Relaxing places in Africa
Another public beach near Grand Baie. Besides the pretty white beach with a view to some islands, there are benches and a large parking lot.
Blue Bay is a popular public beach. On weekends the beach and particularly the shady area under the trees are occupied by picnicking locals.
Grand Baie is a true tourist town at a beautiful wide bay. The main streets are full of restaurants, jewelry shops and questionable fashion brand stores. The city beach is surprisingly quiet with broad views over the yacht-filled bay. If you find the setting too urban, the coastline is blessed with other beaches in both directions.
The paradise island of Ile aux Cerfs is a popular daytrip destination. There are unspoiled white beaches for kilometres. The lagoon side has calm azure blue waters, while the seaside is usually rougher, even though it's protected by an outer reef. The area around the small pier is touristic with restaurants, souvenir shops and touts pushing parasail and other water sports. But, just a few beaches further down, it gets more deserted until the point where you have an entire beach for yourself. As strange as it might sound, there is a golf course on the island. Speedboats make the 15 minutes journey from Trou d’Eau Douce on the mainland.
A small and pretty public beach with rough waters as it's facing the sea. It's a popular spot for sunset watching as the sun goes down right across the bay. There are toilets, changing cabins and snack stands. If you want a peek at the rich and famous, walk along the black rocks to the bay next door where the luxury resort Royal Palm occupies the whole beach.
Right next to Blue Bay lies the more secluded and isolated Point d'Esny. Private luxury bungalows face the gorgeous beach, which is known as one of the most beautiful stretches of sand on Mauritius. The calm turquoise lagoon is popular with kite surfers.
Tourism in Mauritius is dominated by gated luxury resorts, so spots with a bit of independent travel vibe are few and far between - but the small fisher settlement of Tamarin is one of them. The beautiful public beach sits on a backdrop of jagged mountains at a bay full of dolphins. There are surf shops, cheap food stands, and probably the closest you get to backpacker accommodation on Mauritius.
A bit south of the luxury resort strip in Palmar lies the budget vacation village of Trou d'Eau Douce. Here is a fine selection of guesthouses and smaller hotels along with some anonymous looking but great restaurants. Palms line the narrow white beach which enfold the aquamarine lagoon. Boats and catamarans lie for anchor in the shallow clear water, if they are not doing tours or going to nearby Ile aux Cerfs - a picture perfect paradise island off the coast.
The Quirimbas is a string of 32 idyllic islands along Mozambique's northern coast. This archipelago contains a bit of everything: pristine beaches, ancient settlements, luscious mangroves, amazing dive sites, beautiful coral reefs, pods of dolphins, warm water, a huge variety of tropical fish, an abundance of fruit and as much seafood as you can eat. Although dotted with important settlements in the past, the Quirimbas Archipelago is now virtually unknown to the outside world, and only visit by few tourists. The days are hot, and life is slow - much as it was a hundred years ago. So take a dhow trip around the islands, lounge on one of the endless white beaches and go for a swim in the azure Indian Ocean - you probably deserve it.
Tofo beach is THE beach for backpackers, overlanders and whoever likes a bit of party and cool beach vibe in Mozambique. The sea is azure and the crescent shaped beach is long - though not palm fringed. Tall sand dunes stretch right to the edge of the sea in the north end, while the middle and south sections have most of the accommodations. Diving is popular and the surfing can apparently also be good, but else there isn't much more to do besides eating seafood, chilling and maybe a football match with the beach boys in the afternoon. The adorable town of Inhambane is just a chapa (minibus) ride away, making it a perfect day trip from Tofo.