Indian Ocean · Mauritius
Car Rental Tamarin: Black River and the West Coast
Village handover for Tamarin and Black River, ready for the bay, the dolphins and the road up to the Gorges.
Hotel Delivery
West Coast
No Deposit available
Free Cancellation
Mauritius
No credit card or low deposit
Full insurance from €5/day
Up to 50% cheaper than portals
Pickup at Mauritius Airport
The three cheapest cars for Tamarin and Black River right now
Live prices from local suppliers, pulled the moment this page loads. All three link straight down to the full fleet for this stretch of coast.
€/day
See the full Tamarin fleet
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Jump to the resultsNo deposit options included
Filter for offers that skip the hold entirely once the fleet loads below.
Jump to the resultsDelivery to the bay or the marina
Every car listed for Tamarin or Black River can be dropped at your villa or apartment.
Jump to the resultsTamarin Bay and the salt pans, in two frames
The river mouth the village is named for, and the pans worked beside the road inland.
A village around a bay, not a resort strip
A village, not a hotel strip
Tamarin is built around a river mouth and a bay rather than a line of resorts, with a long-established surf break, the old salt pans just inland, and a large resident and expatriate community. Eighty cars are currently listed for delivery to Tamarin and eighty one to Black River, fewer than the big resort strips further north but plenty for a place this size.
Villa guests need the car on day one
Because so much of the accommodation here is a villa rather than a hotel room, there is no reception desk arranging a taxi and no shuttle bus to the beach. Confirm your exact address when you book and expect the car waiting in the driveway before you have unpacked.
The salt pans reward your own schedule
The shallow evaporation pans beside the road into Tamarin have been worked for generations and are one of the more photographed sights on this coast. They are best an hour either side of sunset, which is a schedule a rental car keeps far more easily than a tour.
Parking ends up at the surf car park
The coast road narrows over the river bridge, and parking at the beach itself is informal and fills early on a weekend. Most visitors end up leaving the car at the surf car park near the point and walking the last stretch.
The dolphin morning, and why a car beats a pickup
Boats leave Tamarin Bay and Black River very early, because the pods come in close to shore at dawn and move off again once the water warms and the day's traffic builds.
1
Before dawn
Boats leave the jetties at Tamarin and Black River while it is still dark.
2
First light on the bay
The pods tend to be closest to shore in the calm of early morning, before the wind picks up.
3
Five minutes, not an hour
With your own car parked outside, the drive to the jetty is minutes rather than an hour in a shared minibus.
4
Watch, do not swim
Book an operator that keeps a respectful distance from the pods and does not encourage swimmers into the water with them.
What is within reach, and what needs the road up
Black River town and its marina
Riviere Noire in French, and both names are in daily use. The marina south of Tamarin is home to the island's sport fishing fleet, and it is also the turn inland for the national park road.
Casela Nature Parks
A short run north of Tamarin, easily combined with a morning at the bay.
Chamarel
Up the mountain south of Black River, for the coloured earths and the waterfall.
Black River Gorges National Park
The road inland from Black River climbs from sea level to the island's high ground, reaching the Black River Peak trail, the Gorges viewpoint and the Alexandra Falls lookout. The temperature drops noticeably as the road climbs.
Flic en Flac
Fifteen minutes north, and a genuinely different kind of coast: a long hotel strip rather than a village around a bay.
Delivery counts along this stretch of coast
A smaller fleet than the resort strips further north, but a working list of cars for a village and a working marina.
| Pickup point | Cars listed today |
|---|---|
| Tamarin | 80 cars listed |
| Black River | 81 cars listed |
| Albion | 100 cars listed |
| Le Morne | 111 cars listed |
| Flic en Flac | 139 cars listed |
Tamarin and Black River by the numbers
80
cars listed for Tamarin delivery
81
cars listed for Black River delivery
50-55
minutes from SSR airport
4.8
average renter rating
What villa guests said after the first week
“We rented a villa above the bay and had the car in the driveway before we had finished unpacking. Being able to just drive down for the salt pans at sunset without booking anything was the whole point.”
“The dolphin boat left Tamarin Bay while it was still dark. Five minutes from our door to the jetty, back for breakfast, and up to Black River Gorges by mid morning.”
“Parking near the surf break on a Saturday took a couple of passes, every other day it was easy right by the car park at the point.”
Curated results
Mauritius on the podium
One car takes the whole stage. Two get a card. The rest get a line.
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See what's free for Tamarin and Black River delivery today
Live rentals from local suppliers, villa and apartment delivery included, up to 50% cheaper than the big portals.
Book nowQuestions before you book in Tamarin
Almost always at your villa or apartment address, since that is how most visitors here are staying. Give the exact address when you book, including any gate code or landmark, and confirm whether you are closer to the bay in Tamarin or the marina end of Black River.
Yes, more than almost anywhere else on this coast. A villa has no reception desk to call a taxi and no shuttle bus down to the beach, so the car is what gets you to the bay, the salt pans, the shops and the road inland from the first morning.
Well before sunrise. The pods tend to come into the bay and along the Black River coast at dawn and move off again once the water warms and the day's boat traffic builds, so operators leave early to meet them. Choose one that keeps its distance and does not put swimmers in the water with the pods.
The road climbs steadily from Black River marina inland, and the temperature is noticeably cooler by the time you reach the Gorges viewpoint or the Alexandra Falls lookout. It is a proper mountain road rather than a quick detour, so give the trip a full morning or afternoon rather than an hour.
The coast road narrows over the river bridge and informal parking right at the beach fills early on a weekend. Most people leave the car at the surf car park near the point and walk the last few minutes, which is the routine locals use as well.