Tourist SIM or eSIM in Mauritius: what my.t, Emtel and CHiLi sell, where, and with which documents

Part of our Mauritius eSIM guide: all articles and key facts →

For a long stay with heavy data use, a Mauritius local SIM can cost less than the unlimited plans of the big travel eSIM brands. On 16 October 2026, the three Mauritian operators, my.t, Emtel and CHiLi, all sold a tourist pack valid 30 days, as a physical SIM or an eSIM. This guide compares the three offers, the airport counters, the documents each one asks for and the fine print.

Which tourist SIM should you buy in Mauritius?

my.t and Emtel sell the same headline offer at the same price: €30 for 30 days of unlimited 5G data, Rs 200 of airtime and unlimited local SMS. The difference is in the details. my.t lets you collect an eSIM at a digital kiosk in the airport; Emtel e-mails the eSIM before you land. the fair usage policy linked from my.t's tourist page forbids hotspot on unlimited packs, while Emtel's tourist pages publish no rule on it.

CHiLi is priced in Mauritian rupees, which we do not convert, and its two pages give different prices and allowances; it also asks for more paperwork. If you want certainty before you fly, choose my.t or Emtel; if you are happy to check the price at the counter, CHiLi is worth a look.

For a stay of less than a week, a travel eSIM bought before departure is often cheaper than any of the three. Our comparison of the best eSIMs for Mauritius sets the tourist packs against the main travel eSIM brands.

The three tourist packs side by side

We read each operator's own tourist page on 16 October 2026. Prices are those the pages showed, including VAT, and are not converted.

The sources are my.t's 5G Tourist SIM page, Emtel's prepaid page and tourist pre-booking page, and CHiLi's tourist SIM page and online shop page.

my.t 5G Tourist SIM and eSIM

my.t sells its 5G Tourist SIM or eSIM for €30 including VAT, with unlimited 5G data, Rs 200 of airtime for local or international calls, unlimited local SMS and a validity of 30 days on its own network. my.t is the brand of Mauritius Telecom, the historic operator; the mobile service is run by its subsidiary Cellplus Mobile Communications. Mauritius Telecom used the Orange brand for its mobile services from 2008 and switched to myt in November 2017, so some pages, such as aloSIM's network list, still say "Orange".

The offer is open to anyone aged 18 or over coming to Mauritius as a tourist or on business. The French version of the page states that you only need a valid passport and the address where you are staying. You can buy it in four ways:

• online, through a form that asks for your name, passport number and arrival date, with payment online; the page then says to pick up and activate the SIM or eSIM at the Telecom airport counter or a Telecom Shop;
• at the Telecom Shop at SSR International Airport, on arrival;
• at the myt Digital Kiosk in the airport, for eSIMs only, which the French page places near the baggage area;
• in any Telecom Shop on the island, or at partner hotels and authorised retailers.

The page adds partner deals for tourist SIM holders, such as a free entry ticket at Valle Adventure Park and 30% off at Aquacity Belle Mare. It also calls my.t "the fastest, widest and most popular 4G/5G network in Mauritius", which is the operator's own claim; no independent comparison was available on the date we checked.

The my.t hotline for tourists is 8900, free of charge from a Mauritian line. To check that your phone has an eSIM, my.t suggests dialling *#06# and looking for an EID.

Emtel Tourist SIM and eSIM

Emtel sells its Tourist SIM for €30 including VAT, with unlimited 5G mobile data, unlimited local SMS and Rs 200 of airtime, all valid 30 days from activation. Emtel, based in Ebene, launched its mobile service on 29 May 1989. Its prepaid page describes the data as "Truly Unlimited".

All visitors are eligible, and so are residents of Mauritius. Emtel's pre-booking page offers two formats. The "Pre-Arrival eSIM" is sent to your e-mail before you arrive. The "On-Arrival Physical SIM" is collected at the airport counter. Booking takes three steps: your details (e-mail, address of stay, flight number and arrival date), a scan or photo of your passport, then payment.

Emtel's FAQ lists three places to buy: by pre-booking before travelling, at the Emtel counter at SSR International Airport on arrival, and in any Emtel showroom. Two conditions are worth knowing:

• "The benefits cannot be used during International Roaming": the pack is for use in Mauritius.
• After 30 days, the SIM keeps working if you recharge it with airtime or buy another bundle, at a showroom, a retailer or by dialling *100#.

You can check your balance by dialling *122#, and Emtel's customer care answers on 8970 from the tourist SIM, free of charge, from 6 am to 11 pm.

CHiLi Tourist SIM and eSIM

CHiLi publishes two different tourist offers, so its real price on 16 October 2026 was not clear from its own websites. CHiLi is the mobile brand of Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Ltd (MTML), a wholly owned subsidiary of India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL).

• On chili.mu: a normal SIM at Rs 900 and an eSIM at Rs 999, VAT included, each with unlimited data, Rs 200 of talk time, unlimited calls to CHiLi numbers, unlimited local SMS and 30 days of validity.
• On CHiLi's online shop: a normal SIM at Rs 700 and an eSIM at Rs 1100, VAT included, each with 200 GB of data, the same Rs 200 of talk time to other local operators, unlimited calls to CHiLi numbers, unlimited local SMS, and 30 days, renewable.

The main page says tourist SIMs are sold at all CHiLi outlets and at a dedicated counter, No. 21, inside SSR International Airport. It also has a pre-booking form asking for your name, nationality, passport number, address of stay, e-mail, phone or WhatsApp number, flight number and date of arrival.

CHiLi is the strictest of the three on paperwork. It asks for a passport "with valid visa", a proof of address of your stay and a hotel booking confirmation. If you are staying with a Mauritian resident, you need a letter from that person and proof of their address; if a company arranged your stay, a letter from the company.

Buying a SIM at SSR airport

All three operators say they sell tourist SIMs at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, so you can get connected before leaving the terminal. my.t lists its Telecom Shop and a digital kiosk for eSIMs, Emtel lists a counter, and CHiLi gives its counter number, 21.

The pages we read give no opening hours for the airport counters, so a late-night arrival is a reason to book online first. Both my.t and Emtel let you pay in advance; my.t's page still has you pick up and activate the order at a counter, while Emtel says it sends the pre-arrival eSIM by e-mail. If you prefer to compare on the spot, the counters are the place to ask CHiLi which of its two prices applies.

Bring the documents listed below, including your hotel booking if you plan to buy from CHiLi, which asks for it explicitly.

What documents do you need for a Mauritius SIM?

A passport is enough with my.t, together with your address in Mauritius; Emtel asks for a passport scan, and CHiLi asks for a proof of accommodation as well. The three lists, as each operator publishes them:

• my.t: a valid passport and the address of your place of stay; you must be 18 or over.
• Emtel: a passport scan or photo in JPG or PNG, your address of stay, flight number and arrival date for pre-booking. For a standard Emtel eSIM in a showroom, its eSIM page asks for a passport for tourists and a recent proof of address.
• CHiLi: a passport with a valid visa, a proof of address of your stay, and a hotel booking confirmation or a letter from your host.

Travel eSIMs sold online, by comparison, ask for no identity document at all in most cases: aloSIM's page says plainly that none is required.

Is the data really unlimited?

The three packs are sold as unlimited, but the fair usage policy linked from my.t's tourist page excludes hotspot and tethering, and CHiLi's own shop speaks of 200 GB instead. The my.t fair usage policy, linked from the tourist page and dated September 2021, says unlimited packs are for individual use and may not be used in a device that acts as a hotspot, or to tether another device such as a laptop or a tablet. It publishes no gigabyte threshold, but reserves the right to add charges or suspend the service if the rules are broken.

Emtel's tourist pages say "Truly Unlimited" and "Unlimited 5G Mobile Data" without a published threshold, and say nothing about hotspot. CHiLi's main page says "Unlimited Data"; its shop page says 200 GB. If you plan to share the connection with a laptop, ask at the counter before you pay, or use a travel eSIM whose provider allows hotspot, such as Nomad.

What happens after 30 days?

All three tourist packs last 30 days, and the SIM can be kept after that if you recharge it. Emtel says its Tourist SIM can be used after 30 days if recharged with airtime or another Emtel bundle. CHiLi's shop says the pack is "renewable if staying more than 30 Days". my.t's tourist page lists three ways to recharge: online, in a myt shop, or at a local retailer or supermarket.

For most holidays, 30 days is longer than needed. If you are staying less than a week, read the next section before you buy.

Does a tourist SIM work on Rodrigues?

We could not confirm from an operator or the regulator which networks cover Rodrigues, so ask at the counter if you are going there. None of the three tourist pages mentions the island. Secondary guides contradict each other: some say my.t and Emtel both cover Rodrigues, some say only my.t does, and one says CHiLi does not reach beyond the main island. None of them cites a coverage map.

The regulator, the ICTA, launched a crowdsourced quality platform, KaliteNet, on 11 May 2026. According to its press release, it covers Mauritius, Rodrigues and Agaléga, and it was developed for the ICTA by nPerf. Its publications page says yearly reports will be published from January 2027. Until then, the safest choice for Rodrigues is to ask the operator directly, at the airport or by phone, before you buy.

Tourist SIM or travel eSIM?

Against the big travel brands, the €30 tourist packs win for a stay of about a week or more if you use a lot of data; a travel eSIM wins for a short stay or a small amount of data. On 16 October 2026, the unlimited plans of Airalo, Holafly and Yesim cost more than €30 from 7 days: €32.50, €34.50 and €35.00. For 15 days, they cost €55.00 to €69.50. Some smaller sellers listed on eSIMDB were cheaper, such as Simology at €26.99 for 7 days of unlimited data at full speed up to 1 GB a day.

For small needs, the travel eSIMs are cheaper. Yesim sold 3 GB for 7 days at €11.00, and Nomad 1 GB for 7 days at €8.03. Most travel eSIMs also need no passport and can be installed at home before you fly.

The tourist packs have advantages a data-only eSIM lacks: a Mauritian number, airtime for local calls and SMS, useful for booking a taxi, a restaurant or an excursion. Our full comparison of eSIMs for Mauritius gives the prices by trip length and per gigabyte.

And roaming with your home plan?

Mauritius is outside the European Union, so the EU's roam-like-at-home rule does not apply there and roaming is charged at your operator's own rates. The EU's Your Europe roaming page says other countries are not covered, although some operators extend their offers to them. Free in France, for example, includes Mauritius in the unlimited data of its Free Max plan at €29.99 a month, but not in the 35 GB of its Free 5G+ plan, according to its price brochure of 21 July 2026.

Check your own operator's roaming page before you leave. If Mauritius is not included, switch data roaming off on your home line and use a tourist SIM or a travel eSIM for data. Our guide to roaming charges to check before travelling lists the settings. Going on to Réunion? It is part of the EU: see one eSIM or two for Mauritius and Réunion.

Check your phone before you go

A tourist eSIM, like any eSIM, needs a phone that supports eSIM and is not locked to your home operator. Our guide explains why the phone must be unlocked.

• Look up your model in the list of eSIM-compatible phones, or on our pages for the iPhone and Google Pixel.
• Find your EID in advance with our guide to the EID number on Android, Samsung and iPhone.
• If the eSIM stays on "activating" after you land, try our fixes for a stuck eSIM.
• To keep your home number for calls and texts, see how to run two eSIMs at once.