The Best Beaches
in Mauritius

Mauritius is ringed by an almost continuous coral reef, and that single fact shapes every beach on the island. The reef breaks the ocean swell offshore and leaves a warm, shallow, turquoise lagoon around most of the coast, which is why the swimming here is so reliably gentle. The sand is soft and white, shaded by casuarina trees, and by law the beaches are public, so the long stretches in front of the grandest resorts are open to everyone.

The honest read is that the coasts differ more by wind and mood than by water quality. The north around Trou aux Biches and Grand Baie is lively, developed and sheltered, the east at Belle Mare is long, calm and elegant, the west at Flic en Flac and Tamarin catches the best sunsets, and the wild south around Le Morne and Gris Gris is the most dramatic. The trade winds blow from the southeast, so on a windy day you move to a leeward coast rather than abandon the beach. Pick for the setting and the conditions, because the lagoon delivers almost everywhere.

If you want the single most beautiful beach day, go to Le Morne for the setting and Trou aux Biches for the swim. Le Morne pairs a calm lagoon with the drama of the mountain behind it, while Trou aux Biches is the gentle, shallow, shaded stretch that most people picture when they imagine the perfect family beach. Between them they cover the spectrum from photogenic to practical.

Use the wind to plan your day rather than fight it. The trade winds blow from the southeast, so when the east coast at Belle Mare is breezy, the north and west at Trou aux Biches, Mont Choisy and Flic en Flac are sheltered and calm, and the reverse holds on a rare northwesterly. Because every beach is public and free, moving coast is easy and costs nothing, which is one of the quiet pleasures of the island.

The honest caveat is that Ile aux Cerfs is both genuinely lovely and genuinely overrun. The main beach on the island day trip gets crowded and loud with watersports, and the boat tours can feel like a conveyor belt. It is still worth doing, but walk away from the landing point to the quieter shore, or temper expectations, and you will enjoy it far more.

Mauritius is a year round beach island, but it sits in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons are flipped. The cooler, drier winter from May to November brings the most comfortable weather, lower humidity and calmer water on the sheltered coasts, and it is the prime time for a relaxed beach holiday. The warm summer from December to April is hotter and more humid, with the lagoons at their warmest and the chance of a passing tropical shower or, rarely, a cyclone between January and March. The kitesurf season at Le Morne peaks with the winter trade winds from around June to September, while the calmest swimming and snorkelling on the east coast favours the shoulder months. Whichever month you choose, there is almost always a sheltered coast somewhere on the island.

Mauritius is not a beach club island in the Mediterranean sense, and it is fairer to say so than to pretend otherwise. The luxury here lives inside the resorts, each with its own beach bar and pool, which are private to guests. There is no long public strip of competing daybed clubs, because the model is the all inclusive resort rather than the open beach scene.

The one genuine public beach club is C Beach Club at Bel Ombre on the south coast, and it is excellent. It is open to visitors as well as resort guests, with day beds, a large pool, a Mediterranean menu and watersports, and it sells a day pass that runs through the day. If a stylish daybed and a long lunch are part of your plan, this is where to find them. For the detail and the booking notes, see our Mauritius beach clubs guide.