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Map › Mauritius › Le Morne (outer reef) › Flic-en-Flac

Black River · West coast

Flic-en-Flac

also known as Flic en Flac, Flic-en-Flac Beach

advanced onlyoffshorehigh crowds
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Nearby One Eye 20 km · Le Morne 20 km · Bel Ombre 25 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Decthe months riders and schools nameHow windy12-20 knotsmixed, offshoreLaunchokaccess rules on record, belowWatermixed27.9°C in summer · 9 things riders flagLevelAdvanced onlywith a caveat, in the Level sectionSchools1named at this spotFrom the airport49 minInternational Airport (MRU)

When it fills in

On a working day there are two windows: a steadier one from about 9 to 11 in the morning, and a stronger stretch from roughly 1 to 5 in the afternoon as the mid-day thermal adds to whatever gradient is there.

Flic-en-Flac is a marginal kite option on the Mauritius west coast, not one of the island's reliable trade-wind hubs. The beach is long, public and well serviced, and the warm reef lagoon in front of it is used mostly by swimmers, snorkelers and divers.
The west coast only works on occasional southern-summer wind shifts, roughly December to March, rather than during the main April/May-to-November south-east trade season. When it does work you get 12-20 knots and small to medium kites; reef, waves and conditional offshore wind keep it expert-only.
Flic-en-Flac and La Preneuse are useful starting points for downwinders toward Le Morne when the direction is right, ideally with local support or a safety boat. Whether kiting is currently tolerated on the public beach is unconfirmed, and there is no permanent rescue here.
Come for the beach and the hotels, and keep the kite plan somewhere else on the island.

The wind

Direction

beachwater
offshoreW-SWwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

5678910111213

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: On a working day there are two windows: a steadier one from about 9 to 11 in the morning, and a stronger stretch from roughly 1 to 5 in the afternoon as the mid-day thermal adds to whatever gradient is there.

Typical strength

12-20 knots in the favorable southern-summer west-coast setup.

Low consistency, and not a main Mauritius kite destination. Ridable days come from occasional summer west or north-west wind rather than from the regular south-east trade season.
The main Mauritius kite season runs April/May to November on the south and east coasts. The west coast around Flic-en-Flac is the opposite: it works in southern summer, December to March, when the trades slow down and the wind sometimes turns north or west and reaches spots that normally get nothing.

Also on record

An old local station averaged 4 knots ENE over observations from 2011-07-01 to 2016-02-29. That station no longer reports, so the figure is out of date.

The quiver, in words

7-11 m2. The reports of an 8 m being the usual size in July come from Le Morne, a different coast and a different setup.

Dominant direction

W-SW (offshore) is the workable direction in the December-March window. A shift to north-northwest turns up in some Decembers, and the same window gets described more broadly as northwest to southwest.

Forecast

Next three days, from Windfinder · full forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan, riders' month81
  2. Feb, riders' month78
  3. Mar, riders' month74
  4. Apr76
  5. May75
  6. Jun93
  7. Jul73
  8. Aug86
  9. Sep91
  10. Oct80
  11. Nov71
  12. Dec, riders' month56

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.

  1. 14Jan29°
  2. 16Feb28°
  3. 14Mar29°
  4. 14Apr28°
  5. 15May27°
  6. 16Jun26°
  7. 15Jul25°
  8. 16Aug25°
  9. 15Sep25°
  10. 14Oct25°
  11. 12Nov27°
  12. 11Dec28°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan81%14 ktE26.9°C28.5°C
Feb78%15.8 ktE27°C28.4°C
Mar74%13.9 ktE26.9°C28.5°C
Apr76%14.4 ktESE26.2°C28.4°C
May75%15.1 ktESE25.1°C27.2°C
Jun93%15.7 ktESE23.3°C26°C
Jul73%14.6 ktESE22.6°C25.2°C
Aug86%15.5 ktE22.8°C24.7°C
Sep91%15 ktESE23.6°C24.8°C
Oct80%13.5 ktESE24.3°C25.4°C
Nov71%12.2 ktE25.6°C26.8°C
Dec56%11.3 ktE26.6°C27.7°C
modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

In the northern part of the lagoon the water runs about 1 to 2 m at high tide and a good part of it is standable; at low water more of it goes shallow, which is where lessons happen. The bottom has coral in it and sea urchins, so put something on your feet before wading. Past the reef there is nothing to stand in.

Tides

Small and not a gate on the session: about 60 cm between low and high water, two of each a day, and a month of predictions on this coast runs from near zero to about 0.8 m. High water opens up the riding area, low water leaves shallower patches that are easier to learn in.

Temperature

27.9°C summer · 23.4°C winter

Wetsuit

Lycra or sun protection in summer; a 2 mm wetsuit helps on longer winter sessions.

Currents

Riders who go too far offshore from Flic-en-Flac or La Preneuse can get into strong current.

25–29°C water
A long public west-coast beach with a warm lagoon and a coral reef, used mostly for swimming, snorkeling and diving. The kite zone is exposed rather than a sheltered beginner lagoon, with reef and waves in play. Treat the ridable area as conditional and dependent on local knowledge.

Your level

not for beginners herenot for intermediates hereadvanced
Rated advanced or expert on the kite side: offshore and conditional wind, reef, waves, current, and a public beach shared with swimmers and boats. One contradiction sits on the record, with the small flat lagoon called perfect for beginners and the level given as intermediate to expert in the same breath.

The scene

What riders come here for

downwindersexpert-only exploratory sessionswavesrare west-coast wind days
Busy tourist and family beach, worst at weekends and around sunset. The kite crowd itself is thin; the risk is the mix, with swimmers, kiters, windsurfers and boats using the same water.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

1 school names this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

access rules on record

Somewhere else

One Eye, 20 km

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

No permanent rescue at the spot. Some schools run accompanied downwinders with a safety boat, though the documented Mauritius route is Bel Ombre to Le Morne rather than Flic-en-Flac.

Launch

A long, popular public beach lined with resort and town facilities. It works as a west-coast launch on the rare days the direction cooperates, and it is more useful as the start of a downwinder toward Le Morne than as a spot in its own right.

Space

ok

Hazards riders report 9

  • strong offshore currents
  • crowded with swimmers and boats
  • Offshore or cross-offshore wind on the days the spot works
  • reef
  • Waves or exposed oceanic conditions
  • Strong current if riding too far offshore
  • Swimmers, windsurfers and boats sharing a busy public beach
  • low wind consistency and wrong-side-of-island risk during the main SE trade-wind season
  • Coral and sea urchins around the lagoon and along the beach
Rules & access
As of 2026 no kite-specific local rule was found for Flic-en-Flac, but this is a public beach and the national public-beach regulation made in 2004 under the Beach Authority Act applies.
Swimming zones are marked with yellow floats and buoys and a 10 m buffer zone outside them with red buoys; no board, kayak, pedalo or similar craft may be used inside either.
Craft may only cross the beach waters along a passage demarcated by the Authority, moorings are marked with white buoys, and an authorised officer or a police officer can direct you off the water to keep people within 100 m of the water's edge out of danger.
Any organised gathering or event on the beach needs a written authorisation, applied for 21 days ahead, with a 3,000 rupee deposit and a 1,000 rupee daily fee.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

  • Do not build a kite trip around Flic-en-Flac; keep Le Morne, Anse la Raie, Pointe d'Esny or an east-coast spot in the plan.
  • Ask a local school or a resident rider before you launch: which direction is actually safe here is unconfirmed.
  • Stay out of the swimming zones and the boat lanes; the public beach fills with swimmers, windsurfers and boats.
  • For a downwinder to Le Morne, go with organized support unless you are fully independent in open water and current.
  • The zones are colour coded: yellow buoys mark the swimming area, red buoys a 10 m buffer outside it, and boards are not allowed inside either.
  • Wear reef shoes on the way in and out; the lagoon bottom carries coral and sea urchins.

Getting there

Airport

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU)

Route

Taxi, private transfer or rental car from MRU: about 45.32 km and about 49 minutes, rounded locally to about 1 hour for the west coast.

Transfer

49 min

Cost level

medium-high

Staying

Resort and apartment territory, with hotels, restaurants and beach services along one of the longest public beaches on Mauritius.

No-wind days

Snorkeling and lagoon swimming off the beach, dive trips to Snake Reef and the Cathedral, beach restaurants and street food, and a drive to the south or east coast spots such as Le Morne when the west is dead.

Photos

Vue sur l'océan à Flic-en-Flac (février 2020)
Benoît Prieur, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Flic-en-Flac suitable for beginners?

No. It is classed as advanced only because of offshore-prone wind, reef, current and a busy public beach shared with swimmers and boats.

When is the best time to kitesurf at Flic-en-Flac?

The only window with regular kitesurfable wind is December to March, when occasional west or northwest shifts reach the coast; the main April-to-November trade season does not reach this side of the island.

What is the wind like at Flic-en-Flac?

When it works, wind is typically 12-20 knots from the west to southwest, weaker and less consistent than Mauritius' south and southeast coasts.

What are the main hazards at Flic-en-Flac?

Hazards include strong current farther offshore, reef and wave conditions, and a crowded public beach shared with swimmers and boats.

Also in season in DecemberLe Morne (outer reef)

Last updated: August 2026