Grande Anse

Grande Anse is a crescent of white sand on the southern coast, unusual on this side of the island where most of the shore is black rock, backed by a coconut grove with picnic tables and a basalt-walled sea pool built to give safe swimming. The open sea here is dangerous, with heavy swell and strong currents, and the pool is the only place people are meant to get in. It is one of the most popular weekend spots on the island.

What you actually see

• The white sand - a pale beach on a coast that is mostly black rock.
• The sea pool - a walled basin giving protected swimming.
• The coconut grove - the palms and picnic ground behind the beach.
• The wild coast - the surf and rock running away on both sides.

When to go

May to November is the drier season. Weekends and holidays fill the beach and the car park completely. Cyclone swell closes it.

Honest expectations

Swimming outside the walled pool is genuinely dangerous and there have been fatalities. Weekend crowds are heavy and parking fills early. The pool itself gets very crowded.

Nearby

Manapany is east, and Saint-Joseph is beyond it.