Home / Experience Mauritius / Beaches / Trou aux Biches Beach
Fine white sand, casuarina shade and a lagoon so flat it barely moves — consistently rated among the best swimming beaches in Mauritius, and the base for the island’s turtle snorkelling and diving.
Trou aux Biches runs for a couple of kilometres along the north-west coast between Pointe aux Piments and Mon Choisy, and it does the fundamentals better than almost anywhere: fine pale sand, a deep line of casuarinas giving shade close to the water, and a lagoon protected by a reef sitting well offshore, so the water is shallow, clear and reliably flat. The west coast is the sheltered side of the island, out of the prevailing trade wind, which is why conditions here are calm when the east is being blown about.
It is also the diving and snorkelling capital of the north. Operators along the beach run trips to the reef and the wrecks offshore, and the shallow water between here and Pointe aux Piments is the most dependable place in Mauritius to snorkel with green and hawksbill turtles. Facilities are unusually good for a Mauritian public beach — parking, toilets, food vendors and rental stands — and the village behind has restaurants, supermarkets and dive centres. It is popular, particularly at weekends, but the length of the beach absorbs the crowd better than the smaller coves further north. Sunsets here are among the best on the island.
Shallow, clear and consistently calm — among the safest swimming in Mauritius, and well suited to children. No lifeguards. Keep clear of the boat channels and the dive-boat moorings.
Mask and snorkel, reef-safe sunscreen and a towel. Dive gear, boards and glass-bottom trips can all be hired on the beach.
Free parking, toilets, deep casuarina shade and food vendors, with dive centres, restaurants and supermarkets in the village behind. Busy at weekends but long enough to absorb it.
Just south: a protected lagoon and reef, and the turtle habitat this coast is known for.
Twenty minutes inland: the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere, with giant water lilies and palm avenues.
Fifteen minutes north: the island’s main boat-trip departure point and its busiest shopping and dining strip.
Trou aux Biches public beach,
Coastal Road, Trou aux Biches,
Pamplemousses District, Mauritius
Around 25–30 minutes from Port Louis
Approximately 15 minutes from Grand Baie
Around 1 hour from the airport
On the coast road between Pointe aux Piments and Mon Choisy, with free parking and several signposted public access points along the beach.
Among the best in Mauritius. The lagoon is shallow, clear and consistently calm, there is deep casuarina shade close to the water, and facilities include free parking, toilets and food vendors. There are no lifeguards.
Yes — the shallow water between Trou aux Biches and Pointe aux Piments is the most dependable place in Mauritius to see green and hawksbill turtles, and operators on the beach run trips daily.
This is the diving base for the north. Centres along the beach run trips to the reef and to wrecks offshore, catering for everyone from first-timers to certified divers.
Popular, especially at weekends, but the beach runs for a couple of kilometres and absorbs the crowd far better than the smaller coves further north. Weekday mornings are quiet.
One of the best on the island — the coast faces west, so the sun sets straight over the lagoon, and there are restaurants along the road to carry on into the evening.