La Réunion is only 2500 km away from France. If you are wondering where is Reunion Island located, it is tucked away in the Indian Ocean on the eastern side of mainland Africa between Mauritius and Madagascar. While planning our Mauritius vacation, my husband suggested we add this French-speaking island to our itinerary, I was intrigued. I had never even heard of Reunion Island. Let alone know that it is a French territory. This Reunion Island Travel Guide gives you a glimpse of this remote island and the top things to do here.
The island despite its size, has a landscape variety that rivals much bigger countries. Home to one of the most active volcanic hot spots in the world. There are tropical rainforests and lush green calderas (or cirques as they are called here). A haven for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. The population is as diverse as the landscape. Travel to Reunion island turned out to be as exotic as it sounds!
40 per cent of La Réunion is designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
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Where is Reunion Island located
Back home, whenever I mention we combined our Mauritius holiday with another 4 days at Reunion Island, the first question typically is “Where is Reunion Island”? So even though politically, it is part of France, geographically, the island is located in the Indian Ocean south of Mauritius. It was just a 45 minute flight from Mauritius. So it makes it easy to combine a trip to Mauritius with travel to Reunion Island. But most people think of Mauritius or Seychelles, when it comes to deciding a tropical island vacation in the Indian Ocean.
There are also direct flight connections from Paris to Reunion. There are two airports on the island: the Roland Garros international airport near Saint-Denis, and the Saint-Pierre Pierrefonds airport in the south of the island.
We had booked a rental car with pick-up option at the airport itself for our Reunion Island itinerary. This allowed us to drive from the airport to St. Pierre town, taking the scenic airport highway. But you can also opt for a private transfer from the Roland Garros airport.
Best time to visit Reunion Island
The best time to visit Réunion Island is May–November when the weather is generally dry and cool. We visited Reunion Island in July after our trip to Mauritius in July, and the weather was perfect.
It starts to get hot and rainy from November–April. And the monsoon period is best avoided on Reunion.
Things to Do in Reunion Island
Visit Piton de la Fournaise
Reunion Island has been formed from 2 volcanos, the very active Piton de la Fournaise and the dormant Piton des Neiges. We had booked a day hike to walk the rim of the volcano Piton de la Fournaise. Hiking to the main crater, Dolomieu, is now not possible after its collapse in 2007, but you can still walk to parts of the rim. Apart from hiking, there are also horse riding trails on the Plaine des Sables. Alas, it was raining that morning. We decided to go ahead with the hike to see if will eventually stop.
First we crossed Plaine des Sables, 2300 meters above sea level, via a jeep. The lunar landscape of Plaine des Sables is as interesting as Piton de la Fournaise. I have seen nothing like this mystical landscape of volcanic rocks and reddish volcanic slag. But then the rain turned into a torrential downpour. It was just not possible to do the demanding hike.
Our guide took us instead to the La Cité du Volcan museum or the Volcano Museum. This immersive museum in Plaine des Cafres is quite an experience. At 3 levels, it uses technology and AI to reproduce certain features of volcanic conditions for the visitors. The interactive exhibition for adults and children then presents volcanic phenomena, the tectonic plates, the singularities of Reunion and its evolution since its birth more than 3 million years ago.
Take a helicopter ride over La Réunion
A helicopter ride over this surreal landscape and the aerial views it offers is an experience of a lifetime. But this 45 min to 1 hour ride is expensive. Plus, the weather and the micro-climates on the island make sure that the helicopter doesn’t take off on some days. Our helicopter ride got cancelled the first morning and we got the information only after reaching the local airport.
It took off the next morning but the pilot informed us that we can’t cover Salazie because it is completely under cloud cover. Soon after the take-off, we turned in the direction of St. Pierre town. The helicopter then turned towards Piton de la Fournaise, first we saw the inner caldera and then the outer caldera. And then Plaine des Sables, which looked like Mars from top!
We were happy to go over the Cirque de Mafate, the remotest of the lot, accessible only by foot or by a helicopter. And then covered the Cirque de Cilaos and saw parts of the famous 400 bends road snaking across the terrain. Even with the expense and the uncertainty, I would say that the helicopter ride over Reunion Island is sure worth it.
Hiking trails around Mafate, Cilaos, and Salazie
There are 3 large volcanic calderas left from over millions of years ago. These calderas, called cirques on Reunion Island, are vast, filled with green vegetation and have villages based within them. Mafate is the remotest of them, accessible only by foot. You can drive to both Salazie and Cilaos. These like Mafate also offer several hiking trails with great views.
Cilaos is made famous by its winding road with 400 bends. This featured on our Reunion Island Itinerary and I can vouch for that number. Indeed, we drove on 400 bends to reach this cirque. You can book a full-day tour and enjoy its breathtaking scenery.
Cilaos offers diverse activities from hiking to Bras Rouge waterfall or Piton des Neiges on the Le Bloc trail, canyoning at Fleur Jaune, to wine tasting and thermal spas. All we had time to do was roam the village and have a leisurely lunch.
Check out some of the hiking tours:
Explore the wild south
The north and the west parts of the island are more developed. The “Wild South” of Reunion Island has rugged and untamed landscapes, including volcanic formations, lush forests, and coastal scenery. We had rented a car for our 4 days on the island and one of the days was spent touring the south side of the island.
You can book a full day tour for the same. This will cover Langevin Waterfall, one of the most magnificent waterfalls on Reunion Island. There is the Cap Méchant to admire where the raging waves collide with vertical cliffs. The tour also covers take the Lava Route where you get to cross the ancient cooled lava flows.
Explore the capital city
Saint Denis is the economic, administrative, and cultural center of the island. It is easy to explore it by yourself, or you can book a half-day tour of the city. Jardin de l’Etat is a beautiful botanical garden located in the heart of Saint Denis. Inside the garden, the Natural History Museum is very pleasant to visit. You can go to Paris street to see some of the historic villas dating from the colonial era. Le Barachois is a great place to hang out and watch the Indian Ocean crash into the rocks.
Beaches and watersports
One of the popular beaches on the island is Roches Noire at St. Gilles. It is located very close to the center of Saint-Gilles Les Bains and has many bars, hotels and restaurants. We went to the beach in Saint Pierre, walking distance from our hotel. But do’t expect pristine sandy beaches like those of the Seychelles.
Apart from hiking, adventure lovers will find many water sports during their Reunion Island travel. You can find local dive centers for diving and snorkelling. We enjoyed a dolphin boat cruise one afternoon, though the water can turn quite choppy in no time.
For more information on things to do in Reunion Island, visit the tourism website.
Where to stay on Reunion Island
Most travellers stay in the north and western region of the island, which is more developed. Both Saint Denis and St. Pierre towns are good options as is Saint Gilles. We stayed at a luxury boutique hotel, Villa Delisle in St. Pierre town. Highly recommend it! Charming bar and restaurant on-site. It was a great location, walking distance from the beach and several other restaurants.
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