Home / Experience Mauritius / Islands / Île aux Cerfs
The island every Mauritius brochure uses — white sand, a huge shallow lagoon and a championship golf course — reached by a ten-minute boat hop from Trou d’Eau Douce.
Île aux Cerfs sits in the lagoon off Trou d’Eau Douce on the east coast, and its appeal is straightforward: around a hundred hectares of casuarina and coconut with some of the finest white sand in Mauritius and a lagoon that stays shallow, warm and impossibly blue for hundreds of metres. The name means island of stags, from the deer that once lived here. The crossing takes about ten minutes.
It is also the busiest island in the country, and how much you enjoy it depends almost entirely on timing. Ferries and speedboats run continuously through the morning, and by midday the main beach carries a lot of people, parasail boats and jet skis. Take the first boat and the same beach is quiet and extraordinary. There is a full range of water sports, several restaurants and beach bars, and the 18-hole Le Touessrok championship course occupies the southern half of the island. Many trips extend to the GRSE waterfall in the river mouth on the mainland, usually with a barbecue lunch on the way. Public access to the beach is free — you pay for the boat and for whatever you do once ashore.
Shallow, warm and calm across most of the lagoon — excellent for children. No lifeguards. Keep clear of the jet ski and parasail zones, which are busy from mid-morning.
Reef-safe sunscreen, a hat and cash — the restaurants and water sports on the island are priced for visitors. Shade fills up early.
Ferries and speedboats run from Trou d’Eau Douce throughout the day, roughly ten minutes each way. Organised trips often add the GRSE waterfall and a barbecue lunch. Agree the return time before you board.
Back on the mainland, a few minutes north: the same wide lagoon as Belle Mare with a fraction of the people.
Kilometres of fine white sand up the coast, and the best sunrise on the island.
North along the coast: a protected stretch of lagoon and reef, and a fishing village largely untouched by tourism.
Île aux Cerfs,
off Trou d’Eau Douce,
Flacq District, Mauritius
Around 10 minutes by boat from Trou d’Eau Douce
Approximately 1 hour by road from Port Louis
Around 45 minutes by road from the airport
There is no land access. Drive to Trou d’Eau Douce on the east coast and take a ferry or speedboat from the jetty; boats run through the day and organised trips include the crossing.
By boat from Trou d’Eau Douce on the east coast, about ten minutes across the lagoon. Ferries and speedboats run through the day from the jetty, and most organised day trips include the crossing.
Yes, if you go early. Take the first boat and the main beach is quiet and genuinely spectacular; by midday it carries a lot of people, jet skis and parasail boats. Timing makes more difference here than at any other island in Mauritius.
No — the beach is publicly accessible. You pay for the boat crossing and for anything you do once ashore: water sports, meals, sun loungers and golf are all charged separately.
Swimming in a very shallow warm lagoon, a full range of water sports, several restaurants and beach bars, and an 18-hole championship golf course occupying the southern half of the island.
Many day trips extend up the Grande Rivière Sud-Est to a waterfall in the river mouth on the mainland, usually combined with a barbecue lunch. It is a common add-on rather than part of every crossing — check what your trip includes.