Level: Free shore access This spot have a free shore access: you can go snorkeling there freely and without having to book a tour or pay an entrance fee.
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Last updated on July 25, 2023
A small popular beach in the southwest of Mahe, Fairyland Beach offers an idyllic paradise setting, framed by coconut palms and granite boulders overhanging a crystal-clear lagoon. From a snorkeler’s viewpoint, the seabed can be thought of as less interesting, yet it allows you to discover a beautiful array of colorful fish from its shallow depth.
Fairyland Beach is a small area located at the end of Anse Royale, a village on the southeast coast of Mahe. It is only 30 minutes by car from Victoria (20km) and 20 minutes from the airport (10km). The beach can also be reached by bus.
If you are in the village of Anse Royale, you can go to this spot on foot by following the coast for around 700m to the north. However, if you’re passing by the beach, you will have to go around one particularly rocky area.
We advise you to enter the water at the end of the beach, near the rocks. Sometimes, the lagoon is very shallow: in this case, walk a little towards Souris Island (see map) to enter at a more suitable depth.
The recommended snorkeling area covers the lagoon facing the beach. It is especially noted that you should explore the rocks along the coast and the outskirts of Souris Island. Be careful to not pass behind the island, as there is often a strong current.
The lagoon at Fairyland Beach is found to be less worth the dive for its poor seabed. It shelters granite blocks and sand beds, even though some pretty leather corals (Sarcophyton sp.) are fixed there on the flats.
If you do end up visiting here, it is more ideal to encounter and photograph its beautifully colorful fish which are easy to approach in this shimmering yet shallow lagoon (↕3-6ft/1-2m). For example, near the rocks, you can spot semicircle angelfish, bluespotted groupers, goldbar wrasse, and several species of sergeants.
Valentini’s sharpnose puffer, which are usually seen in pairs, and prefer sandy areas where beautiful trevallies pass from time to time. When reaching Souris Island, the depth increases a bit more (↕6-9ft/2-3m) and it becomes more favorable to see spotted eagle rays, which sometimes visit the lagoon.
Here, you will find a few accommodations to stay in from the hills overlooking the beach. Several restaurants and snacks are located in the village of Anse Royale.
These snorkeling spots are accessible to beginners and kids. You will enter the water gradually from a beach, or in a less than 3ft. deep area. The sea is generally calm, shallow, with almost no waves or currents. These spots are usually located in marked and/or monitored swimming areas. It is not necessary to swim long distances to discover the sea life. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
