South Africa licence 
MauritiusDriving in Mauritius with a South Africa license
Short answer: you can drive in Mauritius with a South Africa license; an International Driving Permit is recommended and is carried alongside your South Africa license.
An International Driving Permit is recommended (not strictly required) for South Africa licence holders driving in Mauritius. Your South Africa licence is in the Roman alphabet, but an IDP removes any doubt at rental desks and roadside checks. Carry both.
South African drivers should carry an International Driving Permit alongside their licence when driving abroad. Your International Driving Permit is a certified multilingual translation of your existing licence, prepared in the 1968 Vienna format and carried alongside your national licence.
What driving in Mauritius is like
The coastal road around the south-west via Baie du Cap and the Black River Gorges to Chamarel and its viewpoints is the island's signature scenic drive. For most visitors the real draw is the freedom to reach places trains and tours don't, on your own schedule, with the open road generally capped around 110 km/h on the M1/M2 motorways. Getting behind the wheel is the easy part: your International Driving Permit is a certified translation of your South Africa licence, carried alongside it, so rental staff and officials in Mauritius can read your credentials at a glance.
Driving rules in Mauritius
- Drive on the left.
- Narrow roads and frequent roundabouts.
- 0.05% alcohol limit.
- Seatbelts mandatory.
Local driving facts in Mauritius
Emergency number: 999 or 112 (police), 114 (ambulance) (112 also connects from most mobiles). Typical maximum for cars on the fastest road class: 110 km/h on the M1/M2 motorways. Posted limits always take precedence.
- Tolls & road charges
- There are currently no road tolls in Mauritius; all routes, including the M1/M2/M3 motorways, are free, though some newly built privately funded roads parallel to existing free routes may be tolled in future.
- Parking
- Free parking is widespread except in Port Louis, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes and Rose Hill, where paid bays use prepaid parking coupons/cards costing roughly Rs 20-30 per 30 minutes. Display the scratched coupon on the dashboard or risk a fine.
- Penalties & enforcement
- Speeding, mobile-phone use and seatbelt offences draw fixed fines and police can issue on-the-spot contraventions; rental firms pass camera-detected speed-camera fines to the hirer's card with an admin fee. Drink-driving limits are low and enforced.
- If you have an accident
- Call 999 (police/ambulance) or 112; reporting is required where there is injury or significant damage. Photograph the scene, exchange details, and only move vehicles if they pose a danger to other traffic while awaiting police.
- City driving
- Port Louis is congested and largely one-way; the M1 through the capital and the roundabout-heavy approach to the waterfront jam badly at rush hour, and paid-coupon zones are strictly enforced downtown.
- Winter driving
- No winter-tyre rules - tropical climate. The seasonal hazard is heavy summer rain (cyclone season roughly November-April) making roads slippery.
- Fuel
- Petrol (Mogas/unleaded) and diesel (gasoil) are sold at all stations, some open 24/7; pumps are attended and cards are widely accepted. Indicative prices are around Rs 70+/L for petrol and slightly less for diesel.
Sources: tyremap.com, rhinocarhire.com, landtransport.govmu.org, maki-car-rental.com