Mini Moke: Convertible Car Rental
from 0 review
Overview
The Mini Moke is the most iconic open-top rental car in Seychelles, a doorless four-seat convertible that has been part of island life since the 1970s and even appeared on a 1982 Seychelles postage stamp. After the classic originals faded in the 1990s, the Moke was reborn as a modern, road-legal build and brought back to the islands. Our main offering is the modern manual Moke, kept for the open-air drive along the beaches of Mahé. We have several manuals and one automatic Mini Moke available on request, subject to confirmation for your dates. We book it directly, with no deposit, no credit card, and free delivery.
Why the Mini Moke
The Mini Moke is not the car you rent to get somewhere quickly. It is the car you rent because the drive itself is the holiday. Doorless, roof down when you want it, and unmistakably island, it turns the short hop from your villa to the beach into the part of the day you photograph. Nothing else on Seychelles’ roads looks or feels like it, which is exactly why it has been the islands’ most requested rental for half a century.
It is a classic, and we treat it like one. Every Moke in our care is kept in proper mechanical order and checked before it reaches you, because a well-kept Moke is a joy and a neglected one is the reason some companies quietly stopped offering them. For the standard manual rental, expect a simple, characterful machine, with a manual gearbox, no air-conditioning it does not need with the sides open, and just enough room for four and a beach bag. If you want cup holders and climate control, our automatic fleet is one tap away. If you want the drive people remember, this is the one.
There is no more Seychelles way to arrive at a beach than in an open Moke.
The Mini Moke in Seychelles: a short history
Few cars belong to a place the way the Mini Moke belongs to Seychelles. For fifty years it has been woven into the islands’ holidays, their streets and their photo albums, a little open box on wheels that somehow captured the whole feeling of the place. Here is how it happened, told through the cars themselves.
A donkey that found the beach
The Mini Moke was designed for the British Motor Corporation by Sir Alec Issigonis, the engineer behind the original Mini, and launched in 1964. It began life as a stripped-down, parachute-droppable military runabout; the army turned it down for its low ground clearance, and the Moke found its real calling on beaches instead. Its very name gives away its humble character: “moke” is old British slang for a donkey, a nod to the little workhorse it was meant to be. Built in Britain, then Australia, then Portugal until 1993, it became a cult open-top wherever the sun shines, from the Caribbean and the Algarve to Australia and the Indian Ocean.
The golden era: the 1970s and 1980s
In Seychelles the Moke arrived and simply never left. Through the 1970s and 1980s it was how you saw the islands: tourists picked one up at the airport, folded the roof down, and drove from beach to beach, straight onto the sand where it was still allowed. Locals loved it just as much, the wind in your hair on a hot day and the whole island a short open-air drive away. It was the sound and shape of a Seychelles holiday, and the photograph everyone came home with.
The islands made it official in 1982, when the Mini Moke appeared on a Seychelles postage stamp, a small red Moke on a beach with a yacht behind it, right there alongside the country’s coat of arms. Not many rental cars end up on a nation’s stamps.
Not just for tourists
The Moke did real work on the islands too. Cheap to run, easy to fix and perfectly sized for narrow coastal lanes, it served as an everyday runabout and even wore the uniform, patrolling as a Seychelles police vehicle, cap, canvas roof and all. It was as much a part of island life as it was of the holiday brochures.
The quiet years: the 1990s
Every classic has its lean years. The original Moke went out of production in the early 1990s, and as parts grew scarce the island mechanics keeping them alive had to become something like magicians. One by one the tired old Mokes gave up on the steep mountain climbs, and the fleet quietly shrank until barely any were left for hire. The few that survived were their owners’ pride, lovingly kept, raising a sentimental smile whenever one puttered past.
The comeback: the reborn Moke
The story did not end there. The Moke was completely reborn as a modern, road-legal vehicle, faithful to the original doorless shape but built new, and in 2015 it was brought back to Seychelles through a local dealer, reviving Moke fever on the islands. Today it is once again a familiar sight around Victoria and out on the coast roads, the same breezy, photogenic drive that a generation fell in love with, now without the breakdowns.
That is the Moke we hand you the keys to. All of the character and the open-air drive that made it a Seychelles legend, kept in proper order so the only thing you have to think about is which beach comes next.
Historical photographs from the classic Moke era in Seychelles. The Mini Moke reappeared on a Seychelles postage stamp in 1982.
Where to drive it
On Mahé
From a base near Beau Vallon the Moke is in its element on the north and west coast run, down to Port Launay and Baie Ternay, out to the trailhead for Anse Major, and up over the Sans Souci mountain road for the view across the island. Victoria, the smallest capital in the world, is ten open-air minutes away for the morning market.
And La Digue
La Digue is famously explored by bicycle and ox-cart, so the Moke stays on Mahé, where it reaches every beach worth the drive.
Good to know
What guests say
The rental experience our guests get on the ground, from car condition to airport and jetty pickup and support.
The car was modern, clean, and in excellent condition. They were very flexible with changes to my reservation schedule, which I really appreciated. Pickup at the ferry was smooth, and someone was waiting for me at the airport for the return as well. Very convenient and professional.
The support over WhatsApp is exceptional. Cars are clean and in very good condition. We had the car dropped off right at the airport terminal, so no taxi or bus for the transfer. Pay cash or card on arrival. Easy, fast, perfect.
Renting a car through the website was very simple and practical. On Mahé, the car was handed over to us in spotless condition, and we had no issues at all during the return process. A very reliable company.
Questions guests ask
The Moke has been part of the Seychelles scene since the classic-car era of the 1970s and 1980s, when open-top Mokes were how tourists and islanders alike got from beach to beach. Seychelles thought enough of it to put the Mini Moke on a postage stamp in 1982. After the originals faded away in the 1990s, the reborn Moke was brought back to the islands in 2015, and it is once again the most photographed way to explore Mahé.
Very much so. For a generation it was the shape and sound of a Seychelles holiday, used as a beach car, an everyday runabout, and even as a police vehicle. It appeared on a 1982 Seychelles stamp and still turns heads around Victoria today. Renting one is about as close as you can get to driving a piece of the islands’ history, in a modern, reliable build.
Manual is our standard and most available Mini Moke option, with several manual cars. We also have one automatic Mini Moke available on request. Tell us you need the automatic when you enquire so we can confirm availability and its quote for your dates. The standard manual booking does not reserve the automatic.
No, and it does not need it. With the sides open and the roof folded down you have all the airflow you could want as you drive. For the occasional passing shower you simply raise the canvas top and the windscreen.
It is a simple, classic beach car rather than a modern one, so it does not have airbags or the refinements of the automatic fleet. It does have seatbelts, it is easy to handle at island speeds, and it is happiest on short, scenic coastal runs rather than long fast journeys. Driven to the conditions, it is huge fun and completely at home on Seychelles roads.
Four seats, and room for a beach bag or two. The Mini Moke is not the car for an airport luggage run. For that, take a Suzuki Dzire or an SUV from the fleet and keep the Moke for beach days and island cruising.
The Mini Moke is a Mahé-only car. It covers the island’s coast roads and beaches, from Victoria out to every bay worth the drive.
Yes, it is a genuine Moke, the reborn version of the doorless open-top four-seater that has been a Seychelles icon for decades. Ours are new-build and kept in proper order, so you get the classic look and the open-air drive with modern reliability, rather than the breakdowns that came with a sixty-year-old original.
No. A normal driving licence is all you need. Seychelles drives on the left, and your national licence or an international driving permit is accepted.
No. No deposit and no credit card are held against your booking. You pay cash or card when the Moke reaches you, and insurance plus unlimited mileage are already included in the rate.
On Mahé, free delivery to the airport or your hotel and villa.
Because it is rare, in constant demand, and a specialist classic to keep on the road. You are paying for the most sought-after and most photographed drive on the islands, not just for transport. If budget matters more than the open-top experience, an automatic economy car starts at €45 per day.
Reserve your Mini Moke.
The Mini Moke is the most sought-after car on the islands, and our open-top fleet is small, so the best dates go weeks ahead. Send us your dates and we will confirm availability right away and hold one for you. No deposit and no credit card to reserve.
Car Category
Car Features
Reviews
Organized by
SeyBooking.com
Member Since 2020
Leave a review