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. Resort nearby
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Last updated on June 21, 2024
Located to the south of La Saline-les-Bains, Trou d’Eau lagoon is the least visited in Saint-Gilles region. However, its shallow waters are home to well-preserved corals, including healthy branching coral colonies. As you swim between the reefs, you’ll encounter triggerfish, butterflyfish, wrasses and potentially dozens of other colorful fish species.
Trou d´Eau beach is located south of Lagon de la Saline, about 10 minutes by car from Saint-Gilles-les-Bains city center. A parking lot has been set up behind the beach (the entrance is located approximately 250m before the Akoya Hotel & Spa).
Get in the water wherever you want from the sandy beach.
At Trou d’Eau, the lagoon is about 450m wide. You can snorkel in the whole area, except the wilderness area, which begins at the yellow beacon that you will see from the beach, on the right.
About 50m from the barrier, the corals are too dense and too close to the surface to be able to continue snorkeling forward. Throughout the lagoon, the depth is less than 6ft/2m.
Near the beach, the seabed is mostly sandy, before gradually becoming covered with corals. The zone located near the integral reserve shelters in particular superb branching coral areas, perhaps the most beautiful in Réunion Island (see map).
Further south, there is less coral and you have to really get close to the barrier to start seeing beautiful reefs. Trou d´Eau lagoon allows snorkelers to spot a wide range of local lagoon life.
Several species of butterflyfish, Moorish idols, masked bannerfish and goatfish are very common. In the branching corals, blunt snout gregory and ebony gregory defend their territory. Sometimes a school of hundreds of convict tang crosses the lagoon, stopping to graze here and there on the reef.
Blacktail snappers, blackspotted puffer and lagoon triggerfish are among the hundreds of other species that can be seen in the lagoon. In the sand, you can see many sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and sometimes cushion starfish.
The Akoya Hotel & Spa***** is located in front of Trou d’Eau beach, just across the road. There are several restaurants in the area, especially by walking towards La Saline.
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.
