Best Beaches in Mauritius: Which Coast, Which Season
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Which coast to pick for calm water, snorkelling, kitesurfing and a honeymoon
Here is the list of 23 Best Beaches in Mauritius: Which Coast, Which Season
1. Trou aux Biches, Northwest Coast
Trou aux Biches was named World's Best Beach at the 2011 World Travel Awards and is still the safest family choice in Mauritius. The lagoon is almost flat and stays waist deep a long way out, and casuarina trees shade most of the public strip. Dive operators run wreck and reef trips from the beach itself. It sits on the sheltered northwest, so it works in the windy winter months when the east coast does not.
Top Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, glass-bottom boat rides
2. Flic en Flac Beach, West Coast
Flic en Flac is the longest public beach on the west coast, running several kilometres south towards Tamarin. The reef sits well offshore, so the lagoon is wide, shallow and calm enough for weak swimmers and children. Dive boats leave from here for Cathedral and the Flic en Flac drop-off, two of the better sites on the island. Being on the leeward side, it stays usable when the east coast is blown out, and it faces west for sunsets.
Top Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving, sunset watching
3. Belle Mare Beach, East Coast
Belle Mare is the headline beach of the east coast, a wide band of white sand backed by five-star resorts with one long public stretch in the middle. The lagoon is shallow and clear, but this is the windward side of the island: trade winds build from June and are strongest in July and August. Those winds make it a windsurfing base, while swimmers wanting flat water do better in the north. Sunrise is the calmest hour of the day here.
Top Activities: Swimming, windsurfing, kayaking, sunrise walks
4. Le Morne Beach, Southwest Coast
Le Morne sits beneath the Le Morne Brabant monolith, whose cultural landscape UNESCO inscribed in 2008 for its history as a refuge for escaped slaves. Most of the sand is fronted by five-star resorts, with a marked public stretch between the Dinarobin and Lux hotels. Steady cross-shore wind over a flat lagoon makes this the main kitesurfing base in Mauritius, and the One Eye break outside the reef is for experts only. Inside the reef the water is calm and swimmable.
Top Activities: Kitesurfing, swimming, snorkelling, hiking Le Morne Brabant
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5. Ile aux Cerfs, East Coast Island
Ile aux Cerfs is a privately held island off the east coast in Flacq district, reached by speedboat or catamaran from Trou d'Eau Douce. Its sandbars and shallow lagoon are the standard full-day excursion sold with Mauritius packages, usually bundled with parasailing, tube rides and a barbecue lunch. The island also has an 18-hole championship golf course. Take the first boat of the day if you want the sandbar before the crowds land.
Top Activities: Parasailing, speedboat rides, swimming, golf
6. Blue Bay Beach, Southeast Coast
Blue Bay fronts a 353-hectare marine park, protected since 2000 and listed as a Ramsar wetland, which is why the coral here is in better condition than most of the island. Glass-bottom boats run from the public beach over the staghorn coral beds, so mixed-ability groups can see the reef without getting in. Snorkelling straight off the sand is good and the lagoon is shallow and sheltered. It is busy with local families on Sundays.
Top Activities: Snorkelling, glass-bottom boat rides, swimming, diving
7. Grand Baie, North Coast
Grand Baie in Riviere du Rempart district is the tourist hub of the north, and the bay itself works as a harbour more than a swimming beach. Almost every catamaran cruise, parasailing run and northern islands day trip departs from here. Restaurants, bars and the La Croisette mall give it the only real evening scene on the island. For swimming, walk five minutes to La Cuvette or drive north to Pereybere.
Top Activities: Catamaran cruises, boat trips, nightlife, shopping
8. Pereybere Beach, North Coast
Pereybere is a small public beach a few minutes north of Grand Baie and the most walkable one on the island for food and shopping. The sand shelves more steeply than Grand Baie, so swimming depth arrives close to shore. Rocky ground at either end holds enough fish for casual snorkelling. It fills up on weekends when Mauritian families come out, and it is quiet on weekday mornings.
Top Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, eating out, shopping
9. Mont Choisy Beach, North Coast
Mont Choisy curves for about two kilometres north from Trou aux Biches, a narrow white strip shaded almost end to end by casuarina trees. The lagoon is flat and shallow, which makes it one of the safer beaches for young children and a standard spot for water skiing. Weekends bring large local picnic groups; weekday mornings are close to empty. Parking and food vans sit directly behind the tree line.
Top Activities: Swimming, water skiing, picnics, beach walks
10. Pointe d'Esny, Southeast Coast
Pointe d'Esny is a long white-sand strip between Blue Bay and Mahebourg, with a shallow lagoon that stays swimmable at every tide. It backs onto private villas rather than large resorts, so the sand is quiet on weekdays even in season. Ile aux Aigrettes, the coral islet nature reserve, sits just offshore and boats for it leave from here. Kitesurfers use the far end when the southeast wind is up.
Top Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, kitesurfing, Ile aux Aigrettes trips
11. Tamarin Beach, West Coast
Tamarin sits where the Tamarin River breaks the reef, so unlike almost every other beach in Mauritius it gets real waves; the Dal and Black Stone breaks made it a surfing name in the 1970s. Spinner and bottlenose dolphins gather in the bay in the early morning and boats leave around dawn to see them. The river mouth brings currents, so this is not a casual swimming beach. Sand gives way to rock at the southern end.
Top Activities: Surfing, dolphin watching, sunset views, coastal walks
12. La Cuvette Beach, Grand Baie
La Cuvette is a short crescent of public sand at the edge of Grand Baie, hemmed in by hotel grounds on both sides. The water is calm, shallow and clean, and it is the nearest proper swimming beach to Grand Baie's restaurants. Being small, it feels crowded by late morning in season. Shade is limited to a few trees at the back, so bring an umbrella.
Top Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, sunbathing, sunset views
13. Ilot Gabriel, Northern Islands
Ilot Gabriel is an uninhabited islet off the north coast, reached only by catamaran on the standard full-day northern islands cruise. Its sandbar drops into clear, shallow water that is about the calmest snorkelling most visitors will find in Mauritius. Boats anchor for a few hours and lunch is grilled on the sand. There is no shade and no facilities, so bring sun cover and water.
Top Activities: Snorkelling, swimming, catamaran cruises, sunbathing
14. Bain Boeuf Beach, North Coast
Bain Boeuf is the public beach at Cap Malheureux on the northern tip, looking straight across at Coin de Mire island. The lagoon is shallow and calm, backed by casuarinas and a car park, and it is a standard local weekend spot rather than a resort beach. Rocky ground at either end gives reasonable snorkelling. The red-roofed Notre Dame Auxiliatrice church is two minutes away by car.
Top Activities: Swimming, snorkelling, picnics, photography
15. Anse La Raie, North Coast
Anse La Raie sits on the exposed northern tip near Cap Malheureux, where a wide shallow lagoon and steady side-shore wind support several kitesurfing schools. The water is knee to waist deep a long way out, which is why beginners are taught here. Views run out to Coin de Mire and the northern islets. Swimming is safe, but the constant wind makes it a poor choice for sunbathing.
Top Activities: Kitesurfing, kayaking, picnics, island views
16. Grand Gaube Beach, Northeast Coast
Grand Gaube sits on the northeast corner where the sheltered north coast starts turning into the windward east. The public beach is small but the lagoon is reef-protected and shallow, and fishing pirogues still work out of the bay. Boats leave from here for Ile d'Ambre and the northern islets. It gives you the same calm water as Grand Baie with a fraction of the crowd.
Top Activities: Swimming, boat trips, snorkelling, village walks
17. Pointe aux Piments, Northwest Coast
Pointe aux Piments is a low-key public beach between Trou aux Biches and Balaclava, with more rock and coral than open sand. The reef comes close to shore here, which makes the snorkelling better than the swimming. It is used mainly by residents, has little tourist infrastructure and rarely gets crowded. The Mauritius Aquarium sits a short walk inland if the weather turns.
Top Activities: Snorkelling, sunset viewing, coastal walks, relaxing
18. Poste Lafayette Beach, Northeast Coast
Poste Lafayette faces the trade winds head on, which keeps this stretch of the northeast coast cool, quiet and reliably breezy. Windsurfers and kitesurfers use it for exactly that reason, while swimmers will find the lagoon choppier than anything in the north. The shoreline mixes sand with black volcanic rock and filao trees. Few day trippers come this far, so it stays uncrowded even in peak season.
Top Activities: Windsurfing, kitesurfing, coastal walks, photography
19. Gris Gris Beach, South Coast
Gris Gris near Souillac is one of the few points where the coral reef stops, so the open Indian Ocean hits the cliffs directly. Swimming is dangerous and there are no lifeguards; what people come for is the clifftop walk and the blowhole at La Roche Qui Pleure, the rock said to resemble a weeping face. Grass headlands run above a short dark-sand cove. Wind and spray are constant, which makes it a morning stop rather than a beach day.
Top Activities: Clifftop walks, photography, visiting La Roche Qui Pleure
20. St Felix Beach, South Coast
St Felix is a long, undeveloped strip of sand on the south coast, backed by casuarinas with almost nothing built behind it. The reef runs close to shore and swell comes through, so currents are strong and swimming is not advised. It is one of the better south coast spots for a picnic under the trees and a long empty walk. There are no shops or facilities, so bring everything with you.
Top Activities: Beach walks, picnics, photography, birdwatching
21. Riviere des Galets, South Coast
Riviere des Galets is a pebble beach rather than a sand one: the shore is covered in smooth black basalt stones rounded by the surf. There is no reef in front of it, so waves break straight onto the stones and swimming is out of the question. The sound of the water dragging the pebbles back is the reason people stop. It sits on the quiet south coast between Bel Ombre and Souillac.
Top Activities: Photography, coastal walks, picnics
22. Poudre d'Or, Northeast Coast
Poudre d'Or is a fishing village beach on the northeast coast, best known as the shore nearest the 1744 wreck of the Saint Geran that inspired the novel Paul et Virginie. A monument to the story stands beside the water. The lagoon here is shallow and reef-strewn rather than swimmable, and the sand is coarse. It works as a short cultural stop with a view across to Ile d'Ambre rather than a full beach day.
Top Activities: Photography, birdwatching, visiting the Paul et Virginie monument
23. Baie du Tombeau, near Port Louis
Baie du Tombeau is the closest beach to the capital, about fifteen minutes north of Port Louis in Pamplemousses district. It is a long grey-sand bay used mostly by city residents for evening walks and shore fishing. River outflow into the bay means the water is not as clear as the north coast lagoons, so this is not a swimming stop. Come for the sunset over the bay and the local atmosphere.
Top Activities: Shore fishing, evening walks, photography
When to go, and which coast to book Sea temperatures around Mauritius stay near 25C all year. April to June and September to December are the driest and calmest months with the lowest cyclone risk. January to March is the hottest and wettest stretch and tropical cyclones are possible. July and August are the windiest months of all: the east and southeast lagoons turn choppy, so the sheltered north and west coasts are the safer booking then. Every beach in Mauritius is legally public, including the sand in front of the five-star resorts, though loungers and watersports equipment belong to hotel guests. Pick the north around Grand Baie for boat trips, restaurants and calm family water; the west at Flic en Flac and Le Morne for diving, kitesurfing and sunsets; the east at Belle Mare for the widest sand; and the southeast around Blue Bay and Pointe d'Esny for the healthiest coral.
This post was published by Sravya Vemuri
