Open ocean, and no lifeguard
Anse Intendance
Beach · The wild one
Anse Intendance in short.
A long crescent of white sand on the south-west coast of Mahé with nothing behind it but one resort and a hillside. It is the most photographed empty beach in the country, and it is the one that drowns people.
Which months
It faces open ocean and takes swell in most months. There is a shore break and a rip. April and October are the calmest windows, and even then read the water before you go in.
Anse Intendance, in 6 frames.
Harvested from this beach's own Commons category, with the file's own title naming the beach. Captions are that title.
Photographs, under Creative Commons: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
Why it looks like that
There is no reef in front of Anse Intendance. The ocean arrives from the open south west and breaks directly onto the sand, which is what gives the beach its shape, its size and its steep shelf. The sand is coarse and blindingly white and the surf line is loud.
It is a beach to walk on, to photograph, and to sit above with a book. Plenty of people swim here on flat days. Nobody should swim here on a day with a shore break running, and there is no lifeguard on this or any other beach in Seychelles.
Getting there and what is there
The road down from the Quatre Bornes junction is steep and rough in places and ends at a small car park. Behind the beach is one resort. There is no shop, no kiosk and no shade to speak of once the sun is up.
Anse Takamaka is five minutes away by road and is the same coast with headlands on both sides, which makes it the gentler of the two.
How you arrive
About forty minutes by road from the airport, down the west coast and over the Quatre Bornes road. There is no bus to the beach itself. A hire car or a taxi is the only practical way.
The sheet.
Checked 2 September 2026.
- Island
- Mahé, south west coast
- What it is
- a long open beach with a shore break
- Swimming
- often not safe. There is no lifeguard and there is a rip
- Facilities
- one resort behind it and nothing else
What people ask.
When is Anse Intendance calm?
It faces open ocean and takes swell in most months. There is a shore break and a rip. April and October are the calmest windows, and even then read the water before you go in.
How do you get to Anse Intendance?
About forty minutes by road from the airport, down the west coast and over the Quatre Bornes road. There is no bus to the beach itself. A hire car or a taxi is the only practical way.
Is there anything on the beach?
one resort behind it and nothing else
What we do arrange.
The sand is not ours. The car that gets you to it, the day out that takes in three more of them and the driver who meets the flight all are.
Car hire, from €45 a day
Ten cars, no deposit, handed over at the airport, the jetty or your hotel.
Days out and excursions
Island tours, boat days, snorkelling and walks, with real ratings and free cancellation to twenty-four hours.
Airport transfers
A driver who watches your flight number and waits with your name on a board.
The terminal photograph above: Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Planning a week around the right coast?
Send the dates. Meera will tell you which side of which island is calm in your month, and put the car and the days out around it.