5 Mauritian Islets Worth a Boat Ride

Just beyond the shores of mainland Mauritius lies more beauty, more adventure, and several very good reasons to wake up early and get on a boat. Scattered around its edges are small islets, each with its own rhythm, its own dress code, and, in one notable case, its own eighteen-hole championship golf course.

So if the words “day trip” have started forming in your mind, here are five islets that absolutely earn the boat ride.

1. Île aux Cerfs: Did someone say ocean-view golf?

If Mauritian islets had a celebrity, Île aux Cerfs would be the one walking the red carpet while the others held its drink. A few minutes by boat off the east coast, spread across 87 hectares of postcard-level beauty, this is the kind of islet that seems to have thought of everything.

The beaches are the kind that make your other beach photos look a little less sure of themselves. The lagoon glows in shades of blue that feel almost suspicious. And then, as if the lagoon wanted to show off a little more, Bernhard Langer, two-time Masters champion, designed an 18-hole golf course that turns the island’s natural drama into part of the game. The course offers ocean views throughout and winds across 38 hectares of volcanic outcrops, nine lakes and more lush tropical foliage than your average botanist can identify in a week.

Not a golfer? Do not worry. There’s restaurants, bars, sun loungers, and some water activities on offer as well. There is even the option of staying overnight in the Bubble Lodges, which sound as romantic as they look.

Best for: Golfers, beach loungers, water-sports enthusiasts, anyone with mild FOMO who wants to do everything in one go.

2. Île aux Bénitiers: A long beach and a dramatic rock

Over on the southwest coast, just off La Gaulette, Île aux Bénitiers is the laid-back cousin who shows up to brunch without checking the dress code and still somehow looks better than everyone else. Two kilometres of coral sand, fringed by water that, to put it diplomatically, you will photograph excessively.

Half the magic is the journey. Boats out tend to detour through the bay where bottlenose and spinner dolphins live their full-time best lives. With some luck, you will spot them slipping past the boat as if they planned the whole thing.

Just offshore you will find Crystal Rock, a chunk of volcanic basalt jutting dramatically out of the lagoon as if posing for an album cover. Bring the good camera.

Best for: Catamaran day trips, dolphin enthusiasts, anyone who wants their camera roll to come home looking very pleased with itself.

3. Île aux Aigrettes: Rare wildlife and Mauritius at its purest

A short hop off Pointe Jérôme in the southeast lies Île aux Aigrettes: 26 hectares of strict but lovingly enforced conservation. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation runs the place, and what they have achieved here is genuinely remarkable. This is Mauritius in its purest form.

You can only visit on a guided tour, which sounds restrictive until you realise the guides know where the Aldabra giant tortoises are sunbathing, where the pink pigeons are loitering, and where the Gunther’s geckos are doing whatever it is geckos do all day. Spoiler: a lot of sitting.

It is not a beach day. It is a slow, quiet, slightly humbling stroll through the kind of biodiversity that took millions of years to assemble and about three centuries to nearly lose. You will leave with a slightly recalibrated sense of what this island actually is.

Best for: Nature lovers, families with curious kids, anyone who has reached the point of the holiday where the lagoon needs a brief break.

4. Îlot Gabriel: Snorkelling and a catamaran adventure

Up in the deep north, between the mainland and Flat Island, Îlot Gabriel is a protected reserve with the easy charm of somewhere that has not quite figured out it is famous. You get there by catamaran, usually as part of a full-day trip out of Grand Baie or Trou aux Biches, and the journey is half the holiday. Lunch and drinks are served onboard, and you might even get a chance to dance some sega.

Coral sand, basalt rocks, a lagoon so shallow and clear you can count the toes of someone twenty metres away. It is a snorkelling postcard. Multicoloured fish drift past in no particular hurry. Divers, head over to Pigeon House Rock nearby, particularly between November and April, when reef sharks make regular cameo appearances.

Best for: Snorkellers, divers, full-day catamaran fans, and anyone who believes rum punch are an important part of the itinerary.

5. Île d’Ambre: Kayaks, mangroves and a story most people miss

Off the northeast coast, Île d’Ambre is the islet for travellers who have started to feel slightly betrayed by lounging. It is surrounded by mangroves, threaded with narrow waterways, and best explored by kayak, paddling slowly through green tunnels, sea on one side, sea on the other, herons doing their unbothered heron thing in the branches overhead.

There is a hiking option too, for the more terrestrial-minded: a short crossing followed by a walk across the island, with views, more mangroves, and the satisfying smugness of having done something more energetic than an oceanside nap.

A bit of history is folded in here too. Île d’Ambre is where the Saint Géran famously went down in 1744, the shipwreck that inspired the classic Mauritian love story Paul et Virginie. Most visitors do not know this. You can mention it casually on the kayak adventure through the mangroves and seem extremely well-read.

Best for: Active travellers, paddlers, history-curious souls who like a story with their adventures.

Did you know? Of the 49 islets surrounding mainland Mauritius, seven have been proclaimed Nature Reserves and eight form part of the Islets National Park. Pretty impressive for places that, from a distance, look like small green dots having a very good day at sea. These islets are home to rare fauna and flora, and provide vital shelter for species that have survived away from mainland pressures such as invasive predators. Of the 18 reptile species that once occurred in Mauritius, only 13 remain, and seven of these are now restricted to offshore islets where they escaped extinction caused by predators such as rats. Even the landscape likes to keep things interesting. Between Île aux Cerfs and Îlot Mangénie, the former “Passage Grand Courant” has become heavily silted over time, leaving behind a broad sandbank where water once flowed. A reminder that in Mauritius, even the islands are not entirely finished with their own story.

So, which one?

Honestly, this is one of those decisions where there is no wrong answer, just different shades of right. Île aux Cerfs if you want everything in one place, and possibly a round of golf. Bénitiers for the dolphins and that beach. Aigrettes for the wildlife and the sense of awe. Gabriel for the snorkelling. Ambre for the kayaking and the bragging rights.

Or, and we feel obliged to point this out, you could simply do all five.

You’re on holiday. The mainland will still be there when you get back, having missed you slightly.

*****

If you’re staying with us at one of our Sunlife resorts, ask our concierge about how to organise one of these islet trips.

visit website