Flic en Flac Beach

Flic en Flac is the most democratic beach in Mauritius: six kilometres of wide, accessible public sand on the west coast that belongs genuinely to everyone — families from the Plaines Wilhems plateau who drive down for Sunday picnics, hotel guests from the resort corridor, kitesurfers arriving at dawn, and tourists from around the world who've been told (correctly) that this is where the best sunsets happen. The name, thought to derive from a Dutch phrase meaning "free and flat land," tells you something about the geography: the beach is broad, the land behind it flat, and the mountains of the Black River Gorges rise dramatically behind the skyline.

The lagoon at Flic en Flac is protected by a reef that begins about a kilometre offshore, keeping the water calm and swimmable year-round along most of the beach's length. The sand is off-white rather than the luminous powder of the east coast — slightly coarser, slightly darker — which gives it a more honest, less manicured quality. The public beach runs parallel to the Royal Road and is backed by a tree-lined promenade with benches, outdoor fitness equipment, and the permanent presence of vendors selling sugarcane juice, dholl puri, and grilled corn on the cob.

The west coast catches the full weight of the evening sun, and the sunsets at Flic en Flac are the most photographed and most talked-about on the island. Between 5:30pm and 7pm from May through October, the sky turns every shade from pale gold to deep crimson, silhouetting the Black River and Rempart mountain peaks in the distance. The beach fills at this hour with locals, tourists, and the hotel crowd all watching the same thing. It is, reliably, spectacular.

The reef at the northern end of Flic en Flac beach — accessible by a 15-minute swim or by hiring a glass-bottom kayak from the beach vendors — is a rewarding dive and snorkel site. Lionfish, moray eels, and large schools of surgeonfish are regular sightings. Several dive operators run their boats from the beach, and the dive sites off Flic en Flac (including the famous Manioc dive site with its sea turtle population) are rated among the best on the island.