Are you planning a trip to Mauritius and wondering what is the best way to stay connected and get data on your phone? Can you buy a sim card for traveling in Mauritius on arrival at Mauritius Airport? Yes, and it is easy!
In this complete guide for buying a sim card for traveling to Mauritius you can read everything about where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per June 2024, my recommendation, all about the best e-sim cards for Mauritius and everything else you need to know before buying a sim card to stay connected when traveling to Mauritius.
Traveling with a working data connection on your phone is so much more convenient. Looking for the best way to stay connected when traveling abroad is a vital part of my travel planning. To save money on high roaming costs you can order a sim card for Mauritius on the internet and arrive prepared or simply buy a local prepaid sim card on arrival in Mauritius.
Ordering an e-sim card on the internet is super convenient, but often also more expensive. Depending on how much data you need it is worth ordering an e-sim card for the Mauritius on the internet before your trip.
Traveltomtom is on a journey to travel to every country in the world and everywhere I go I write sim card guides for other travelers to find the best ways to stay connected. That is why on Traveltomtom you can already find more than 200 sim card guides from all over the world: Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Europe, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Australia, China, Philippines, USA, Brazil and many more.
So next time you are planning your trip abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the latest prepaid and e-sim card advice for your holiday destination. Bookmark me!
Some links in this article about the best ways to stay connected when traveling to Mauritius are affiliate links. If you buy any of the products after using an affiliate link I earn a small commission. This is at absolutely no extra cost to you!
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends buying an Emtel sim card at Mauritius International Airport. For around $17 USD you get 200 GB data.
What about e-sim cards for Mauritius that you order online? Well, it is possible but for 1 GB data you pay $9.5 USD.
If you are intended to use a lot of data then Traveltomtom advices to keep on reading and buying a prepaid sim card for Mauritius on arrival at Mauritius Airport, you can even pre-order them.
Be aware that the local prepaid sim cards you buy in Mauritius, as well as e-sim cards and international sim cards only work in unlocked phones. If your phone is locked make sure to unlock your phone before your trip to Mauritius. Contact your mobile internet provider in your home country if you are not sure about this.
Best e-sim cards for Mauritius
Local prepaid sim cards are not the only way to stay connected when traveling to the Mauritius. The easiest way to get data on your phone when traveling to Mauritius in 2024 is by ordering an e-sim card online. Easy and convenient, but much more expensive than local prepaid sim cards.
No need to visit a sim card store anymore on arrival in Mauritius and no need to buy a sim card at Mauritius Airport. As soon as the plane lands you are online. The e-sim card for Mauritius you buy on the internet needs to be installed on your phone in a couple simple steps. Then once installed, the e-sim instantly connects to an available network as soon as the plane touches the ground.
You can order an e-sim card for Mauritius directly on the internet, you process the payment, receive a QR code, scan it, follow the instructions and instal the e-sim card in a couple simple steps. You are all set in less than 2 minutes.
Airalo
Airalo is a recommended e-sim card provider and Traveltomtom has used Airalo all around the world multiple times. Check out the following Airalo e-sim card plan for Mauritius:
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $9.5 USD
Click here for more info or to directly order a Mauritius e-sim card from Airalo.
Before ordering an e-sim card for Mauritius make sure your phone is first of all unlocked. E-sim cards only work in unlocked phones. Second, make sure your phone is e-sim compatible. Pretty much all newer smartphones are e-sim card compatible.
Mobile internet providers in Mauritius
There are 3 mobile internet providers in Mauritius: Emtel, My. T and Chili. All mobile internet providers sell prepaid sim cards for tourists.
Chili is the smallest mobile internet provider in Mauritius and the Chili mobile data network is not so advanced. Especially for travelers going around the island it is not recommended to buy a Chili prepaid sim card for traveling in Mauritius. Therefore Chili is left out of the comparison of the best prepaid sim cards for Mauritius.
Registration process
When buying a sim card in Mauritius you will need to bring your passport. A copy of your passport will be taken in the phone store and your new Mauritius sim card will be registered on your name and your passport number. You will receive a physical sim card that comes with a Mauritius phone number that starts with +230.
Where to buy a sim card for Mauritius
Online
I have just showed you where to buy a sim card for Mauritius on the internet. It is up to you if you think e-sim cards for Mauritius are the right choice for your trip. Traveltomtom recommends ordering via Airalo.
There are also international prepaid sim cards for Mauritius. These are physical prepaid sim cards you order online and they will be delivered to your home address before your trip to Mauritius. More info about it if you scroll to the bottom of this article.
Phone stores around Mauritius
Buying a prepaid sim card in Mauritius is done easily in any official phone store of one of the mobile internet providers. You will find them in the city or town centers or in the bigger shopping malls. Just type in sim card store or Emtel or My. T on Google Maps and you will instantly find the sim card store near to you.
Just make sure that before you walk out of the phone store everything is working: data & voice.
Local prepaid sim cards are much cheaper, but for buying a local prepaid sim card in Mauritius you need to wait till you set foot on Mauritius island.
Buying a sim card at Mauritius Airport - MRU
The easiest place to buy a prepaid sim card in Mauritius is of course on arrival at MRU international airport. This is also where Traveltomtom bought his sim card for traveling in Mauritius, more about my experiences later, including a complete vlog.
Mauritius Airport MRU the main international hub for tourists traveling to Mauritius. It is very easy to buy a sim card on arrival and undoubtedly the best place to buy your Mauritius prepaid sim card.
Mauritius has so called tourist sim card plans for non-residents. That means every tourist on a holiday in Mauritius registering a sim card with a foreign passport gets a fixed tourist plan. Therefore it also does not matter where you buy your local prepaid sim card in Mauritius, the prices are the same everywhere.
Therefore even more reasons to buy your sim card for Mauritius at Mauritius Airport on arrival. The sim card shops are open for every incoming international flight and you can pay with cash and credit card.
At Mauritius Airport there is an Emtel and a My. T sim card shop and you can not miss them just before you walk into the arrival hall.
For some reason the Emtel store inside the airport is closed, but just outside the airport building there is a pop-up store where you can pick up your pre-ordered physical prepaid sim cards as well as e-sim cards.
I did not pre-order an Emtel sim card, but I ordered it on the spot and it was fixed in 10 minutes. More about it in my vlog below:
Both My. T and Emtel sell physical prepaid sim cards as well as e-sim cards for tourists. The price is the same, you choose what you prefer.
Prices Mauritius prepaid sim cards
All prices and info below are updated in June 2024. Prices are in Mauritius Dollar and $1 USD = 46 MUR and 100 MUR = $2.18 USD.
Emtel
- 200 GB data + 200 MUR calling credit + unlimited sms for 30 day = 750 MUR - $17 USD
Emtel offers e-sims as well as physical prepaid sim cards and great thing is that you can also pre-order them online and pick it up at the airport on arrival.
My. T
- 200 GB data + 174 MUR calling credit + unlimited sms for 30 day = 750 MUR - $17 USD
My. T also offers e-sims as well as physical prepaid sim cards.
Best 4G/5G data network in Mauritius in 2024
To determine the best prepaid sim card for traveling in Mauritius let’s also compare the mobile data network coverage of Emtel and My. T, especially since prices for tourists sim cards are pretty much the same.
Mauritius has done a good job to get the island connected and pretty much all the tourist destinations and best places to visit in Mauritius are covered with a 4G and even a 5G signal.
Is there 5G in Mauritius?
Yes, there is 5G in Mauritius and depending on the mobile internet provider you choose there is very good 5G coverage.
Let’s compare the Mauritius mobile data coverage maps of Emtel and My.T in Mauritius.
Chili Mobile 4G/5G data network coverage map
Emtel Mobile 4G/5G data network coverage map
My. T Mobile 4G/5G data network coverage map
As said before the Chili mobile data network coverage around Mauritius is significantly smaller than Emtel and My. T, above is the prove.
From the above 4G/5G mobile data network coverage maps of Mauritius we can come to the simple conclusion that Emtel has a much more extensive 5G mobile network compared to My. T.
Based on the above information Traveltomtom concludes that Emtel has the best 4G/5G mobile data network in Mauritius in 2024.
@traveltomtom Will post more detailed info about ataying connected in Mauritius on my blog soon. But I heard Emtel is the best sim card for traveling in Mauritius! #tiktokmauritius #mauritiustiktok ♬ original sound - Traveltomtom
That said my TikTok video above about my sim card comparison between Emtel and My.T got almost 200K views and in the comments many people are claiming that My.T has better network coverage in Mauritius than Emtel.
Best prepaid sim card for Mauritius
After my comparison of the Mauritius prepaid sim cards, the e-sim cards and the 4G/5G network coverage maps Traveltomtom comes to the conclusion that Emtel is the best sim card for traveling to Mauritius in 2024.
Prices for prepaid tourist sim cards in Mauritius are the same for Emtel and My. T, the main thing that differentiates these mobile internet providers is the 5G network coverage.
Traveltomtom acknowledges the fact that e-sim cards are the way to go in the future, but as for now e-sim cards for Mauritius are much more expensive and 1 GB data will costs you $9.5 USD.
Fortunately all the mobile internet operators in Mauritius offer e-sim cards for tourists. In the store you can choose if you want to use an e-sim card or a physical prepaid sim card.
There are also international prepaid sim cards for traveling to Mauritius, more info below.
Order a prepaid sim card for Mauritius online
If your phone is not e-sim compatible then you can order a physical prepaid sim card for traveling to Mauritius on the internet.
This international prepaid sim card will be delivered to your home address before your trip to Mauritius and is pre-activated. So on arrival in Mauritius it is plug and play.
SimOptions has the following physical prepaid sim card that is valid in 124 countries including Mauritius:
- 10 GB for 14 days = $49.90 USD
Click here for more info or to order an international prepaid sim card for Mauritius via SimOptions.
Traveltomtom has used the Orange Holiday World sim card from SimOptions before but mainly for traveling in some countries in West Africa. My experiences were great and I was content with the data speed offered. This international prepaid sim card does not support 5G, only 4G/LTE is supported.
My experience staying connected in Mauritius
As Traveltomtom would some day like to travel to every country in the world this was one of the incentives to travel to Mauritius. Besides that I worked with the Shangri-La Resort and celebrated my holiday in Mauritius. Mauritius was country no. 159 for me, read more about my experiences in my Mauritius travel blog.
Anyway, since my flight from Kenya was arriving late at night in Mauritius I did not know if I was able to buy a local sim card at the airport. As I was rented a car and needed to drive to Le Morne and find my accommodation I wanted to be connected and therefore I ordered an Airalo e-sim card with 1 GB data for $9.5 USD just to make sure.
It turned out to be not needed as the sim card shops at Mauritius Airport are open for all international flight arrivals.
On arrival at Mauritius Airport I saw how easy it was to get a tourist sim card. However, since I already did my research about the best 4G/5G network in Mauritius I wanted to buy an Emtel sim card and not a My. T sim card.
In the arrival hall for some reason the Emtel shop is closed, but there is a letter on the window saying that they moved to just outside the terminal door.
So I decided to take a leap of faith and walk outside to find their store. When I got there they said I could only pick up online orders. As I did not order my sim card for Mauritius online, I did it on the spot. The Emtel staff offered to use their hotspot, I went to the Emtel website and ordered an e-sim card. Just 10 minutes later I my order popped up on their system and they installed my e-sim card in no time.
Here is also a short TikTok video of my arrival at MRU Airport in Mauritius and buying a local sim card to stay connected:
@traveltomtom Will post more detailed info about ataying connected in Mauritius on my blog soon. But I heard Emtel is the best sim card for traveling in Mauritius! #tiktokmauritius #mauritiustiktok ♬ original sound - Traveltomtom
Data speed sim card Mauritius
I traveled around Mauritius for 14 days and used 5G data pretty much everywhere. Since a tourist sim card in Mauritius comes with 200 GB data I did not even connect to the hotel’s WiFi and always used 5G. The data speed was more than fine with on average 50 Mbps download and 25 Mbps upload speed.
Anyway, I am sure some of the above tips for buying a sim card for Mauritius were helpful and my information made it easier for you to pick the right sim card for your trip to Mauritius.
Let me know if you still have any questions and I am more than happy to help you out. Leave me a comment below.
Curious what the life of a full time nomadic traveler looks like? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along with daily updates from around the world about the good, the bad and the ugly about traveling.
Traveltomtom is on the road to 197, meaning I would like to travel to every country in the world. As of June 2024 I have visited more than 155 countries, still about 40 to go, but no rush.
Enjoy your trip to Mauritius!