The Best Beaches in the South

Few beaches make an entrance quite like Le Morne.
The sand stretches beneath the unmistakable silhouette of Le Morne Brabant, while the lagoon shifts between pale aqua and deep turquoise. It is one of those places where you occasionally need to remind yourself to stop looking through the camera and simply look.
The lagoon is generally inviting for swimming, while the wider Le Morne peninsula is famous for water-based activities, particularly kitesurfing and windsurfing. Depending on where you settle along the coastline, the atmosphere can shift from relaxed beach day to something far more active.
Come early if you want a quieter moment. Later in the day, stay for the changing light around the mountain. It is difficult to think of many places where a simple swim comes with such an extraordinary backdrop.

Continue along the south-west coast and you reach Bel Ombre, where beach life takes on a slower rhythm.
Here, the appeal is space. Long stretches of coastline, tropical vegetation, mountains in the distance, and a lagoon where it is very easy to lose track of time. The beachfront around Heritage Resorts sits within this wider landscape, with direct access to the coast and clear lagoon views. But one of the best reasons to spend time in Bel Ombre is what happens when you leave the beach.
Just inland lies Bel Ombre Nature Reserve, where forest trails, waterfalls and preserved landscapes offer a completely different experience of the south. Guided trekking, 4x4 excursions and other nature activities take visitors into the greener side of the region. It creates an easy combination: lagoon in the morning, nature in the afternoon. Or the reverse.
For travellers who dislike choosing between a beach holiday and an active one, Bel Ombre makes a convincing case for doing both.
Internal links: Heritage Resorts | Bel Ombre Nature Reserve

St Félix is the kind of beach people often discover while driving through the south and then wonder why they hadn’t planned to stay longer. The coastline is striking, with pale sand, green vegetation and remarkably clear shades of blue. It also tends to feel more peaceful than some of Mauritius’ better-known resort beaches.
This is a good choice when your plan is deliberately simple: find some shade, put down the bag, swim when you feel like it, and do very little else.
Conditions can vary along the coast, so always look at the water before entering and favour the calmer sections of lagoon. But on the right day, St Félix delivers exactly what many people imagine when they think of a tropical island, without needing much around it.
Bring water, something to eat, and time. That last one matters.

Riambel has a different personality again. It feels open, natural and relatively understated. You won’t necessarily find the same concentration of restaurants, beach clubs or watersports operators as in the busier tourist areas, and that is precisely why some travellers like it.
Come here for a long walk. Sit beneath the trees. Watch fishermen and local life along the coast. Let the beach simply be a beach.
The sea along the southern coastline can sometimes be more exposed than the calm lagoons elsewhere on the island, so swimming conditions should always be checked on the day. Riambel is just as enjoyable when experienced from the shore.
If your idea of luxury is having space around you, this might be one of your favourite stops.

On the south-east coast, Blue Bay changes the mood completely.
Here, the water takes centre stage. Bright, clear and intensely blue, the lagoon is one of the reasons this corner of Mauritius has remained so popular with swimmers and snorkellers.
Blue Bay works well as more than a beach stop. Spend part of the morning in the water, take a break beneath the trees, then explore the south-east rather than rushing back across the island.
It is also a good reminder that the phrase beaches south Mauritius covers a surprisingly varied coastline. The south-west can feel mountainous and dramatic. The deeper south is quieter and more rugged. Move towards the south-east and the classic tropical lagoon returns.
One coast. Several personalities.

Some of the best beach days in Mauritius aren’t built around famous names. As you travel through the south, places such as Pomponette and smaller stretches of coastline between villages invite spontaneous stops. You see the water from the road, find somewhere safe to park, and decide that whatever you had planned can wait. Those moments are worth leaving space for. Mauritius rewards travellers who occasionally put the itinerary away.

If you want dramatic scenery, start with Le Morne. For calm lagoons, a relaxed resort environment and easy access to nature, spend time around Bel Ombre. For tranquillity and beautiful turquoise water, try St Félix. For long walks and a more local, less developed atmosphere, explore Riambel. And if getting into clear lagoon water with a mask and snorkel sounds like your perfect morning, head towards Blue Bay.
Better still, don’t choose only one.

One of the nicest ways to experience this part of Mauritius is slowly.
Start around Le Morne and follow the coast towards Bel Ombre. Stop when a view catches your eye. Spend another day continuing through the villages towards St Félix, Riambel and the wilder southern coastline. Don’t schedule every hour.
Have lunch somewhere because it looks inviting. Buy fruit on the road. Take a swim because the lagoon is particularly beautiful that morning. If you’re staying around Bel Ombre, swap the beach for a few hours inside the Nature Reserve, where guided trails, waterfalls and forest landscapes reveal just how quickly the scenery changes once you leave the coastline. 
That contrast is perhaps what makes the beaches of southern Mauritius so appealing.
You come expecting sand and turquoise water. You find mountains, forests, quiet villages, wild coastlines and calm lagoons too. And somewhere along the road, you stop looking for the “best” beach and simply find the one you don’t feel like leaving.