We left for Paris using points plus cash, so I've kept both flights out of the month total. Your flights will depend completely on where you're coming from.
How I'd budget a shorter holiday
Start with your accommodation and car hire for your dates, then add the experiences you really want, then food and a buffer. Keep a big-ticket item like a dive course or a private boat trip as its own line, so it doesn't hide inside a daily average.
As a rough guide from our month, self-catering with a car and a couple of outings a week came to around A$127 each per day. Add more boat days, resort lunches or sunset cocktails and it climbs quickly. Our ten-day route shows how I'd plan a shorter trip.
Watch our Mauritius trip
Watch our Mauritius vlog on YouTube, 45m21s. This is also our newest public full-length video, verified for this article.
FAQs about Mauritius travel costs
How much does a month in Mauritius cost?
Our month cost A$4,528.31 per person, or about A$9,057 for two, before international flights. That included 31 nights of accommodation, a hire car, groceries, eating out, activities and a diving course in August and September 2026.
How much did you spend per day in Mauritius?
About A$146 per person per day across 31 nights, or around A$127 a day without the diving course.
Are the figures per person or for a couple?
The headline numbers are per person. The tables show the couple total too, and our accommodation table shows each booking's total for two.
Was the car price weekly?
No. MUR13,500 per person was the whole month, MUR27,000 for the two of us. Fuel was separate.
Is Mauritius expensive compared with Seychelles?
Some of our Mauritius apartments cost less per night than our Seychelles stays, and the big supermarkets made cooking easy, but they were different dates and properties (and Seychelles was booked last minute). Our Mauritius or Seychelles comparison puts the two side by side.
