The one with the trees
Anse Takamaka
Beach · The one with the trees
Anse Takamaka in short.
A wide bay on the south-west coast of Mahé, named for the takamaka trees that lean over the sand and give it the shade Anse Intendance does not have.
Which months
Same coast as Intendance, so the same ocean, but the headlands at either end take the edge off it. April and October are the calm windows and the sheltered corners work on plenty of days either side.
Anse Takamaka, in 3 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 Arwcheek, Public domain dronepicr, CC BY 2.0 Tobi 87, modifications by Alvaro qc, CC BY-SA 3.0
Shade, food, and a beach you can spend a day on
The takamaka along the back of the beach are the reason families stay here all day and drive to Intendance for an hour of photographs. There are two restaurants at the road end, one of them well enough known that people drive across the island for lunch.
The sand is deep, the bay is wide, and the two granite headlands give it a shape that reads as a bay rather than a strip. It is the most usable of the south-west beaches.
The water
It is still the open south-west coast. On a calm day the swimming is easy and the water is clear a long way out. On a day with swell running the shore break here is real, and the same rules apply as at Intendance: look at the water first.
The southern corner, under the rocks, is the most sheltered part of the bay and is where people snorkel.
How you arrive
About thirty-five minutes from the airport by road, on the west coast road south of Baie Lazare. A bus runs the coast road. Parking is at the road end.
The sheet.
Checked 2 September 2026.
- Island
- Mahé, south west coast
- Named for
- the takamaka trees that shade it
- Swimming
- gentler than Intendance next door, but the same ocean
- Food
- two restaurants at the road end
What people ask.
When is Anse Takamaka calm?
Same coast as Intendance, so the same ocean, but the headlands at either end take the edge off it. April and October are the calm windows and the sheltered corners work on plenty of days either side.
How do you get to Anse Takamaka?
About thirty-five minutes from the airport by road, on the west coast road south of Baie Lazare. A bus runs the coast road. Parking is at the road end.
Is there anything on the beach?
two restaurants at the road end
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.