Best Beaches in Mauritius: The Ones We'd Go Back To
Published 30 October 2026
Every beach we loved in Mauritius was good for a different reason, and honestly that was half the fun of spending a month there. Le Morne was the showstopper, with the mountain rising straight up behind the lagoon! Tamarin was where I loved ending an ordinary day. Blue Bay gave us our quiet, pineapple-on-the-sand finish, and the northern islands were a whole boat day of their own. Here's how they compared once we'd actually spent time on them.
Quick answer: which beach would I choose?
For the mountain-and-lagoon setting, Le Morne, which was our favourite beach of the whole trip. For a relaxed beach stay, Blue Bay, our second favourite for beaches. For sunsets as part of an everyday west-coast routine, Tamarin. For an island day out, the Flat Island and Îlot Gabriel catamaran from Grand Baie. And if you're based in the north with kids, Trou aux Biches is the easy flat-water option. These are the beaches we saw between 13 August and 13 September 2026, which is winter in Mauritius.
Le Morne: my pick for the scenery
The mountain behind the lagoon is what made Le Morne stand out for me. We saw it first from the water on our private sunrise boat morning, when we snorkelled on the reef right in front of Le Morne beach, and the very next morning we came back on foot. Seeing the same stretch from both sides was such a treat!
Top tip for the public beach: there's free parking with lots of space, and when you get to the parking entrance, turn right. From there you can walk along the sand in front of the Paradis resort the whole way. It's that classic white sand with palm trees, super flat water and Le Morne towering behind you. We walked for about 20 minutes and it became one of my favourite morning walks of the whole month!
It doesn't cost anything to walk the beach, so bring your swimmers if you want a dip. I don't think you can use the resort's cabanas unless you're staying there, but the sand itself is public. We also watched surfers paddling out to the waves further out, and a lot of the boat tours leave from this stretch, which is exactly where we'd been the morning before.
I'd give the beach some breathing room in your day. The appeal wasn't ticking off an activity; it was simply being there. Le Morne is a lot quieter than Tamarin, with far fewer cafés and restaurants, but the beach is so stunning that if I came back, I'd add one or two nights there!
The hike needs its own spare days
We planned to hike Le Morne on our last day in Tamarin, drove up the very bumpy road to the base and found the gates closed because of anticyclone weather. It had been a sunny morning, and then the wind just set in out of nowhere. The hike is free and you can park right at the base, so it's easy to try again, as long as you've left yourself a few extra days. We hadn't, so don't leave it until the end like we did.
Blue Bay: the quieter finish
We stayed four nights in Blue Bay at the very end of the month, a one-minute walk from the beach. Our last few days had some really average weather, so when the sun finally came out, we went straight down to the sand. A fruit seller had pineapple and mango, bagged up with chilli salt shaken over the top, and it was so good with the citrusy fruit! A friend had messaged me to say I had to dip my pineapple in the ocean before eating it, so of course I did. Delicious!
The beach itself is genuinely beautiful. There's surf breaking further out, but the reef keeps it out of the bay, so the water inside was beautiful when we were there. Here's my top tip: from the public section of Blue Bay beach, look to the right and walk all the way to the end. You'll find a quieter little stretch where a few old sailing boats with netting, like mini catamarans, were sitting on the sand. We lay on them in the sun, it still wasn't too busy, and it felt almost like our own beach. Hopefully they're still there when you go!
As anywhere, have a look at the conditions on the day before you swim.
Where we stayed for Blue Bay
Blue Paradise Villa & Apartments was our final booking, and I loved it. We had the ground-floor apartment: a small kitchen with an oven and stovetop (10 out of 10 from me, it was all we needed), a coastal-style bedroom and a shared pool area surrounded by palm trees. There's a separate upstairs unit that can be booked on its own, or together with the ground floor if you're a family or two couples who want two rooms.
The Blue Bay guide explains the base, and the stays guide compares it with other parts of the island.
Tamarin: the beach at the end of the day
Tamarin has a completely different feel from the bright lagoon beaches. The sand is darker, almost black, and it gets busy during the day, with food trucks parked up. It isn't the beach I'd pick for turquoise swimming, but with the mountains behind it and the sun setting directly over the water, it was where I loved finishing the day. Everyone comes down in the evening to hang out, and the vibe is so relaxed!
We nicknamed the mountain behind the main beach Gorilla Mountain, because from the side it looks just like a gorilla's face, and one evening we had a rainbow right next to it! The waves along there stay small, so it's good for kids and beginner surfers, and tours leave from the beach every morning.
It fitted the routine we'd built around coffee at Coffee Shore, work and cooking at home. For me, its value was living there, not a special excursion every time we went to the coast. When we wanted whiter sand without leaving Tamarin, we did a day pass at The Bay, which sits right on the beach.
If sunsets and an easy everyday routine are what you're looking for, read the Tamarin guide.
Flat Island and Îlot Gabriel: beaches reached by boat
These were stops on our catamaran day from Grand Baie, not mainland beaches we drove to. We walked to the harbour for an 8:20 check-in, left at about 8:40 and had roughly 25 to 30 people on our boat (some of the others had a lot more). The crossing took about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half each way, and the swell was big both ways. It didn't feel too bad on a catamaran, but if you get seasick, keep it in mind.
Flat Island came first, with lunch on the beach: chicken, sausages, fresh fish, pasta, rice, salad and bread, plus homemade cocktails with Mauritian rum and local beer. Then a dinghy took us across to Îlot Gabriel, where we spent a few hours swimming and chilling in crystal-clear water, and there's good snorkelling there too. We also passed a third island that's protected for wildlife, so no one can land on it. The weather had been super average for a few days beforehand, and then this turned into the perfect day. Daniel rated it 9 out of 10!
Our northern catamaran guide explains the route and what we paid. We booked it from a brochure in our Grand Baie Airbnb.
Grand Baie and Trou aux Biches: the northern mainland beaches
Grand Baie worked brilliantly as our north-coast base and for the harbour departure, but the beach scenes I loved most from that week were all on the islands.
For a mainland beach in the north, we stopped at Trou aux Biches on the day we drove down to Tamarin. It's only about 15 minutes from Grand Baie, with free parking, toilets, change rooms and outdoor showers, plus food stalls right next to the sand. The water was really flat, so it looked great for swimming and for kids. Lots of boats head out from there, and there's a dive centre if you want to learn. We didn't swim that day because we were killing time before our Tamarin check-in, and Daniel gave the beach itself a 7 out of 10: decent and easy rather than the nicest on the island.
How I'd choose a beach base
Think about whether you want the same beach every day or a different outing each time. If you want to walk out from your accommodation, map that exact property. Being a one-minute walk from the sand in Blue Bay made a huge difference to our last few days! If your favourite photo is from a boat day, budget the boat in, because the islands aren't outside a Grand Baie hotel room.
For our trip, Tamarin was the everyday base for 19 nights, Grand Baie connected us with the northern outing for eight, and Blue Bay gave us a quiet four-night finish. We visited Le Morne from Tamarin; it's very close, so it's easy to go back and forth if you have a car. Our accommodation comparison goes through each base properly.
I would also leave weather flexibility. August and September are winter there, and we had more cloudy days than we'd had in Zanzibar or the Seychelles, plus wind that could arrive suddenly. Because we had a whole month, we could wait for the good beach days. The season article covers what the weather was really like, and the ten-day route leaves space so one grey day doesn't cost you your favourite beach.
What to check before you settle in
In our experience, the sand at Le Morne, Blue Bay and Trou aux Biches was free to walk onto, while the loungers and pools belonged to the hotels. At The Bay in Tamarin we paid for a day pass to use them, and it was worth it. The wind changed things quickly during our month, so look at the water on the day before you commit to a swim.
Then give yourself time to enjoy the place. My favourite beach moments, like that pineapple afternoon in Blue Bay, were the ones with nothing booked straight afterwards. Sometimes the best decision was choosing one setting for the kind of afternoon we wanted and staying there.
Watch our Mauritius trip
Watch our Mauritius vlog on YouTube, 45m21s. This is also our newest public full-length video, verified for this article.
FAQs about Mauritius beaches
Which beach was your favourite for scenery?
Le Morne, for the mountain and lagoon setting. It was our favourite beach of the whole month, and the public beach walk in front of the Paradis resort is free, with free parking.
Did you stay in Le Morne?
No. We visited the beach and lagoon from Tamarin. Our overnight bases were Grand Baie, Tamarin and Blue Bay, but next time I'd add one or two nights in Le Morne.
Can I drive to the northern-island beaches?
No. Our Flat Island and Îlot Gabriel visits were catamaran stops from Grand Baie harbour, with about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half on the water each way.
Does clear-looking water mean safe swimming?
Not on its own. Le Morne public beach and Trou aux Biches had really flat water when we were there, and Blue Bay's reef kept the surf out of the bay, but the wind changed things quickly during our month, so look at the conditions on the day.
