2025 04 17 MAURITIUS - RODRIGUES ISLAND - UNDERWATER WORLD

The Next Day in Rodrigues – Snorkelling at Anse Bouteille

The morning in Rodrigues had that kind of calm brightness that makes you feel like the whole island is stretching and waking up with you. A soft breeze, a sky so blue it felt freshly painted, and that warm promise that the lagoon would be perfect for snorkelling. We didn’t even need coffee to feel awake — the ocean here does the job.

Anse Bouteille had been on our radar since the day we arrived, mostly because everyone kept saying, “It’s small, it’s hidden, and it’s absolutely worth it.” Rodrigues is full of secret little coves, but Anse Bouteille is the kind that makes you feel like you’ve unlocked a level. Even the walk down felt special — a narrow sandy trail surrounded by bushes and shrubs, tiny lizards dashing across the path as if they were late for a meeting.

And then suddenly, there it was: a tiny bottle-shaped cove tucked between two rocky cliffs, looking like it had been carved out by a mischievous ocean artist. The water was glassy and clear, like someone had forgotten to add waves. It’s one of those beaches that makes you stop for a few seconds, just to let your brain catch up with what your eyes are seeing.

We threw on our gear, stepped into the warm water, and within moments were floating over one of the healthiest little reefs we’d seen on the trip. Rodrigues is famous for its lagoon — it’s one of the largest in the world — and it shelters an incredible variety of sea life. And Anse Bouteille felt like a miniature version of the whole island’s magic.

Fish darted everywhere in colours that didn’t seem real: blues, yellows, stripes, polka dots — the whole fashion world under the sea. We drifted above coral gardens that looked like carefully arranged bonsai forests. At one point, a parrotfish stopped mid-bite to stare at us, as if we were interrupting its lunch. Another time, a trumpetfish slid past slowly, long and serious, like a disapproving uncle at a family dinner.

The best part? The total silence. No boats. No crowds. Just us, the reef, and the gentle echo of water inside the rocky walls of the cove. Rodrigues does solitude better than anywhere else — it’s like the island quietly says, “Here, have a moment to yourself,” and means it.

After snorkelling until our fingers wrinkled, we crawled out of the water and stretched out on the warm sand. The cove kept the wind out, so it felt like being in a natural sun-warmed pocket. We lay there listening to the lazy rhythm of the sea, watching the occasional cloud drift by, not saying much because we didn’t need to. Places like this do the talking for you.

Anse Bouteille isn’t big, it isn’t fancy, and it doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is — a small slice of perfection where the island shows off without even trying. And that’s exactly what makes it unforgettable.

When we finally packed up to leave, we looked back one last time. The tide was rising, the colour of the lagoon shifting ever so slightly, and it felt like the cove was quietly closing its doors behind us. Another day in Rodrigues, another place that felt like a secret.

And we walked back up the trail already wondering what the island would surprise us with next.