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Cluster · Saint-Gilles

Boucan Canot

North-beach cluster: a busy beach at the foot of the cliffs; the sea is rough, so look and check the flags before any swim.

Key facts

28″ bags
painful
Time budget
90m
Rescue coverage
100% ≤7′
max p90 6′
Places
1
Boucan Canot
Boucan CanotPhoto: Clémenceau Lauret, CC BY-SA 4.0
Rules in force · 12Nine African countries on this site have no trip line bec…Swim only inside the lagoon or in supervised zones and ob…Sand, kerbs and heat
  • Africa ↗When a route touches a yellow-fever country — even a transit of 12 hours or more — keep the original yellow card (ICVP) in your hand luggage; health desks and airlines can refuse boarding or entry without it.
  • Africa ↗Nine African countries on this site have no trip line because governments advise against travel; several others have no-go regions. Read your government's advice for every country on the route before paying deposits.
  • African islands ↗Sleep on the island you fly home from the night before your long-haul departure; inter-island flights and ferries in this region are cancelled or rescheduled often enough to break a same-day connection.
  • African islands ↗In the Indian Ocean islands book flexible rates for December to March: a cyclone warning can shut airports, ferries and roads for two or three days.
  • Réunion ↗Réunion is French and in the EU but outside the Schengen area: a Schengen visa does not automatically cover it. Check the French government's entry rules for Réunion for your passport.
  • Réunion ↗Swimming and surfing are restricted on much of the coast because of shark risk; swim only in the lagoon and supervised zones.
  • Réunion ↗Access to Piton de la Fournaise closes during eruptions and alerts; check the prefecture's current status before you go.
  • West coast ↗Swim only in the lagoon and supervised zones; shark-risk bans are enforced along the coast.
  • Saint-Gilles ↗Swim only inside the lagoon or in supervised zones and obey the flags and local bans: shark risk restricts swimming and surfing on most of the coast.
  • Saint-Gilles ↗Sand, kerbs and heat: large suitcases go from the car to the door, never on a walk.
  • Saint-Gilles ↗A hire car is how most visitors reach anything beyond the coast strip: book it before you fly and confirm the desk stays open for your flight. Public buses exist but timetables are not assumed here.
  • Saint-Gilles ↗Cyclone season runs roughly December to March: alerts can close roads, trails and flights; follow the prefecture and Météo-France.
More
Map to the centre
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Directions
From where I am

Add your hotel to get directions from it. · stays in this browser; shared with the pocket card.

Walking weather, next 5 days

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Forecast: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), model data for this point.

Plan

How the ground walks, and what is here

Bound and physics

Boucan Canot beach and the road along it.

Slope
gentle
Stairs
Few
Shade
low
Surface
sand and paved road
Sleep here or visit
visit

Eat and drink here

Boucan Canot sunset terrace

A beach-front terrace for a Dodo beer or rhum arrangé at sunset: arrive by 17:00 for a table facing the sea, and book if you want dinner.

On the ground

Where to rest, how to leave, where to sleep nearby

Rescue anchors

5 places to rest · checked on a 40 m (130 ft) grid

A rescue anchor is a spot where you can stop and recover if the walk goes wrong: a bench, a café, a toilet. Every letter on the map is one anchor, and each has a card below. We check that any point in the cluster is within about 7 minutes’ walk of one, so you are never far from somewhere to sit down.

ABCDE
Map © OpenStreetMap contributors. Lettered circles: rescue anchors (green works in any conditions, amber only on hot days). Dashed outline: the cluster. Red dots: spots more than 7 min from any anchor (none if you see no red). North is up; not for navigation.

Beach-front café seating

Place to sit · Food & drink · works in any conditions

Beach toilets and showers

Toilet · works in any conditions

Car-park shade

Shelter from rain · works in any conditions

Roadside snack stand

Food & drink · works in any conditions

Hotel lobby (AC, field-verify)

ac · Place to sit · Toilet · works in any conditions

100% of the cluster is within 7 min of an anchor in any conditions (slowest walker, worst cell 6 min) · 100% on hot days

Nodes in this cluster

  1. Boucan Canot beach

    Come at 16:30 for the sunset view and a drink; swim only if the beach signs and flags say it is open that day.

Edges out

directed
ToHowp50Climb
Saint-Gilles port and seafrontCar south~10 minflat

Red lines here

  • Boucan Canot: strong sea; do not swim unless the beach is officially open for it.

Deep dive

Around this cluster

Straight-line distance; walk time adds 30% for streets.