Mauritius is an easy island with children. The drives are short, the lagoons are shallow, and almost everywhere worth going has somewhere to park. The car is the piece that makes the rest of it work — and the choice is mostly about seats, boot space and how far you want to carry things.
How many seats you actually need
Four people fit into a compact car. Four people, four sets of beach things and a pushchair do not.
The honest thresholds:
- Two adults, one small child — a compact car is fine, and it is the cheapest thing to park and fuel.
- Two adults, two children — a sedan or a small SUV. The difference is the boot, not the cabin.
- Two adults, three children, or two families sharing — a seven-seat minivan. Nothing else works, and cramming a five-seater is a fortnight of low-grade misery.
- Grandparents in the party — the SUV wins on getting in and out, because the seat is at hip height rather than below it.
Remember that the third row of a seven-seater usually eats the boot. Seven people and seven people's luggage are two different requirements, and if you have both, say so to the rental business before booking.
Boot space and the airport bags
The tightest moment of the whole holiday is the airport car park on day one, with everything you brought.
Two large cases and two cabin bags fill a compact car's boot completely, and there is no room for anything acquired afterwards. A sedan takes them without argument. An SUV takes them plus the pushchair. A minivan with all seven seats in use takes surprisingly little, which catches people out.
Photographs on the listing show the actual car, and the specs box gives seats and doors. If you are close to the limit, message the business through the listing and ask — they know their own cars and they would rather answer than have a problem in the car park.
Child seats as a booking extra
Child seats are offered by many businesses as a bookable extra, priced per day or as a flat amount, and they appear in your total before you pay.
Two practical points. First, availability is per listing: if a car page does not offer a seat, that business does not supply one, and you should choose a car that does rather than assume it can be arranged. Second, be specific in the booking message about the child's age, height and weight, because "a child seat" covers everything from an infant carrier to a booster cushion.
Bringing your own is a reasonable alternative on a long trip and a nuisance on a short one — most airlines carry them, but you then have a seat to manage at both ends. Renting one is usually a fraction of the rental total.
Fitting is done at the handover with the business, on the car you are actually taking. That is the moment to check the fit and to ask them to show you the belt routing on that particular seat, rather than working it out later in a beach car park.
Delivery to the hotel, with children in tow
If there is one situation where delivery earns its money, this is it.
Many listings offer delivery to a hotel, villa or address within the business's own radius, for a flat amount shown on the car page, and on some cars that amount is zero. The car arrives where you are, the paperwork happens in a lobby rather than a car park, and nobody has to keep three children entertained beside a road. How the radius, the handover and the return work is in the hotel delivery guide.
The alternative is airport handover: someone meets you in arrivals with the keys, from Rs 500, which suits families who want to drive straight to the coast. Both are covered in the airport guide. With very small children after a night flight, delivery the next morning is often the calmer plan.
Beaches that are easy with a car
The north and the east are the two sides that work best with children, largely because of parking and shallow water.
In the north, Trou aux Biches and Mont Choisy have long shallow lagoons, shade from casuarinas and proper car parks — the Trou aux Biches page covers the area. Pereybere is smaller and busier but has everything within a hundred metres.
On the east, Belle Mare has the widest beach on the island and enough space that arriving at eleven is not a disaster. The east page is the local starting point.
Wherever you go, arrive before ten at weekends. Mauritian families come out in force on Sundays with picnics and music, which is a lovely thing to be part of and a difficult thing to park near.
Longer rentals and weekly rates
Family trips tend to be longer, and length changes the arithmetic. Many businesses set a weekly or monthly reduction, so ten days is priced well below ten times the daily rate.
Compare totals for your actual dates rather than day rates. It is common for the sensible family car — the one with the boot and the seats — to cost less over two weeks than a smaller car looked like it would over one. The prices guide goes through it.
If you are travelling in December or January, book early. Seven-seaters are the first category to run out on this island, and they do so weeks ahead.
What to check at handover
Five minutes at the handover saves an afternoon later.
- Walk round the car with the business during the photo check-in and look at the bumpers, wheels and windscreen. Anything already marked should be in the photographs.
- Have the child seat fitted and shown to you on that car before you drive off.
- Check the air conditioning actually cools. It is the one piece of equipment a family here uses every day.
- Confirm the fuel policy and the return arrangements — both are on the car page, and the handover is where they become real.
- Note how to reach the business: the chat thread on your trip page is attached to the booking, so it reaches the right people.
Then load up and go. With a car, the island opens up completely, and the three road trips all work with children if you take them at half pace.