Île aux Cerfs

Île aux Cerfs is a small island just off the east coast of Mauritius, in the Flacq District, across a lagoon from the village of Trou d'Eau Douce. Its name means Deer Island in French.

The island has no residents and is reached only by boat or helicopter. It has become one of the most visited day-trip spots in Mauritius, with boats crossing from the jetty at Trou d'Eau Douce in about 15 minutes, and speedboat and catamaran tours running from other points on the coast.

Much of the island is taken up by the Île aux Cerfs Golf Club, an 18-hole championship course designed by Bernhard Langer and opened in the early 2000s; it was formerly part of the Le Touessrok resort. Around the edges are white sand beaches facing calm lagoon water. Activities such as parasailing are sold on the island at extra cost, and many tour packages include lunch and a sunbed. Some speedboat tours also stop at the Grande Rivière Sud-Est waterfall on the mainland.

There is no entry fee for the island itself; visitors pay for the boat transfer and any activities. Check tour inclusions before booking, as lunch, sunbeds and water sports vary by operator.

Île aux Cerfs is privately owned and uninhabited, so everything on it is set up for day visitors. The island covers about 87 hectares and sits in the largest lagoon in Mauritius, off Trou d'Eau Douce. The golf course takes up about 38 hectares of the southern part. It is an 18-hole, par-72 championship layout by Bernhard Langer, opened around 2003 and celebrating its fifteenth anniversary in November 2018, with lakes, gardens and views of the volcanic hills on the mainland.

Golfers reach the club by speedboat from Pointe Maurice on the east coast; guests of the Long Beach Mauritius resort get free transfers and green fees. The club runs a golf academy and a beach reserved for golfers called Filibusters. Leisure visitors use the separate Île aux Cerfs Leisure Island side, where the restaurants and water sports are found, including snorkelling, diving, parasailing and kayaking. Bubble Lodges, transparent domes for an overnight stay, were added in 2018, so the island is no longer only a day trip.

As part of a Go Green initiative, the bars and restaurants stopped serving plastic straws. Bring sunscreen, a hat and some cash or a card for drinks and extras, and confirm the return boat time with your operator before you settle on a beach. Weekends and Mauritian public holidays are the busiest days, when local families join the tour groups.