Indian Ocean · Mauritius
Rodrigues
A lagoon twice the island's size, with passes that flush it twice a day
Photo: Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0
Rodrigues sits 600 km east of Mauritius, a small island inside a lagoon twice the size of its own land area, ringed by a barrier reef that almost nothing passes through. The few channels that do cut it — La Passe St François is the best known — flush enormous volumes of water and concentrate fish on their corners. Away from the passes, the reef is cut with canyons and caves in shallow, exceptionally clear water, and the island sees almost no dive traffic.
About diving in Rodrigues
Everything is done from boats and the tide runs the day. The lagoon is broad and shallow, so departures are timed both to carry enough water over the reef flat and to reach the channels while the flow is going the right way; a morning can start early or late depending on the tide rather than on what suits the schedule. Centres sit at opposite ends of the island, around Port Mathurin in the north and Mourouk in the south-east, and each tends to work its own end rather than crossing over.
The ground outside the barrier is undemanding and well lit: hard coral over sand, cut with gullies and swim-throughs shallow enough that light is never the problem. The channels are a different sport. You drop into moving water, run the cut and hold on a corner while the flow stacks fish in front of you, and whether that is an easy morning or a serious one is set by the tide rather than by the site. Current is moderate as a baseline and the passes can run well beyond it, so the tide table does most of the planning.
The calmest, most reliable windows are May to July and October to November. August blows hard enough to cost dives without writing the month off, and the kitesurfers come for exactly that wind; January to March carries cyclone risk and the least settled sea. The site list is compact and the island is quiet, with dinner as the evening entertainment. It suits divers who want channel diving without a dive scene around it, and who are happy for the topside half of the trip to be walking, birds and empty coastline.
Best time to dive Rodrigues
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
| Sea surface | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 25°C77°F | 25°C77°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 25°C77°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F |
| Rain | 84 mm3.3 in | 93 mm3.7 in | 92 mm3.6 in | 61 mm2.4 in | 30 mm1.2 in | 23 mm0.9 in | 16 mm0.6 in | 10 mm0.4 in | 9 mm0.4 in | 17 mm0.7 in | 24 mm0.9 in | 42 mm1.7 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 84 mm3.3 in | 93 mm3.7 in | 92 mm3.6 in | 61 mm2.4 in | 30 mm1.2 in | 23 mm0.9 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Fair |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 25°C77°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 25°C77°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 16 mm0.6 in | 10 mm0.4 in | 9 mm0.4 in | 17 mm0.7 in | 24 mm0.9 in | 42 mm1.7 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
May–Jul and Oct–Nov are the calmest windows; Jan–Mar brings cyclone risk and August can be windy.
Best months: May, June, July, October, November
Rodrigues water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 24 °C (75 °F) in September to 28 °C (82 °F) in March. Most rain falls from December to April, peaking at about 90 mm (3.5 in) in February; it stays largely dry from June to November. Daytime highs reach 29 °C (84 °F) in March and drop to 24 °C (75 °F) in September. The coldest water here is about 22 °C (72 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
The channels are where fish stack up: reef sharks and barracuda in the moving water, trevally schools, and big napoleon wrasse holding out of the flow. Turtles are routine on the outer slope, groupers sit in the gullies, and there are nudibranchs for anyone slowing down. Little of it is seasonal; what varies is whether the weather lets you reach the passes at all.
- Reef
- Wall
- Drift
- Cave & cavern
- Coral garden
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
- Reef fish swarms
- Napoleon wrasse
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Groupers
- Nudibranchs
Best dive sites in Rodrigues
Reef
Named after a grouper that changes colour on the spot
Pelagic & blue water
A blue descent with no reference onto a shelf at 25 m
Drift
A natural aquarium at 10 m, or a 50-minute tidal drift
Reef
Coral totems and valleys between two reef blocks
Reef
Coral drop-offs at 21 m under a ceiling of fusiliers
Coral garden
A sheltered lagoon pool at 7 m for first dives
Cave & cavern
Chimneys through the barrier reef that flood with daylight
Drift
A kilometre of channel drifted on the outgoing tide
Cave & cavern
A canyon that passes right under the barrier reef
Reef
A gentle slope to 34 m with arches and overhangs
Pinnacle
An offshore coral seamount with turtles in the tunnels
La Grande Passe
Wide southern channel with strong tidal flow and passing pelagics.
How to get to Rodrigues
The regular way in is the flight from Mauritius, about ninety minutes, to the island's single airstrip at Plaine Corail; a passenger-carrying ship also sails from Port Louis but takes well over a day at sea and runs infrequently. Base yourself near a centre, north around Port Mathurin or south-east at Mourouk. All diving is by day boat, with no shore entries.
Photos from Rodrigues
Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Scuba diving in Rodrigues Island - La plongée sous-marine à l'île Rodrigues · Exploration Sous-Marine (Centre de Plongée) on YouTube
Scuba diving in Rodrigues - Karlanne 20m 270526 · Sultana RA on YouTube
Photo credits
- An elevated view of Rodrigues's turquoise lagoon and the pale barrier reef line running along the coast. by Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Small fishing boats moored in the shallow lagoon off Rodrigues at low tide, with exposed reef rock in the foreground. by Ludovic Lubeigt from Taiwan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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