Rodrigues: practical info

By air. Air Mauritius flies daily from SSR International Airport (Mauritius) to Plaine Corail (Sir Gaëtan Duval) Airport in Rodrigues. The flight takes about 1 h 35. Since 1 September 2020 there have been three flights a day in each direction (check current frequency, which can vary by season).

By sea. The Mauritius Shipping Corporation (MSC) runs the Mauritius Trochetia from Port Louis to Port Mathurin. MSC gives a crossing time of about 36 hours. According to L'Express (March 2026), the ship is 25 years old and runs at reduced speed, taking about 32 hours. Together with the cargo ship Black Rhino, MSC sails to Rodrigues 3 to 4 times a month. There is no fixed timetable: check the schedule MSC publishes.

ID requirements (by air, per Air Mauritius):

• Mauritian adults: passport or National Identity Card.
• Foreign nationals: passport valid for the whole stay, plus a return ticket.
• Accompanied minors without a passport: birth certificate or valid bus pass.
• Unaccompanied minors: passport and bus pass, or failing that an ID document from the local police station.
• All documents must be originals.
• Foreign residents with a permit are not covered: check with Air Mauritius.

Booking:

• Flights: airmauritius.com
• Ship: MSC passenger services, +230 217 2285 / 217 2284 / 217 2291; Rodrigues office: 831 0640 / 831 0642

Good to know: during cyclones, flights can be cancelled and the ship delayed. This happened when Cyclone Dudzai passed in January 2026.

Bus. The bus station is at the entrance to Port Mathurin and serves the main villages. Buses run roughly 6 am–6 pm, every 10 to 30 minutes on weekdays, less often at weekends. Example routes: 206 to Plaine Corail (airport), 210A to Mont Cabris, 211 to Citron. This comes from a tour operator: no official timetable was found.

Car and scooter. Cars and scooters can be rented locally. Traffic drives on the left, as in Mauritius.

Taxi. The option in the evening after 6 pm and at weekends.

Fuel. A 2015 report lists one fuel station at the west end of Port Mathurin (Rue Max Lucchesi). The current number of stations is unknown. In May 2026 the island's petrol reserves reached 497,000 litres after a new 250,000-litre depot opened. Fill up before heading south or east.

**Roads.

Plastic.

• Plastic bags have been banned in Rodrigues since 2014.
• Since early 2020, disposable plastic and polystyrene food items are also banned: plates, bowls, cutlery, lids, cocktail sticks, etc. (RRA Banning of Disposable Plastic Food Items Regulations 2019).
• A new 2025 regulation on waste sorting and management applies from 1 January 2026. It phases out single-use plastics (cups, straws, cutlery, single-use bags) and sets fines of up to Rs 10,000, with prison for repeat offences.
• The Environment Police carry out seizures.
• Bring a reusable bag.

Octopus (ourite) fishing.

• Fishing is closed twice a year (Octopus Closed Season Regulations 2012). The Fisheries Commissioner sets the dates each year.
• Summer closure: in 2026, 26 January to 28 February, reopening on 1 March.
• Winter closure: about two months, usually mid-August to early or mid-October. In 2025 fishing reopened on 7 October.
• Exact dates for the 2026 winter closure were not found.

Marine reserves.

• The 2007 regulations create four marine reserves: Rivière Banane, English Bay, Grand Bassin and Passe Demie.
• Fishing there without written authorisation is prohibited. Fines are Rs 2,000–5,000, higher for repeat offences.
• The South East Marine Protected Area (SEMPA) covers about 43 km² of the lagoon. It is the largest marine protected area in Mauritius and is co-managed with local communities.

Île aux Cocos. This nature reserve has regulated access: visit with an authorised operator.

Drones, alcohol, beaches. No Rodrigues-specific rules were found. Mauritian national rules apply.

Climate. Rodrigues has a tropical climate with trade winds all year round. Figures from Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS):

• Mean temperatures: 25.9 °C in summer, 22.3 °C in winter. January to March are the hottest months, August the coolest.
• Rain: 1,116 mm a year on average (1961-2007), about 65% of it in summer. February is the wettest month (about 160 mm), September and October the driest (51 and 43 mm).
• Mean wind speed: 18.1 km/h at Pointe Canon.

MMS does not compare Rodrigues directly with Mauritius. Cyclones. Rodrigues is exposed to the cyclone season like Mauritius, and MMS issues island-specific warnings (in English, French and Creole). In January 2026, Cyclone Dudzai led to flight cancellations and delayed the ship.

Stations and tides.

• MMS stations named in bulletins: Pointe Canon, Plaine Corail, Patate Théophile, Montagne du Sable, Songes, Rivière Banane.
• MMS publishes a daily forecast bulletin for Rodrigues, which also gives tides and sunrise and sunset times.
• It also publishes a two-month tide table for Rodrigues, downloadable as a PDF.

Banks and ATMs.

• The currency is the Mauritian rupee (Rs).
• MauBank has a branch in Rodrigues (opened June 2016) and an ATM in Port Mathurin.
• MCB says it has ATMs in Rodrigues but does not list where.
• A 2015 cruiser report counted three banks and at least four ATMs in Port Mathurin, mostly on Barclay Street and Rue Max Lucchesi, including an SBM ATM that exchanges foreign currency. This is old data: verify.
• Withdraw cash in Port Mathurin: ATMs are scarce elsewhere (not officially confirmed).

Cards. Per the same 2015 report, many shops and restaurants take Visa and Mastercard. No recent data.

Mobile and internet.

• Rodrigues is linked to Mauritius by the MARS submarine fibre-optic cable, in service since February 2019 (Mauritius Telecom).
• Mauritius Telecom (my.t) sells home fibre plans in Rodrigues (tariffs approved August 2026).
• Emtel operates in Rodrigues per a 2015 report. Current 4G/5G coverage is unknown.
• Country code: +230.

Ourite (octopus) is the island's signature product. It is caught in the lagoon, sun-dried, and cooked as a daube (stew), salmi or curry. About 70% of the octopus caught in Rodrigues is shipped to Mauritius.

Other specialities mentioned in the press:

• Diri may (maize rice), also served with red beans
• Chillies in brine (pickles) and preserved lemons
• Satini (chutney)
• Rodrigues tourte (pie)
• Traditional cakes such as louga pistache (with caramelised peanuts) and mapainba
• Local honey
• Fruit preserves

Culture. The séga tambour of Rodrigues is on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. Rodrigues has refused fast-food chains such as KFC and McDonald's (L'Express, July 2026).

• The island is named after Portuguese navigator Diogo Rodrigues, who reached it in 1528. It was uninhabited at the time.
• Dutch ships stopped there for supplies from 1601.
• In 1691, the Huguenot François Leguat and seven companions landed to found a colony for Protestant refugees. They stayed until 1693.
• Leguat described the Rodrigues solitaire (Pezophaps solitaria) in detail in his account published in 1708.
• The solitaire probably died out between the 1730s and 1760s, due to the tortoise trade, hunting, bush fires, and introduced cats and pigs.
• A permanent French settlement was founded in 1735. The British took the island in 1809, and slavery was abolished there in the 1830s.
• The Mauritian Parliament passed the autonomy laws on 20 November 2001. Rodrigues has been an autonomous region since 12 October 2002.