Practical information: Reunion Island

by camilleprignonUncategorizedPosted on No Comments

The essentials

Papers: ID card or valid passport for Europeans, valid passport for the rest of the world. The entry conditions (tourist visa) are the same as in France.

Currency: euro (EUR)

Time zone: GMT +4

Best time to visit: 

The climate is tropical, with two main seasons: the austral winter and the summer (rainy season). The best months to visit are the following:

  • May-September (austral winter, dry season): the weather is cooler than between December and March (very hot!), which is ideal for hiking and the sun;
  • October-November (spring): flowering period. The rainy season starts in November but tropical storms usually happen later (mostly in January).

Don’t forget it’s always cooler in the mountains so bring a jacket along with your swimsuits!

Budget: I found out Reunion Island is quite expensive in terms of groceries (a bit more expensive than France). Regarding the accommodation, you should find a house to rent between 60-150€ per night for 2 people. If you spend a night in a lodge when hiking in the mountains, it costs around 40€ per person (meal and breakfast included). I’m not sure about the hotel rates but it’s definitely more expensive. Finally, car rentals cost between 15-20€ per day. As a conclusion, I would say one week on the island – flight not included – costs around 500€ per person.

Airports

There are two airports on the island: Rolland-Garros (Saint-Denis, North), which is the international airport, and Pierrefonds (Saint-Pierre, South), which only flies directly to Mauritius.

From the airport of Rolland-Garros, you can take the bus or a taxi to reach your accommodation, but I highly recommend you rent a car. Indeed, there are so many places on the island where public transportation is not available and it’s way easier to have your own car. You can find more information about the bus services here.

The airport of Pierrefonds is located near most of the island’s major tourist sites, therefore it’s better if you can land there directly (after a stop in Mauritius). It’s also possible to rent a car, take a bus or a taxi from this airport; get more info here.

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To book your flight, I advise you to use Skyscanner, which compares travel fares (flights, hotels, car rentals) around the world. I always use this site to find the cheapest flights!

Accommodation

If you’re planning to go to Reunion island for your holidays, I recommend you look for an accommodation between Saint-Gilles and Saint-Pierre, where most of the tourist sites and beaches are situated.

My favorite places are situated near Saint-Gilles because of its beautiful beaches, bars and restaurants. As long as you find something between Saint-Gilles and Saint-Pierre you will be well located, it can be either on the coast for the proximity of the beach or a bit higher (for instance Piton Saint-Leu) for the view over the mountains and the ocean. Don’t underestimate the time to go up if you choose to rent a house in the mountains because of the many twists on the road!

I don’t think you have to change your accommodation during your stay; I mean you could if you’d like to be closer to the tourist sites (for example spend the first week on the West coast and then a couple days in the South) but it’s not necessary. Anyway, if you go hiking or if you go to the volcano, it takes between an hour and two to get at the starting point by car.

Now the question is… hotel, house, lodge, B&B? Actually, it depends on you! I’m not a hotel person – I prefer to rent a house and organize everything by myself. But there are several hotels on the island (which I don’t know except the Palm Hotel situated near the beach of Grande Anse, I love their cocktails and the view!), as well as many villas, lodges and B&Bs. I mostly use AirBnb to find a house or an apartment to rent, and Booking for the hotels, along with Trip Advisor in order to read the advice before booking.

 

 

Beaches on Reunion Island

by camilleprignonBeach, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Reunion Island offers some 30 km of black and white sand beaches, of which 22 km are well-preserved lagoons.

The sun invites you to relax on the beach and enjoy different activities: swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc… The clear waters of the lagoons provide great visibility for discovering multi-colored fish.

Swimming in the ocean is authorized in several areas, which are either supervised by lifeguards or protected by the coral reef. Aquatic activities (surf, bodyboard, bodysurf, longboard, paddle board) outside those areas are prohibited because of the potential presence of sharks. But don’t worry for that as long as you swim in an authorized spot – there’s no risk! Actually I have never seen a shark here.

Bathing areas

The authorized bathing areas are situated on the Western and the Southern coasts, from Saint-Gilles to Saint-Philippe.

My favorite spots are l’Ermitage for its lagoon and Grande Anse for its nature. Here is an exhaustive list of all the beaches where you can swim – from West to South:

  • Boucan Canot: beautiful beach between Saint-Paul Saint-Gilles with a natural swimming pool formed by volcanic rocks. I like this beach for its many bars, restaurants and shops, but the bathing area is quite small. I would recommend to go there to enjoy a lunch and do some shopping.
  • L’Ermitage: the most beautiful beach for its turquoise water, near Saint-Gilles. It’s a family beach where you can enjoy swimming in shallow water. The lagoon is ideal for snorkeling; please respect the corals. I also love this site for its bars and restaurants (au K’banon, la Bobine), where you can enjoy a good cocktail with a view of the ocean.
  • La Saline: this beach is similar and close to l’Ermitage – beautiful lagoon for snorkeling and shallow turquoise water. If I had to recommend a bar/restaurant, that would be “L’Uni Vert” without any doubt!
  • Saint-Leu: Saint-Leu is a small city between Saint-Gilles and Saint-Pierre. Its lagoon is also protected by the coral reef, but the water is not as turquoise as in the West.
  • Etang-Salé: large volcanic sand beach with palm trees and lots of waves! A basin was created so that people can swim without any risk, and lifeguards supervise the beach. I like to go to this beach at the end of the day when the dark sand doesn’t burn the feet anymore. It’s a perfect place for beach games like beach volley, beach tennis, slack line, etc.
  • Saint-Pierre: Saint-Pierre is the third largest city of the island. The beach is situated very close to the city center and surrounded by the coral reef.
  • Grande Anse: the most natural beach and therefore the most beautiful to me. Grande Anse is situated in the South, near “Petite-Île”. It’s a white sand beach covered by palm trees. A basin was created like in Etang-Salé because there is no lagoon. I love enjoying the day there (snorkeling is also possible) and then have a good cocktail with a view at the Palm Hotel. I recommend making a stop at the small hill near the beach in order to have a walk and enjoy the beautiful view over the ocean.
  • Manapany-les-Bains: Manapany is situated near Grande Anse. A basin was also created, but I would say it’s way better in Grande Anse!

Top 5 activities on Reunion island

by camilleprignonActivities, UncategorizedPosted on No Comments

Here are my top 5 activities on the island, tested and approved by myself!

DOLPHIN & WHALE WATCHING

Meeting a marine mammal in its natural environment is always an unforgettable experience. The stunning waters of Reunion Island contain a lot of multicolored fishes and corals, but there are more impressive visitors: dolphins and whales.

All year long, you can observe dolphins swimming near the coast of the island. There are two species living there: pantropical spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. 

During winter (above all from July to September), Reunion Island is one of the best places in the world to observe whales, mostly the impressive humpback whales. Along with these, you can also spot sperm whales and fin whales.

There are two ways to meet those mammals:

  • Meet them by boat: I recommend the tour with the company “Lady La Fée“. They organize catamaran cruises in the morning and in the afternoon. It’s better to go on an excursion in the morning when the ocean is more quiet, plus you get the breakfast! I’ve done it 3 times so far and it’s always a breathtaking show.
  • Swim with them: in order to swim with them, you should book a trip with a diving club and you might be lucky enough to swim alongside one of those impressive animals, but don’t be scared – they are totally harmless! You can find several diving clubs on the island, but this one might be the cheapest one; ask for David: Plongée Péï.

HIKING

Small in size but full of contrasting landscapes, the island has more than 900 km of marked trails to offer, a real paradise for hikers!

From a dense rainforest in the east, savannah and sugar canes in the west, lunar landscapes on the volcanoes, ubiquitous waterfalls, to the amazing mountains and ravines created by the eruptions in the center, everyone will find something to enjoy.

There are hiking trails for different levels, from beginners to experienced people, so no worries, you can make it!

See more on hiking trails in this section.

CANYONING

Reunion island has plenty of exceptional canyoning sites. There are actually more than 100 diverse sites, dizzying waterfalls, zip lines, slides, etc.

The canyoning sites of Trou Blanc in Salazie, Fleur Jaune and Bras Rouge in Cilaos have largely contributed to make Reunion island an internationally renowned place. But there are so many more…

I have myself tested the canyoning of Trou Blanc, which was awesome! It’s known to be the most fun on the island, as it combines zip lines, slides, waterfalls, rappelling and jumps.

Next on my list is the canyoning of Takamaka, known to be very technical, but also one of the most beautiful. It takes the whole day and there are many water movements. Usually, guides won’t bring you there unless you’ve already done other canyoning sites with them.

If you’re interested in canyoning, I recommend you to get in touch with Thierry. He is  very professional, friendly, and he puts safety first.

FROM THE SKY

If you’re running out of time to visit the island or if you don’t really like to hike, or – if like me – you want to discover the island from another point of view, I highly recommend you to try one of these activities in the air.

Between summits and lagoons, you can enjoy the spectacular landscapes by paragliding, skydiving, ULM or helicopter.

I went paragliding last October with my family and we won’t forget it. We flew during 45 minutes, enjoyed the view over the mountains, ravines and the lagoon of Saint-Leu. We got so lucky – we saw a whale and its baby! I can recommend the agency Adrenaline based in Saint-Leu, which organizes flights from 20 minutes to 1 hour.

I also had the opportunity to do the ULM tour with Planetair974 (from the airport of Pierrefonds) – it was magic! I did the 1-hour tour and flew over the whole island, from the coastline to the cirques passing through the volcanoes and so many waterfalls. I felt suddenly so small and it’s just amazing to see new places accessible only by air.

I haven’t tested the skydiving nor the helicopter yet; I know the helicopter tours are similar to the ULM, it’s just that it’s more expensive and you can access the waterfalls closer because the helicopter is more stable and can go deeper in the ravines. About skydiving, my sister is going to do it (with Para-club Bourbon) so I’ll tell you more about it, but I guess it’s big sensations!

SCUBA DIVING

Reunion island has a wide variety of sea beds, wrecks, and an interesting marine topography due to the recent volcanic activities. A marine natural reserve was created in 2007 in order to protect the coral reef.

I would say the coral reef is not the most beautiful I’ve ever seen because the island is considered young (yeah, only 3 million years) and the coral hasn’t had the time to develop a lot yet. Still, it’s interesting to dive there because you will find a rich and varied marine wildlife, and of course some corals!

Turtles are often observed in the West coast, inside the lagoon. You can actually meet one of them simply snorkeling; most of the time we spot them in La Saline-les-Bains. Turtles are also often observed in Cap La Houssaye, but you can only dive there.

There are several diving clubs on the island, for all types of level. Initiations and diving lessons are usually done in easy sites like Cap La Houssaye (no need to take the boat) and Saint-Leu. The most experienced divers will find multiple sites: wrecks off Boucan Canot, Saint-Gilles or Saint-Leu, the fishway of the Ermitage (Saint-Gilles), or La Pointe au Sel (Saint-Leu) with a descent of 70 meters approached by tuna, jackfish, dolphins, etc. I’ve heard that the seabed of Sainte-Rose (east coast) is impressive and you can explore the lava flows.

I am myself currently passing my diving license (FFESSM), and it’s always very exciting!