Can an Indian Drive in Comoros? — IDP Recommended, Plus the Side Switch

The Comoros archipelago — Grande Comore, Mohéli and Anjouan — sits in the Indian Ocean off the Mozambique Channel, and for an Indian visitor a car or hired driver is the practical way to reach its volcanic coast and inland villages. The good news on paperwork is simple; the thing that actually needs your attention is the side of the road.

Can you drive there on an Indian licence?

You can. Driving in Comoros on an Indian licence is accepted for a tourist stay, and an IDP is recommended to carry with it. There is no upside to leaving the permit at home: it costs little, it translates your details into a form a Comorian officer or rental agent recognises, and it removes an argument before it starts. Sort it in India before you fly, because you cannot obtain one once you land. Carry the IDP, your Indian licence and your passport together.

The real adjustment: India is left, Comoros is right

This is the fact worth dwelling on. India drives on the left; Comoros drives on the right, so every instinct you have built up at home is reversed. The danger is not the open road — it is the reflexes: glancing the wrong way at a junction, drifting to the left after a turn, taking a roundabout the wrong way round. Give yourself a slow first hour away from Moroni’s busier streets until right-hand traffic stops feeling foreign.

Why this page stays honest about the numbers

Comoros is one of those destinations where firm, sourced figures for posted speed limits, the drink-drive limit and on-the-spot fines are not published in any dependable form. Rather than invent them, the useful advice is this: roads outside Moroni are narrow, often unsurfaced and shared with pedestrians and livestock, so your speed should be set by what you can see, not by a sign. Treat alcohol as off the table entirely when you are driving — that is the safe default anywhere the legal limit is unclear. The emergency number commonly cited is 112.

For the wider country rules, see our Comoros driving guide, and before you travel confirm your documents with the Driving Permit Checker. If your trip also takes in mainland destinations, our guide to who pays driving fines abroad is worth a read.