Living in a camper van in Mauritius

Of course if shipping my own van over is a major problem, I may also just buy a van out there...

So you are thinking of living 24*5 on the parking lot of the university - your place of work?
How about hook-up for utilities ?
And permission to be on the university site or property after hours?
On the WE, where would you park ?

Hello, I think importation costs for you would be prohibitive.

The other issues are authorisation to do it and how it would be perceived by other. I think it highly unlikely that you would be allowed to park and live in a vehicle in any parking space.

Secondly, Mauritius is quite a conservative country. For a professional to live like that in parts of Europe may be viewed as just a bit different and quirky. Here that will not be the case and I would not underestimate the perception and it's effects.

Mauritius is quite a safe country but what you are proposing would not be secure and would invite opportunistic petty crime, as a foreigner, at the very least.

Sorry to be so negative but best to be realistic about things.

Hi all,

Thanks very much for your replies... And no worries about negativity! This is exactly why I posted, because I need to know what the reception might be like and I needed to know what the concerns might be for living my sort of lifestyle in Mauritius.

Im well aware about the permissions issues, the facilities issues, and the safety issues. All the practicalities of living in a van etc dont botther me. Ive lived this way for a long time, so my concerns arent really related to that. Its more the perception and the reaction i might get that I needed to know about.

Thanks esp to Wandlewed - really helpful post!

Ive looked into import today and it looks way too expensive for me... shame, as i love a good adventure in my van! Guess I will have to save it for Europe 👍🏻😊

Thanks again everyone

Raff

Hi,

First of all, I'm not sure your type of camper van would be authorized on the roads here.

Now that said, if you are thinking about renting or buying a van here to live in, this would raise other issues like parking and access to basic utilities.
As another poster pointed out, Mauritius is a very conservative country socially speaking where 98% of the population own their houses, therefore living and moving around in a camper van would raise eyebrows.
Many would definitely question your lifestyle and intentions, 

Then, more importantly, there are safety concerns associated with this. While Mauritius is a relatively safe country, living permanently in a vehicle would definitely put you at risk especially at night.

Not recommended in my opinion.

This is a very good response and pretty much agree with it.

Hello there,

I stumbled upon your question while researching on the matter of camper vans and converted vans in Mauritius.
This is something I would really like to do.

Now, i'm curious, what happened in the end?
What did you find out about living in a van here? Any legal restrictions?

Furthermore I have been looking at youtube channels packed with great ideas of diy-ing your way to the van life, I have plenty of questions. Would it be possible to communicate on the matter?

Hoping to hear from you,
M.

Hey Raff,
I've just seen your post and the thread replies to it. I'm originally from UK (you can see my profile bio) and have been here one year but know the island from many former visits here and my parental plus extended family are all Mauritians.
I reasonably familiar with the UK camper scene as have indulged in short stay camp sites on occasion but I've not 'lived' as such in a motor home etc but do know that it's doable over there.
Importantly I would agree with everything others have said , the conservative nature of Mauritius and Mauritians, the issues of parking a motor home/van and utilities etc. Essentially there is no camping scene in Mauritius...while in theory it would be possible to get away with a van converted to do the odd weekend at a beach or mountain location that would probably be the time limit of what you'd get away with "at best". I am pretty sure that if one tried to stay in a motor home or van for any longer the police would be alerted and ask you to move on.
Indeed if you were not a citizen I imagine things would progress further regarding your status to stay here without a proper fixed address.
Might be best to look at getting rented accomadation or buy a piece of land and build your own property (and seek out the van camper lifestyle on 'very short stays' around the island) it's a beautiful island that could well benefit from the camper site development but it's not the current scene here.

I so want to know what hapen?

I'm really considering turning a van into a occasional weekend get away. so im very curious.