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Map › Seychelles › Mahé › Police Bay

Mahé · Takamaka, south coast of Mahé · Takamaka · Quatre Bornes

Police Bay

wavesadvanced onlylow crowds
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Nearby Anse Intendance 6 km · Anse La Mouche 7 km · Anse aux Pins 10 km · Ile au Cerf / Long Island 20 km · Beau Vallon 24 km · North East Point 26 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMay to Septhe months riders and schools nameHow windy12-25 kntradeLaunchokaccess rules on record, belowWaterwaves26°C in summer · 17 things riders flagLevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section
Schoolsnone named here
From the airportin words under Getting thereInternational Airport (SEZ)

When it fills in

Trade-wind flow, not a sea breeze. Through May-September it blows day and night rather than switching on at an hour, so the forecast decides the session and not the clock. No hour-by-hour record exists for the bay.

Police Bay is a wild south-Mahé bay near Quatre Bornes with no kite services of any kind. Small-to-medium waves, intermediate and expert riders, and enough exposure and current that advanced is the honest rating.
The beach faces south into Indian Ocean swell, so the SE trades of the May-September season come in cross-onshore and rough; there is no flat corner to retreat to. Water goes deep close in and the current runs hard, which is why nobody swims on the southern tip of Mahé.
You park at Petite Police and walk the last few minutes; there is no school, no lifeguard and no facilities at the launch. Seaweed shows up from June to September. Go with someone, and read the swell as carefully as the wind.

The wind

locals call it South East trade winds / SE monsoon

Direction

beachwater
cross-onSE to SSE

Kite sizes

567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

trade

fills in: Trade-wind flow, not a sea breeze. Through May-September it blows day and night rather than switching on at an hour, so the forecast decides the session and not the clock. No hour-by-hour record exists for the bay.

Typical strength

12-25 kn through the SE trade season. Wider 12-35 kn ranges also circulate on forecast and rating pages, unconfirmed.

Exposed and wave-driven, not a learner lagoon. Strong current and open swell are the constants, and forecast pages for this stretch throw up strong-wind and wave-height cautions often enough to check before you drive down.
May to September is the Seychelles SE trade and monsoon season, and Police Bay gets particularly windy in it. The bay is open to Indian Ocean swell, and the southern-tip beaches are not suitable for swimming at any time of year.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

The quiver, in words

Indicative rather than measured, worked from the 12-25 knot trade range: 9-10 m is the everyday size for a 75-85 kg rider, 7-8 m on the hard SE days of July and August, 12 m only in the light shoulder. Err small. Current and swell here punish being overpowered.

Direction to shore

cross-on

Forecast

Next three days, from Windfinder · full forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan60
  2. Feb72
  3. Mar40
  4. Apr31
  5. May, riders' month74
  6. Jun, riders' month94
  7. Jul, riders' month98
  8. Aug, riders' month99
  9. Sep, riders' month99
  10. Oct84
  11. Nov39
  12. Dec57

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

  1. 13Jan29°
  2. 14Feb30°
  3. 10Mar30°
  4. 10Apr31°
  5. 13May30°
  6. 16Jun28°
  7. 19Jul27°
  8. 18Aug27°
  9. 18Sep28°
  10. 14Oct28°
  11. 11Nov29°
  12. 13Dec29°

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

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan60%12.6 ktWNW26.9°C29.2°C
Feb72%13.6 ktNNW27.5°C29.5°C
Mar40%10.4 ktNNE27.7°C30.4°C
Apr31%9.7 ktESE27.7°C30.7°C
May74%13.4 ktSE27.8°C29.8°C
Jun94%16.4 ktSE26.8°C28.4°C
Jul98%18.6 ktSSE25.4°C26.7°C
Aug99%18.2 ktSE25.5°C26.7°C
Sep99%17.7 ktSE26.2°C27.9°C
Oct84%13.5 ktSE26.6°C28.4°C
Nov39%10.7 ktE27°C29.4°C
Dec57%12.8 ktWNW26.7°C28.8°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

waves

Standing depth

No standing-depth area confirmed; deep water occurs from near the shore.

Tides

Tide-independent for kiting. A high tide on a full moon throws up tall waves, and neighbouring Petite Police beach can disappear at high water.

Temperature

26°C summer · 28°C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts/rash vest; Seychelles sea temperature is warm year-round, and a rash vest is mainly for UV protection.

Currents

Strong current and deep, choppy water, described that way consistently. Depth comes on close to shore. The southern-tip beaches of Mahe are not swimming beaches at any time of year, and this one is singled out as unsuitable for children and casual swimmers.

27–31°C water
Open Indian Ocean beach, small-to-medium waves for kiting, clear water over sand with rock and coral formations, and seaweed reported June to September. The break is exposed, with lefts and rights over coral and rock.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced
Intermediate and expert. Advanced is the honest floor because the beach is exposed and the current is strong. Not a beginner spot.

The scene

What riders come here for

wave ridingstrong-wind sessionsuncrowded exploratory kiting
Often empty, rarely crowded, wild and non-commercial. You ride it self-sufficient; there is no school hut on the sand.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: ok

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Anse Intendance, 6 km

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

Rescue

+248 428 8000

Nothing. No lifeguard, no school on the sand, no boat. Seychelles has few lifeguards anywhere and none are posted on the southern tip, and the operator that covers Mahe lists Au Cap, Anse La Mouche and Long Island rather than this bay.
Police answer on +248 428 8000. Whoever you brought with you is the rescue plan.

Launch

Sand launch on an open, undeveloped bay. Park at Petite Police and walk in. Rock and coral formations decide where you can lay a kite down, and there are no beach facilities.

Space

ok

Hazards riders report 17

  • remote, undeveloped beach
  • strong currents
  • deep choppy water
  • exposed Indian Ocean swell
  • rocks and coral formations on beach and in/near the water
  • reef break/coral bottom
  • remote undeveloped beach with no amenities
  • little or no lifeguard or rescue coverage on record
  • southern-tip Mahé beaches not suitable for swimming
  • remote, undeveloped beach with no facilities and no phone-in help
  • deep choppy water close to shore
  • rocks and coral formations on the beach and in the water
  • reef break over coral bottom
  • seaweed on the beach and in the water from June to September
  • bigger swell on a high tide at full moon
  • no lifeguard, no rescue cover, no school
  • southern-tip Mahe beaches not suitable for swimming
Rules & access
2026: no kite zoning or permit specific to Police Bay is confirmed. Under the Seychelles Beach Control Regulations the authorities can set aside particular areas, days or hours for water sports, and any beach activity likely to endanger, obstruct, inconvenience or annoy other users needs prior written consent from the Commissioner of Police. Every beach is public domain up to the high-water mark.

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

Rider tips

  • Walk the beach and pick your exit line before you rig; rock and coral formations sit on the sand and just off it, and the current runs.
  • Do not teach here and do not make this your first solo session; use Anse aux Pins or a school beach for that.
  • Bring a partner, a phone, water and a kite one size down, because no rescue cover is on record.
  • Read the wave forecast as well as the wind before driving south; strong-wind and wave-height warnings come up often on this stretch.
  • Ask a Seychelles kite school or a local rider whether Police Bay is currently accepted for kiting and whether any beach notice is in force.
  • Bring a partner, a phone, water and a kite one size down, because there is no rescue cover at all.
  • Park at Petite Police and walk the last five minutes. There is no parking and nothing else at the bay itself.
  • Expect seaweed from June to September, which lands in the middle of the best wind season.

Getting there

Airport

Seychelles International Airport (SEZ), Mahé

Route

Drive to the southern tip of Mahé through Takamaka, park at Petite Police and walk about five minutes to Police Bay. Buses run via Anse Bazarca, but not often.

Transfer

About 30-50 minutes by road from SEZ depending on route and traffic. The airport is about 14 km away direct, and quoted transfers to nearby south-coast addresses run roughly 27-50 minutes.

Cost level

high

Staying

Nothing to stay in at Police Bay itself. Base yourself in south Mahé around Takamaka, Anse Forbans or Anse Royale, or anywhere else on Mahé, and drive in.

No-wind days

surfing · scuba diving · photography · walking Police Bay/Petite Police · nearby Anse Intendance · Takamaka rum distillery area · snorkelling or beach days at more protected Mahé beaches when conditions permit

Photos

Police Bay - panoramio
Morten Idriss Nygaar…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Police Bay?

The May to September southeast trade season is the cited window, with the bay described as particularly windy during the SE monsoon.

Is Police Bay suitable for beginners?

No, it is rated intermediate to expert and requires an advanced level because the beach is exposed and currents are strong.

What is the wind like?

Typical wind runs about 12-25 knots in the southeast trade season, with some sources showing gusts up to 35 knots.

What are the main hazards?

Strong currents, deep choppy water and rocks or coral formations are all reported, and the southern tip of Mahe is considered unsuitable for swimming.

How do you get there?

Access is by road toward south Mahe, with parking at Petite Police followed by a short walk to the bay.

Also in season in MayMahéPraslin

Last updated: August 2026