The 12 Best Beaches in Mauritius

Mauritius is ringed almost entirely by a coral reef, which means most of its coast is a calm, shallow lagoon in shades of turquoise rather than open ocean surf. That single fact shapes everything about its beaches: the water is usually warm, flat and swimmable, and the colour really is that bright in person. But not every beach is good at the same thing. Some are dead-calm nurseries perfect for small children; others catch the trade wind and become world-class kitesurfing spots; a handful sit outside the reef and pick up real waves for surfers.

The island has two simple seasons. The summer runs from November to April: hot, humid, the warmest sea, and the time when the rare cyclone can pass. Winter runs May to October: cooler, drier, breezier, and the prime season for kitesurfing and surfing on the south and west coasts. For pure beach lazing, the shoulder months of September, October and April tend to give you the best balance of sun and comfortable heat.

One practical note before the list. Every public beach in Mauritius is free and open to all, including the stretches in front of the big resorts, so you never have to pay to swim. Most beaches have little or no shade beyond the casuarina (filao) trees, almost none have lifeguards, and facilities vary wildly. We have grouped the twelve below by region so you can plan a sensible day rather than zig-zagging across the island. If you would rather not drive yourself, you can see how each of these connects on a route using our free AI trip planner at AI trip planner.

The north is the busiest, most developed coast, and the easiest if you want beaches with bars, boats and a bit of life around them. Pereybere is the local favourite here: a compact, sheltered cove with genuinely calm, clear water, a sandy entry that is gentle on bare feet, and snack shacks and snorkel rental right behind the sand. It gets busy at weekends with Mauritian families, which is part of its charm, and it is one of the few northern beaches with real shade.

A few minutes south, Mont Choisy is the longest beach on the island, a sweeping two-kilometre arc of white sand backed by filao trees. The wide shallow lagoon makes it ideal for long swims, paddleboarding and letting children splash safely. Nearby Grand Baie is less a swimming beach than a hub: a sheltered bay that is the departure point for almost every catamaran cruise to the northern islets such as Coin de Mire, Île Gabriel and Île Plate, plus the island's best restaurants and nightlife. Trou aux Biches rounds out the north, a calm, palm-lined strip that is one of the best snorkelling-from-the-sand spots and a beautiful place to watch the sunset.

If you are flying in or out, the north is roughly an hour and a quarter from the airport in the south-east, so it is worth booking a fixed-price transfer rather than a metered taxi. We run door-to-door airport transfers at /airport-transfer, and catamaran trips and snorkelling excursions from Grand Baie are listed under tours & activities.

The east is the quietest and, to many people, the most beautiful coast. This is Belle Mare Tours' home turf, so we are biased, but the facts back it up. Belle Mare itself is a six-kilometre ribbon of fine white sand and a huge, calm lagoon, far less built-up than the north, with long empty stretches even in high season. It is excellent for swimming and walking, and the early-morning light here is something special.

Just south sits Trou d'Eau Douce, a working fishing village that is the launch point for Île aux Cerfs, the postcard island with powder-white sand, an 18-hole golf course and every water sport going. A short boat hop gets you there, and most visitors combine it with the Grand River South East waterfall and a beach barbecue. The east does come with one honest caveat: it catches the prevailing south-east trade wind, so afternoons can be breezier here than on the sheltered west, which is wonderful for sailing and kitesurfing but can blow sand around if you just want to lie still. Mornings are usually glassy.

Because we are based here, pickups on the east coast are quick and inexpensive, and you can browse the Île aux Cerfs cruises and east-coast day tours under tours & activities.

The south is the dramatic, rugged side of the island, where the reef opens up and the scenery turns cinematic. The standout is Le Morne, at the foot of the UNESCO-listed Le Morne Brabant, a 556-metre basaltic monolith that was a refuge for escaped slaves. The beach and lagoon below it are among the most photographed in Mauritius, and the spot is a genuine world-class kitesurfing destination thanks to the reliable wind and the famous 'One Eye' wave. Beginners stick to the flat inner lagoon; experts head out back.

Around the headland, Gris Gris near Souillac is the exception that proves the lagoon rule. Here the reef stops and the open Indian Ocean smashes straight into the cliffs, so this is not a swimming beach at all. It is a place to watch raw surf and walk the wild clifftops, and it pairs naturally with the coloured earths and waterfalls of Chamarel inland. The south-west is also where surfers head in the May-to-October winter season, with Le Morne and Tamarin picking up the season's swell.

A full south-west day usually strings together Le Morne, Chamarel and a viewpoint or two, which is a lot of ground to cover. You can see how it all links and what is worth your time on our things-to-do guide at things to do in Mauritius.

The west coast is the sunny, sheltered side, protected from the trade wind and famous for its sunsets over the ocean. Flic-en-Flac is the headline beach: a long, broad sweep of white sand with a calm lagoon, easy snorkelling over the nearby reef, and plenty of restaurants and shops within walking distance. It is one of the best all-rounders on the island and a sensible base if you want a beach with amenities but not the intensity of Grand Baie.

Further south, Tamarin Bay is a different proposition. It is one of the few places in Mauritius with a proper surf break, a river-mouth beach that draws bodyboarders and longboarders, and the bay is well known for the wild dolphins that gather offshore most mornings. Early-morning swim-with-dolphins boat trips leave from here and from nearby Black River, and they are far better done at dawn before the wind and the crowds build. The west also gives you easy access to boat trips out to Île aux Bénitiers and the photogenic Crystal Rock sandbar.

Dolphin-watching cruises, snorkelling trips and Île aux Bénitiers excursions on this coast are listed under tours & activities, and if you are short on planning time the AI planner at AI trip planner can slot a west-coast beach day into your route automatically.

If you want calm water and a do-nothing beach day, choose Belle Mare in the east or Mont Choisy and Trou aux Biches in the north. For families with small children, the gentle shallow entries at Pereybere, Mont Choisy and Flic-en-Flac are hard to beat. For snorkelling straight off the sand, Trou aux Biches and Flic-en-Flac are the reliable picks, while serious reef snorkelling is better reached by boat from Grand Baie or Trou d'Eau Douce.

For wind and wave sports, the south-west is the place: Le Morne for kitesurfing and Tamarin for surfing and dolphins, both at their best in the May-to-October winter. And for sheer drama over swimming, Gris Gris and the Le Morne backdrop deliver the photographs you will actually remember. No single beach does everything, which is exactly why it is worth seeing two or three coasts in a week rather than parking yourself on one.