Review of the Flic-en-Flac beach: the pros and cons of one of the best beaches in Mauritius

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Once a humble fishing village, the Flic-en-Flac beach has been transformed into a popular resort for a beach holiday in Mauritius. In terms of the development of tourist infrastructure, it is inferior only to Grand Baie, but, unlike Grand Baie, it boasts an excellent spacious beach, which entered my list of the Top 5 best beaches in Mauritius. I already gave a brief description of the Flic-en-Flac beach, now it’s time to tell you more about it: where is Flic-en-Flac located, what is the level of the beach infrastructure, what are the features, pros and cons of Flic-en-Flac, and also all that you can do on this beach.

Flic-en-Flac is said to be the best beach in Mauritius

Where is the Flic-en-Flac beach located?

Flic-en-Flac (the name comes from the Dutch “Fried Landt Flaak”, which means “free flat land”) is located on the west coast of Mauritius and is adjacent to the resort town of the same name. It originates from the northern part of the city and stretches to the Le Morne Brabant peninsula. The total length of Flic-en-Flac is 6 km. For the moment, this is one of the longest beaches in Mauritius. Capable of competing with it are my favorite Trou aux Biches and Mont Choisy.

Flic-en-Flac can be roughly divided into three parts:

  • Volmar Beach (the southern part of Flic-en-Flac) is almost completely divided between hotels. The length of Volmar is 3 km, but the public beach is only 150 m.
  • The central beach (1.8 km) is lively and has a developed infrastructure.
  • North Flic-en-Flac is a 1 km long stretch of coast, and this is where most of the “postcard” photographs are taken. This is the quietest and most secluded part of Flic-en-Flac, where there is almost nothing but a volleyball field and several dozen sun loungers that belong to the nearby hotels.

Almost the entire length of Flic-en-Flac is protected from waves and other dangers by a coral reef, and at its edge a strip of casuarina trees stretches, in whose shade you can hide from the scorching sun.

Shady trees on Flic-en-Flac beach in Mauritius

Good hotels and holiday apartments on Flic-en-Flac beach in 2024

Flic-en-Flac has dozens of hotels and apartments of various categories, many of which deserve high ratings from vacationers.

  • L’Ocean Tourist Residence – located a little far from the sea, but excellent value for money. If you’re taking a car, it’s a great option. Prices for hotel rooms →
  • Residence Barbera Apartments – apartments with gorgeous sea views from the terrace. Closed territory, parking. You can walk to the beach. Apartment prices →
  • Résidence Padma – affordable hotel with free Wi-Fi and parking. Very good reviews. You can check room rates on Booking →

10 tips on how to choose a holiday hotel in Mauritius

Holidays on the beach of Flic-en-Flac. Photos and reviews

Flic-en-Flac beach is a holiday on white sand or in the shade of casuarina trees. You can snorkel or soak in the clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Holidays on Flic-en-Flac are suitable for both young people and families with children, and for everyone who travels to the island for the first time.

Flic-en-Flac white sand beach in Mauritius
Flic-en-Flac water is clear

Flic-en-Flac beach

Things to do in Flic-en-Flac

Underwater world near the coast

I like that the beach is developed. There are cafes with restaurants along the sea, and fast-food vans near the beach.

Flic-en-Flac beach in Mauritius

One of the restaurants along the sea

Flic-en-Flac beach infrastructure

Cheap fast-food vans along the sea. Mauritius has its own special fast-food. I highly recommend you try it! Btw don’t miss a list of must-try local foods.

I’ve only seen good things in reviews of Flic-en-Flac. The Mauritians themselves consider it to be possibly the best beach on the island.

Hotels on Flic-en-Flac beach, Mauritius

Sea view villas

Holidays on the best beach in Mauritius
Things to do on Flic-en-Flac beach

One of the activities on Flic-en-Flac – SUP surfing

Leave the feedback about your vacation on Flic-en-Flac in the comments!

Infrastructure on the Flic-en-Flac beach

Flic-en-Flac is a very “civilized” beach, especially in its central part. There are free toilets and showers, umbrellas and sun loungers, many eateries and food stalls. Merchants walk along the beach (not too intrusive, however), offering fruits and souvenirs, and there are distributors of equipment for water sports near the water.

If you step aside from the sandy strip, you can get into one of the bars, nightclubs or cafes of Flic-en-Flac, visit the Spar supermarket or the Pasadena shopping center.

Shops on Flic-en-Flac Beach

Pasadena Shopping Center

In the immediate vicinity of the beach there are also several diving clubs (Ticabo, Abyss Centre De Plongee, Nemo), where you can not only rent everything you need for scuba diving, but also get private diving and snorkeling lessons.

Reviews of holidays on Flic-en-Flac beach

Cafes and restaurants on Flic-en-Flac

There are also dozens of pavilions and specially prepared picnic areas scattered around the beach, where you can settle down and even have a barbecue.

Boat trips and activities on Flic-en-Flac

Excursions on Flic-en-Flac can be bought either at local agencies or on the internet on the GetYourGuide website or Viator. Prices are about the same, but GetYourGuide has a slightly better selection of excursions.

The most popular excursions in Flic-en-Flac are swimming with dolphins, catamaran trips and diving. But I advise you not to dwell just on marine entertainment. Here is my list of “Top 10 things to do in Mauritius“.

Excursions that offer swimming with dolphins:

  • Black River Dolphins – A small 3-hour excursion. It is guaranteed that you will definitely see dolphins. If not, the second tour is free. Price from 50€ per person.
  • Benitier Island – Full day excursion with BBQ and swimming with dolphins. Price from 70€ per person.
  • Dolphins + whales — An excursion during which you can not only swim with dolphins, but also see whales. Price 86€ per person.

The most interesting options for catamaran trips:

  • Ile aux Benitiers – in addition to snorkeling, there is a chance to see dolphins (without swimming with them).
  • Ile aux Cerfs – Full day cruise on a 45m catamaran. Snorkeling, BBQ and a pleasant stay.
  • Trou d’Eau Douce – Full day cruise on the eastern reef with a visit to Ile aux Cerfs.
Sea vacation on a catamaran in Mauritius

In the vicinity of Mauritius there are many small islands to which tours are organized by catamarans, speedboats (motorboats) and yachts. I prefer catamarans because the sea rocks them the least.

One interesting dive site is the Rempart Serpent, or Serpentine Reef, which gets its name from the long tufts of algae that make it look like it is moving through the water in a serpentine fashion. Also of great interest to divers is a network of underwater caves, especially the Cathedral, where sunlight penetrating through a crack in the arch creates the illusion of a stained-glass window.

Other things to do on Flick-n-Flack beach

If you came to Mauritius not only for the sake of relaxing by the sea, you have at your disposal Casela Nature and Leisure Park, which is located nearby and is also great for traveling with children. In the park you can see wild animals (both in captivity and in their natural habitat) or fly over the gorge on a zipline.

On the same sites that I mentioned just above, you can order either a private sightseeing tour of the entire island, or one of the general excursions. Most land tours from Flic-en-Flac beach are available on the GetYourGuide website. I advise you to definitely go not only to Casela, but also to La Vanille Park, to the seven-colored sands of Chamarel and see Gris Gris. List of places that are still must see in Mauritius →

Chamarel Falls - the highest in Mauritius

Chamarel Falls – the highest in Mauritius

Cons of Flick-en-Flack Beach

The cons of the Flic-en-Flac beach in Mauritius can be counted on one hand. Most often, vacationers complain that crowds of local residents come here on weekends and holidays, interfering with a relaxing holiday and leaving garbage behind. That’s true, but the very next morning the garbage is already gone – municipal services work perfectly.

Another common complaint is of the coral shards and sea urchins, which are quite numerous on this beach. On Flic-en-Flac, it is especially necessary to carefully observe the security measures, which I wrote about here.

Seaside relaxation at Flic-en-Flac beach in Mauritius

Sea urchins at the bottom near the shore at Flic-en-Flac beach

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Hello!
My name is Tatiana, and I am glad to see you in my Mauritius travel guide.
For more than 12 years I have been traveling and creating travel guides to different countries. For the first time I got to Mauritius in 2018. I got inspired by the island so much that I decided to create this guide.
I personally visited all the places described on this site. Photos and texts are also taken and written by me. I update articles regularly to keep them up to date.
I hope you’ll forgive any errors or awkward phrasing, as I am not a native English speaker.