Granite and space
Baie Lazare
Beach · Granite and space
Baie Lazare in short.
A long bay on the south-west coast of Mahé with granite at both ends, a village behind it, and enough room that it never reads as crowded.
Which months
South-west coast. The sheltered corners work best from December to March, and April and October are calm almost everywhere along here.
Baie Lazare, 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: rachel_thecat, CC BY-SA 2.0 NorbertNagel, CC BY-SA 4.0 Radosław Botev, CC BY-SA 4.0 Radosław Botev, CC BY-SA 4.0 Radosław Botev, CC BY-SA 4.0 NorbertNagel, CC BY-SA 4.0 NorbertNagel, CC BY-SA 4.0
The bay
Baie Lazare is named after Lazare Picault, the French navigator who charted these islands in 1742 and gave a great many of them the names they still carry. The bay he anchored in is a wide one with boulders at either end and a shallow middle.
It is a working village beach with a church on the hill and small restaurants along the road. Anse Soleil and Anse Gaulettes are minutes away and are smaller and quieter again.
Swimming and snorkelling
The granite at the northern end shelters a corner that stays swimmable when the middle of the bay is moving, and the snorkelling around the rocks is good on a flat day. The middle of the bay is open and can have a shore break.
There is shade behind most of the sand and food within walking distance, which makes it easier to spend a day here than on Intendance.
How you arrive
About thirty minutes by road from the airport, on the west coast road. The coast bus stops in the village. Parking is easy.
The sheet.
Checked 2 September 2026.
- Island
- Mahé, south west coast
- What it is
- a long bay with granite at both ends
- Named after
- Lazare Picault, who charted these islands in 1742
- Around it
- a village, a church and a few small restaurants
What people ask.
When is Baie Lazare calm?
South-west coast. The sheltered corners work best from December to March, and April and October are calm almost everywhere along here.
How do you get to Baie Lazare?
About thirty minutes by road from the airport, on the west coast road. The coast bus stops in the village. Parking is easy.
Is there anything on the beach?
a village, a church and a few small restaurants
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.