Le Vauclin,map in hand.

From north to south, the town’s Atlantic coast: mangrove-lined coves, a harbour where fish and conch are still landed, the Pointe Faula lagoon and the savannahs of Grand Macabou.

Sweep the light across the map

Aerial photograph © IGN – BD ORTHO (Open Licence).

The logbook

Ten stops, from Pointe du Vauclin to Grand Macabou. Numbers refer to the map.

1
Pointe du Vauclin
North of the village, the headland reaches out between reef and lagoon. The Boucle du Vauclin trail follows it, with viewpoints over the turquoise water.
2
Trou Cochon
A sheltered, mangrove-fringed cove on the Boucle du Vauclin trail. The water is calm and shallow.
3
Château Paille beach
The village beach, just north of the harbour.
4
The fishing harbour and market
Le Vauclin is still a fishing village: when the boats come back, fish and conch are landed at the harbour. The covered market and the fishermen’s chapel are a short walk away.
5
The village and its tables
Around Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, a few places for Creole food or a pizza.
- Chez Marie-Alice
- La Saveur Créole
- Pizzeria la Vauclinoise
Addresses taken from OpenStreetMap: your hosts will tell you their favourites.
6
Pointe Faula
The shallow Pointe Faula lagoon is a well-known kitesurfing and windsurfing spot. On the beach, several restaurants with their feet in the sand.
- K’Bana
- DKlé
- Le Toucan
- Titiris
Addresses taken from OpenStreetMap: your hosts will tell you their favourites.
7
Montagne du Vauclin
The town’s summit, inland, reached by a way of the cross. Here, the hill photographed in 1894 from the road to Le François.
8
The Malevaut mill
The overgrown ruins of the Malevaut plantation mill on the southern road, a relic of the plantation era.
9
The Macabou coves
Petite and Grande Anse Macabou, two wild beaches in the south of the town, on the Trace des Caps.
10
Grand Macabou estate
A protected natural site: coastal savannah, candle cacti facing the Atlantic, and the small chapel of the Virgin of the Sailors.