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- Passe en S: the S-shaped channel through the southwest barrier reef is the lagoon’s signature dive and snorkel site. Water pours through it, bringing big fish, reef sharks, and an edge-of-the-world feeling you don’t get inside the calm lagoon.
- N’Gouja Beach: a long, shaded strand where green turtles feed on seagrass in the shallows at close range. Bring your own mask. Wading out puts you above them within minutes, and the beach has a laid-back local picnic scene.
- Îlot M’Bouzi: a small forested islet reserve near the east side of the lagoon, home to brown lemurs, called makis locally. The boat landing is rocky and the path short, but wild lemurs on a lagoon island are a rare combination.
- Îlot de Sable Blanc: a white sandbar in the southern lagoon that shifts with the tides. There is no shade,
- Passe en S: the S-shaped channel through the southwest barrier reef is the lagoon’s signature dive and snorkel site. Water pours through it, bringing big fish, reef sharks, and an edge-of-the-world feeling you don’t get inside the calm lagoon.
- N’Gouja Beach: a long, shaded strand where green turtles feed on seagrass in the shallows at close range. Bring your own mask. Wading out puts you above them within minutes, and the beach has a laid-back local picnic scene.
- Îlot M’Bouzi: a small forested islet reserve near the east side of the lagoon, home to brown lemurs, called makis locally. The boat landing is rocky and the path short, but wild lemurs on a lagoon island are a rare combination.
- Îlot de Sable Blanc: a white sandbar in the southern lagoon that shifts with the tides. There is no shade, so you stand in glare and bathwater-warm shallows, with reef fish circling your ankles.
- Humpback whale watching: from about July to October, whales enter the lagoon to give birth. Licensed operators run small-boat outings, and sometimes you hear the song before you see a fin.
- Double barrier reef: in the southwest, an inner and outer reef run parallel, creating a long channel of deep blue between them. Snorkeling the inner wall shows hard coral gardens, anemonefish, and the occasional octopus.
- Moya Beach on Petite-Terre: pale sand and clear shallows on the small island by the airport, with a short walk to the volcanic crater lake of Dziani. A good place to swim and wander without a boat.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.