The legal basis dates back to the French period. In 1807, General Decaen, then governor of Isle de France, reserved a strip of land along the coast for the State, for reasons of military defense. These reserved lands bear a name that has spanned the centuries: the Geometric Steps. The system was consolidated in 1895 under the name Geometric Steps Act, and it is still in force today.

This text lays down an unambiguous rule: Geometric Steps are part of the public domain. They are inalienable (the State cannot sell them) and imprescriptible (no one can become owner through simple prolonged occupation, even after decades).

The Mauritian Civil Code goes in the same direction: the sea shores and their dependencies fall within the maritime public domain and cannot be alienated.

The consequence is direct: there is no beach in Mauritius where someone would be owner. Neither a hotel, nor a camp, nor an individual can acquire one meter of coastline. A “Private Beach” sign is not based on any ownership title.

But be careful not to draw too hasty a conclusion, the one we often hear: “so the whole beach is open to everyone”. This is incorrect, and the rest of this article explains why. Not being an owner does not prevent you from being tenant — and a tenant can restrict access to the plot he occupies. The decisive question is therefore not “who owns the beach?” » (the answer is known: to the State), but “how far does the portion go over which no one can stop me from passing? ".

This is where most misunderstandings arise, because the coastline is divided into several zones with distinct statuses. Two technical concepts should be remembered: low water limit (low water mark) and especially the high water limit at spring tide (high water mark at spring tide), that is to say the highest point reached by the sea during spring tides.

The strip of sand between these two limits — which we call theforeshore — is the heart of the right of access. This is the portion that is covered by the sea at high tide and exposed at low tide. It is there, and there only, that the passage of the public is unconditionally protected by law.

We must carefully understand what this implies. This strip can be narrow — just a few meters at some sites. The vast carpet of dry sand that you see extending in front of a hotel or a camp, sometimes for several tens of meters, is not part of it: it is located above of the high seas limit. This is the difference between the image we have of a “public beach” and what the law actually guarantees.

Can we encrypt this band? At least vertically, yes. Mauritius is a so-called coastline microtidal : the tides are very weak there. According to the official tide tables of the Mauritius Meteorological Services, the difference between low tide and high tide is most often 30 to 70 centimeters, and it practically never exceeds one meter - whereas it reaches several meters on the European Atlantic coasts. The width of the foreshore then depends on the slope of the sand: with such a slight difference in height, it would most often be limited to a few meters on gently sloping lagoon beaches, and just two or three meters where the beach edge is steeper. Another difficulty, even highlighted by the Law Reform Commission: the high water limit of spring water is not marked by any marking on the ground. In practice, we guess it mainly from the foreshore — that line of algae, twigs and debris that the tide deposits at its highest point. This shows that “walking on the foreshore” often means, very concretely, walking along the water's edge.

Beyond the high seas limit, the Geometric Steps begin, over a width which, according to the text, can never be less than 81 meters and 21 centimeters. These lands belong to the public domain – but, as we will see, they can be rented.

Here is the heart of the problem, and the reason why the subject keeps coming up in the Mauritian public conversation. It must be said clearly: on this precise point, the law is not as clear as each of the camps would have us believe.

Geometric Steps are in the public domain and cannot be sold. But the State can lease — to hotel groups, developers, individuals who build a camp there. The tenant never becomes the owner of the land. The hotly debated question is what exactly his lease allows him to prohibit.

Reading the authorities

For the Law Reform Commission, which looked into the subject in June 2024, the fact that a portion of Pas Géométrie is rented for private use does not erase the public's right: it would still be permitted to walk there, sunbathe there, or even play there, with respect for others. This is also the position forcefully reaffirmed by Minister Shakeel Mohamed on June 25, 2026: according to him, no commercial or private lease gives the right to appropriate the coastline, and lease holders cannot in any way prevent the public from accessing or enjoying the beach — residents and visitors alike.

Reading the occupants

The camp owners and hoteliers put forward an argument which is not without force: they have signed leases, they pay them, and these contracts give them a right to occupy the plot. In their eyes, this right would not be compatible with free passage for the public on the land they occupy. The minister also announced, the day after his press conference, that he would initiate consultations with the Attorney General regarding two amendments that he considered necessary to make to the legislation - which says a lot about the solidity of the current framework.

On the ground, this reading is now displayed in black and white. Some hotels have replaced the "Private Beach" sign with real, carefully written, bilingual legal notices, informing the public that the area in front of the establishment "up to the high tide line" is not a public place but is part of the Geometric Steps over which the hotel holds a lease from the State, invoking the articles 1778-1 to 1778-21 of the Mauritian Civil Code — and that the public is therefore prohibited from settling or stopping there. We have verified this reference in the text of the Code: these articles do indeed exist and govern the construction lease, a lease of 18 to 99 years by which the lessee builds buildings on the lessor's land and which gives him real real estate rights. But none of these twenty-one articles sets out an “exclusive right of occupation” enforceable against the public: they organize the relationship between the State and its tenant (duration, mortgages, charges, repairs), nothing more. The exclusivity displayed by these signs is therefore a matter of interpretation – precisely that which the Law Reform Commission and the ministry dispute. We will also note a revealing detail: these opinions only claim the land until the high seas limit. In doing so, they themselves recognize, implicitly, the free passage on the foreshore.

Which, on the other hand, cannot be discussed

One point escapes any controversy: the right to travel on theforeshore, this strip of sand between the high seas limit and the water. This right is protected by criminal law, and no lease can cancel it. It is the foundation on which you can always lean.

The figures finally give an idea of ​​what is at stake. According to the Law Reform Commission report, about 322 kilometers of Mauritian coastline, 90 kilometers are occupied by hotels, 60 kilometers by private residences, and barely 48 kilometers are classified as public beaches — less than 15% of the coastline officially accessible to the public. Hence the widely shared feeling of a coastline that is closing.

The public's right of passage is not a simple moral recommendation: it is protected by criminal law.

Thesection 110 of the Criminal Code (Supplementary) Act provides that any person who, without legal authorization, obstructs or prevents the free passage of a pedestrian on the shore commits an offense, punishable by fine of up to 100,000 rupees.

The text specifies the definition of the shore: it includes the portion of the coastline covered by the sea at high tide and exposed at low tide. It is indeed the foreshore that is being targeted.

Concretely, installing a chain, a fence or a gate to block the passage on the sand, releasing a dog to dissuade walkers, or posting a guard responsible for repelling the public constitute behaviors likely to fall under the scope of this article. It should be noted, however, that the text reserves the case of "legal authorization" - which refers precisely to the question of leases mentioned above, and explains why the concrete application may prove more complex than it seems.

Alongside the general regime of Geometric Steps, there is a particular category: declared public beaches. A beach officially becomes public when the minister responsible for housing and lands declares it as such by a notice published in the Official Gazette.

These beaches are managed by the Beach Authority, an organization created by the Beach Authority Act of 2002. Its mission: to control and manage public beaches, provide equipment, regulate the activities that take place there and ensure the safety of users. Since the 2022 amendment, its jurisdiction extends to all the islands of the Republic of Mauritius, and no longer just to Mauritius and Rodrigues.

How many public beaches does the country have? The Law Reform Commission identified 134 officially listed in the Official Journal in August 2022 ; the Beach Authority now indicates that it is managing about 145, forever around 48 kilometers of seafront. These figures require clarification: the same site can be divided into several public beaches in the administrative sense. What the public calls “Flic en Flac beach” would thus correspond to five distinct public beaches, and Pointe aux Piments to nine. The official number therefore says little about the actually accessible length.

It is on these declared beaches that we find, depending on the site, toilets, water points, tables, barbecue areas and regular cleaning. They are also those where the rules of use are the most detailed: they are the subject of specific regulations, the Beach Authority (Use of Public Beach) Regulations 2004.

Most beaches that visitors frequent — Mont Choisy, Belle Mare, Pereybere, Le Morne, Blue Bay or Pointe d’Esny — fall into this category. You will find them all in our guide to the beaches of Mauritius.

The right of access does not mean that everything is permitted. The 2004 regulations precisely regulate the use of public beaches. Here's the gist, as it appears in the text.

Three subjects systematically come up in complaints, in Mauritius as elsewhere: waste, fires and noise.

Waste

It is the first scourge of Mauritian beaches. After each long weekend or school vacation period, maintenance teams collect several tons of bottles, cans, food scraps, cigarette butts and abandoned bags. Beyond the visual aspect, the consequences are concrete: plastics fragment into microplastics absorbed by fish and fish. sea ​​turtles, leftover food attracts stray dogs and rats, and broken bottles become traps for barefoot children.

The regulations are clear: leaving an object, waste or litter elsewhere than in the receptacles or areas provided constitutes an offense. It is also prohibited to dump any waste, oily liquid, acid or chemical or polluting substance into the marine environment.

Fires and barbecues

The family barbecue is part of the Mauritian way of life, but it obeys a strict rule: fires are only lit at locations designated by the Beach Authority. And we don't leave the place until the fire is completely extinguished. Abandoned embers deteriorate the sand, weaken the roots of the casuarina trees and can trigger fires.

The noise

This is the most delicate point from a legal point of view. Portable speakers broadcasting music at high volume all day long are regularly denounced, both by other users and by local residents. The 2004 regulations do subject “public entertainment” – music, dance, singing, shows – to prior authorization from the Beach Authority. But this device aims at organized events to which the public is invited, and not the music station of a family on a picnic.

The Minister of Housing and Lands himself made it clear, the day after his press conference at the end of June 2026: the authorization requirement would not concern playing music at full volume – any more than pitching a tent or having a barbecue. In other words, ordinary noise pollution is located in a gray area: today it is more a matter of good manners than an easily verbalized fine. This is precisely one of the points on which a strengthening of the framework is called for, and on which the minister has announced that he wants to consult the Attorney General.

The reminder of the public nature of beaches produced another, in the opposite direction: some concluded that access to the sand also opened up the gardens, terraces and facilities of neighboring properties to them. This is false, and it must be said so clearly.

The public domain ends precisely where the property of others begins. The right to walk on the sand never gives the right to cross a fence, go around a hedge, sit on a private lawn, use a tap, a shower, an electrical outlet or a private bathroom.

The testimonies of local residents are similar from one region to another: chains moved, lawns transformed into picnic areas, electrical extension cords plugged in without authorization, terraces occupied for several hours, furniture moved, plants trampled. These behaviors remain the work of a minority, but they fuel growing exasperation — and, ultimately, a risk of direct confrontation in which no one has any interest.

The public's right of access and the right of local residents to peace and quiet in their homes do not conflict: they complement each other. This is the condition for the first to remain defensible.

Please note: the sanctions were significantly increased in 2022. The Beach Authority (Amendment) Act, passed in Parliament in May that year, significantly increased the amounts and expanded the powers of the Beach Authority. The information that can still be found on many sites, based on the 2004 regulations, is therefore outdated.

Three major changes should be noted. Beach Authority officers can now issue fines in the same way as the police. A system offixed fines (Fixed Penalty Notices), payable within 28 days to the district court, was introduced. And the Authority can issue a stop order (Stop Order) to stop an illegal development or activity.

The system of fixed fines would also provide for a gradation: a first offense would be punished by a fine of around 10,000 to 20,000 rupees, accompanied by a prison sentence of up to six months; in the event of a repeat offense, the amount would rise between 20,000 and 50,000 rupees, with a sentence of up to twelve months. In the event of refusal to pay, the offender would have to pay at least double the initial amount.

One point is worth emphasizing, because it turns the panels' argument on its head: displaying a “Private Beach” sign on a public beach without permission is, in itself, an offense under Article 12A. The sign supposed to keep the public away is itself outside the law.

The question of effective application, however, remains unresolved. The number of fines actually issued each year and the human resources available to them Beach Rangers during attendance peaks are the subject of recurring questions in the Mauritian public debate.

You are on a beach, a guard asks you to leave, or a chain blocks your path on the sand. Here is the procedure to follow.

• Keep calm and don't get into conflict. An altercation will not resolve anything and can turn against you.
• Check where you are. Are you on the sand, below the high water mark? Or have you crossed a fence to settle on rented land or private property? The distinction is decisive.
• Remember the principle, without aggression. The beaches are in the public domain and obstructing passage on the shore is a criminal offense.
• Document the situation if you can: photograph the sign, chain or barrier, note the exact location, date and time.
• Report the facts. This is also what Minister Shakeel Mohamed himself invited citizens to do in June 2026. Three official contacts can be contacted, contact details below.

Obstacles to access can be reported:

• to the police — emergency number 999, or the nearest police station (see our article on emergency numbers in Mauritius);
• to the Beach Authority, which manages public beaches — telephone (+230) 468 6209 to 6212, e-mail beachauthority@intnet.mu;
• the Ministry of Housing and Lands (Ministry of Housing and Lands), which manages leases on state land and has the power to intervene — telephone (+230) 401 6808 / 401 6809, Ebène Tower, Ebène.

A piece of common sense advice for visitors: the vast majority of stays take place without the slightest incident of this type. These situations exist, but they remain the exception, and they concern certain highly built-up sectors of the coast more than developed public beaches.

The recall of the minister in June 2026 does not create any new rights: it reaffirms a principle already enshrined in law and confirmed on several occasions by the Supreme Court. But he didn't limit himself to words. The minister announced that he had officially asked the police commissioner to take action against people who illegally restrict public access to beaches, warned that any illegal installations would be dismantled, and launched a national beach access audit intended to assess their condition, legality and accessibility. He also advised those who have installed “Private Beach” signs to have them removed without delay.

The government also says it wants to expand the area of ​​public beaches, and not just defend it: Pomponette beach, in the south, has been re-proclaimed a public beach, the re-proclamation of part of Balaclava beach – removed from the public domain in 2008 and then rented to a hotel operator – is under study, and a coastal path linking several sites on the south coast was recently opened to improve accessibility of the coastline.

The file is not closed yet. From June 2024, the Law Reform Commission had published a working document entitled Criminalization of denial of access to public beaches in Mauritius. In particular, she proposed amending the Beach Authority Act to criminalize denial of public access, with a fine of up to Rs 100,000 and imprisonment of up to two years. It also suggested the creation of a guaranteed public access zone along the coast, a strengthening of beach patrols, as well as a code of good conduct for users. To date, these proposals have not been followed up on - and the consultations announced with the Attorney General show that the legal framework remains, by the authorities' own admission, to be consolidated.

Another, more insidious factor complicates things further: coastal erosion. The high seas limit, on which the entire legal structure rests, is not a fixed line. With the rising waters and the retreat of the coastline, it moves inland. On certain portions of the coastline, the foreshore has shrunk so much that “walking below the high water mark” amounts, in practice, to walking in the water. The law is based on a changing geography – and this is one of the blind spots of the current system.

Are there private beaches in Mauritius?

No, in the sense that no one owns a beach: the coastline belongs to the public domain of the State, inalienable and imprescriptible, and a “Private Beach” sign has no legal value. But this does not mean that the entire beach is open to you: dry sand above the high water mark can be leased, and its occupant can then restrict access. Only the foreshore – the strip that the sea covers at high tide – is guaranteed to you in all circumstances.

Can I walk past a luxury hotel on the beach?

Yes, along the shore: on the foreshore, that is to say the strip that the sea covers at high tide, your passage cannot be obstructed. On the other hand, the dry sand higher up, where the deckchairs and the beach bar are installed, is generally located on land rented by the hotel: the latter has the right to reserve the use of it for its customers. In practice, we therefore pass near the water, not among the deckchairs.

What is the risk of someone blocking access to a beach?

Article 110 of Criminal Code (Supplementary) Act provides for a fine of up to 100,000 rupees for anyone who, without legal authority, obstructs the free passage of a pedestrian on the shore.

Can you have a barbecue on a Mauritian beach?

Only at locations designated by the Beach Authority. Lighting a fire elsewhere, or leaving a fire unattended before it is completely extinguished, is an offense punishable by a fine and imprisonment.

Can I come to the beach with my dog?

Yes, provided that the animal is kept on a leash of no more than 2 meters, and that this leash is strong enough so that it cannot break free.

Is camping allowed on public beaches?

It is subject to prior authorization from the Beach Authority. Since the 2022 law, a tent is considered a "structure": pitching one on a public beach without permission would constitute an offense, theoretically punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 rupees and two years' imprisonment. This point caused considerable controversy in Mauritius, and the Minister of Housing and Lands declared in late June 2026 that the permit requirement did not cover pitching a tent. Faced with this uncertainty, prudence dictates that you inquire directly with the Beach Authority — (+230) 468 6209 — before any camping project.

Why are some access points so difficult to find?

Because the coastline is bordered by land rented by the State to individuals or hotels. These leases confer a right of occupation which allows access to the rented plot to be restricted. Public pedestrian paths remain, but they are sometimes narrow, poorly signposted and wedged between two properties.

Does a tenant of land on Pas Géométrie own the beach?

No. Geometric Steps are in the public domain and cannot be sold. A lease confers a right of temporary occupation of the leased land, never a right of ownership over the sand.