Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is about 48 km (30 miles) southeast of Port Louis, at Plaine Magnien. The drive usually takes about an hour, longer in weekday rush hour around the capital. Bus 198 links the airport with Port Louis but makes many stops, so most visitors with luggage take a taxi or a pre-booked car.

Grand Baie is at the northern tip of the island, so it is one of the longest drives from the airport, usually about an hour and a quarter by road via the highway past Port Louis. There is no direct bus from the airport to Grand Baie, so most visitors take a taxi or a pre-booked car.

Yes. SSR is short for Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the country's first prime minister, and the airport is often called SSR International Airport, Mauritius Airport or by its code, MRU. It was formerly known as Plaisance Airport. It is the only international airport on the main island of Mauritius.

Mauritius airport has one passenger terminal, opened in 2013 and joined to the older 1986 building. Check-in halls A and B are on Level 1, the immigration hall is on Level 2, and baggage claim and the arrivals area are on Level 0. Domestic flights to Rodrigues use the same terminal.

You need a passport valid for your whole stay with a blank page, and immigration may ask for a return or onward ticket. Many nationalities, including British visitors, enter visa-free for short stays, while others need a visa in advance or on arrival. Fill in the Mauritius All in One Travel Form online before you fly.

It is the government's online arrival form, covering immigration and health details, and it is completed before you fly on the official Safe Mauritius website. Keep the QR code it gives you, printed or on your phone, to show on arrival. If you have not filled it in, you complete a disembarkation card at the airport instead.

The airport taxi counter is in the Tour Operators and Hotels Hall on Level 0, opposite the customs exit in arrivals. The airport publishes an official taxi fare list, so you can check the fare to your area before you set off. Taxis go door to door to hotels anywhere on the island.

Yes. Public buses stop in the airport parking lot: bus 198 runs between Port Louis and Mahébourg, bus 9 between Mahébourg and Curepipe, and bus 10 between Mahébourg and Rivière des Galets. They run daily but are slow with luggage, and most beach areas need a change of bus.

Yes. Six exchange counters, run by banks and exchange companies, are in the Tour Operators and Hotels Hall on Level 0, where you arrive after customs, and cash machines are near doors 4 and 7. More exchange counters are in check-in halls A and B for departing passengers. Mauritius uses the Mauritian rupee.

Air Mauritius flies the most routes, to Europe, Africa, India, Asia, Australia, Réunion and Rodrigues. Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Air France, British Airways, Condor, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss, Austrian Airlines, Corsair, Kenya Airways, South African Airways, FlySafair, Air India, IndiGo, Saudia, Air Austral and Air Seychelles add flights, with seasonal services from Italy and Spain.

Yes. The ATOL Lounge is on Level 1 in the international boarding hall, opposite gate 19. It is open to all departing passengers, whatever their airline or class of travel, either as a walk-in or booked ahead online, and has a buffet, a bar, showers and Wi-Fi.

Yes. Car rental booths are on Level 0 of the terminal, with Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, Avis, Budget, Dollar Thrifty and several local companies. Mauritius drives on the left, and roads off the main highway are often narrow and busy, so many visitors prefer a taxi or a pre-booked car for the first trip to the hotel.

No. The airport does not offer a baggage storage service, so plan to keep your bags with you or leave them at your hotel. For lost or delayed bags, go to the baggage service counter on Level 0 or to your airline's desk near belt 6 in the baggage claim hall.