What budget to travel Mayotte? Money and currency

What budget for activities and outings Mayotte?

Expect to pay between €60 and €80 for a day at sea. This may seem like a high budget, but it often includes pastries and coffee in the morning, lunch and punch at midday, and many hours of sailing, as trips start at 8am and finish around 4-5pm. It would be a shame to miss out on such activities, so if you're on a tight budget, plan to cut back on food and transport. Guided tours or workshops to discover the local culture cost around €20 for 1 or 2 hours. Fortunately, two activities are still free: hiking and swimming on the magnificent coral reefs.

Sea outings may seem expensive at first glance (€60 to €80 for a day), but they're not when you consider the spectacle on offer and the number of hours spent on (or in) the water. For sporting activities, expect to pay between €10 and €20 for an hourly rental of a paddle or kayak. And for those on a tighter budget, there are free activities such as hiking and snorkeling.

Products coming from France are mostly taxed when they arrive in Mayotte, so you have to expect a surcharge for imported goods, especially food, computers and furniture. To spend less, nothing is better than spending locally: do your food shopping at the market, and hunt in the artisan shops.

Take advantage of happy hours to get discounts on drinks and enjoy the sunset. Most nightclubs or bars are free for girls until a certain time or a drink is offered with the purchase of the entrance ticket. Count between 10 and 20 € for the paying clubs.

What budget to eat Mayotte?

Since most restaurants are frequented by expatriates or transient workers who generally earn a good salary, the quality/price ratio is not always optimal. Expect to pay around €15-20 for a dish. Those on a tight budget will turn to street vendors, mamas brochettis or markets, where you can find meat brochettes and starchy foods (manioc, breadfruit, green bananas) for a few euros. Beware, very few restaurants accept credit cards, so remember to have cash on hand when leaving Mamoudzou.

The prices of pastries and desserts are the same as in mainland France but there are fewer addresses, especially as the local cuisine is more salty than sweet. Think about cash when you are outside Mamoudzou. More and more entrepreneurs are starting to create cafés or tea rooms with Anglo-Saxon influences with cookies, cupcakes or muffins. We like it.

What is the budget for accommodation Mayotte?

Accommodation is quite expensive as the number of places is limited: count between 50 and 200 € per night depending on the range. Booking and Airbnb rentals are developing in Mamoudzou and offer the advantage of being able to cook, ideal for long stays. For charming addresses with independent bungalows or swimming pool, you often have to go out of town, as everywhere. All styles are present in Mayotte, from the very comfortable and luxurious to the room in the home for the small budget. It's up to you to define your desires.

Travel budget Mayotte and cost of living

The standard of living for the Mahorais is still low compared with metropolitan France or even Réunion. Although Mayotte became a department in March 2011, it remains far from departmental standards in many respects. Since 2011, the SMIC (minimum wage) has been increased every year on January¹ rather than July¹, and is now closer to the level in mainland France, but the difference is still there: €1,334.67 gross per month in Mayotte on January¹, 2024, compared with €1,766.92 in mainland France or Reunion Island. Many Mahorais try to be self-sufficient, as most of them own their own homes and plots of land. They eat a lot of vegetables and fruit (green bananas, manioc, brèdes...) from their orchards and fish from the generous lagoon. But because Mayotte is so far from mainland France, and lives mainly on imports, many products are expensive. As a result, all consumer goods are generally more expensive than in mainland France. That's why it's hard to say that Mayotte is a cheap destination compared with neighboring islands such as Comoros or Madagascar, which are nonetheless developing countries. As Mayotte is a small French island, the same cost of living applies. Shopping in Mayotte is estimated to cost 73% more than in mainland France, compared with an average of 66% in the French overseas territories. However, for tourists, supermarket prices often have less of an impact, and fortunately a meal in a restaurant is not always more expensive than in mainland France (around €15 per dish), and you can get by for less than €5 per meal by eating local in the brochettis.

It's possible to find low-budget rooms (with rudimentary comforts, around €50 for two per night), and to eat at the "mamas brochettis". Located in every village, they will treat you to chicken wings and beef brochettes for around 30 euro cents a piece.

For more comfortable accommodation, you'll need to pay around €30 for two people, and €15 for a meal in a restaurant or snack bar.

Finally, count on €100 to €150 or more for a double room with breakfast by the sea in exceptional settings. Count €30 for a good restaurant with starter + main course or main course + dessert.