In this blog post, you’ll find everything you need to know to plan a visit to Reunion Island, including details on where to stay in Reunion, where to eat and even things to do in Reunion. This free guide to the island can be used to plan a trip for 5 days, 7 days or upto 20 days. This guide is themed around a one week itinerary for Reunion Island.

Day 1: Explore the most beautiful village of Hellbourg

Starting from Saint Denis, drive down to Cirque de Salazie, one of the three volcanic craters on Reunion Island. It is home to the most beautiful village in political Europe and geographical Africa! Old cathedrals, beautiful colonial buildings and colorful streets deep in the lush green crater characterise this village. Visit the La Maison Creole house and walk to the cemetery flower gardens. Spend a night here in a quaint hotel.

Read more: Hellbourg, The Most Beautiful Village In Réunion Island

Day 2: Explore Belouve Forest and drive down to Saline Les Baines

The village of Hellbourg also borders Belouve Forest. Belouve is a beautiful cloud forest in the highest region of Reunion Island. The forest is home to many mosses, ferns, high-altitude plants and trees. Its a wonderful spot to go trekking, forest bathing and even camping! There is also a beautiful waterfall deep inside the forest called the Trou De Fer (“the Iron Hole”). Expect to spend five to eight hours here depending on how far you want to explore the forest. You might be surprised to see deers and many other docile animals and birds!

Later, drive to Saline Les Baines on the west coast of Reunion island to spend the night. 

Read more: Hellbourg, The Most Beautiful Village In Réunion Island

Day 3: Enjoy the beautiful beach and waterfalls of the West

The West Coast of Reunion is the best quarter of the island to enjoy the beach and sea activities like transparent kayaking, parasailing, open water boating and whale watching. And Saline Les Baines offers some of the best luxury hotels on a reasonable budget! Spend the mornings and the beach and head to La Maido by noon to see the valley of Mafate and you’ll be incredibly thrilled by the view! Later, visit the Bassin Des Cormorans, an azure waterfall you can swim in. So beautiful! Take a walk on Boucan Cannot’s Promenade in the evening. A must visit in your one week itinerary for Reunion Island.

Read more: What To Do In Western Reunion

Day 4: Camp in Cirque de Cilaos

Drive to the town of Cilaos, another one of the three cirques (craters) in Reunion. Cilaos offers views and trekking paths to Piton Des Neiges, the island’s highest peak (over 3,000 m tall). You will also love visiting the town centre which has a very beautiful cathedral and flower gardens along the main street! Another highlight in Cilaos is the 400-curve road leading to it. Spend the evening at the lake in the town. There are a few cafes and restaurants to grab dinner at.

Plan a personalised visit to Réunion Island with Anne from NamastéIndia

Day 5: Explore the beachside town of Saint Pierre

Saint Pierre is a perfect mix of colonial architechture, creole culture, beautiful beaches and wild nature. After checking in at a vintage hotel, do a city walk in the quaint streets of Saint Pierre starting on Boulevard Hubert Delisle. There are many cafes and alleyways that will grab your attention. And spend the evening relaxing on the best beach in the south – the St. Pierre Public Beach (this is a sunset beach). A visit to Saint Pierre is a definite to-do in your one week itinerary for Reunion Island.

Read more: Experience The Wild South Of Reunion Island

Day 6: Go Canyoning at Grand Galet and visit a volcano

You MUST go canyoning (even if you’ve never done it before) and you can thank us later! Canyoning involves zip lining across waterfalls, rapelling from a tree, freestyle jumping and floating in the beautiful water pools of a mountain river deep inside a canyon. Its perfectly safe as long as you choose certified guides to take you through it (we put our faith in Ricaric Canyoning).

Later, visit the beautiful Piton De La Fournaise, an active volcano, that’s been blowing up often since 2004. If safe, you can even visit the underground lava tunnels to see the after effects of lava cooling off. Spend the night in Saint Pierre.

Read more: Experience The Wild South Of Reunion Island

Day 7: Experience Creole culture in Saint Denis

Drive back to St. Denis while stopping at Cap Noir, one of the best valley views in the north. It looks straight out of Jurassic Park, the movie for the thick green forested canyons. There are small helicopter tours to take through this grand valley. 

At Saint Denis, you’ll observe many traditional Hindu temples (tamil culture is an integral part of Reunion). Visit the temples, go shopping in the street markets, eat at the community food court along the beach and end the day on the seaside promenade with a heartwarming sunset. Drive back to the aiport to return the car! 

Read more: See all articles about Reunion

How to travel to Reunion Island

Reunion is very well connected with France and many other countries including India and Mauritius. There are regular direct flights from Paris and Chennai to Saint Denis, Reunion Island. We flew with Air Austral and it was a satisfying experience. If you want to book incredibly cheap flights to Reunion, write to us! The cheapest tickets are available for one week itinerary for Reunion Island for as little as USD 330 or INR 25,000 from India (direct from Chennai). 

How to travel within Reunion Island

A self drive roadtrip is the most practical way to explore Reunion Island. Rent a car at the Airport in Saint Denis. The cost of renting a car and fuel for a seven day roadtrip should be less than EUR 250 to EUR 300 (about INR 22,000).

Travel costs and safety

Reunion Island is not the cheapest country to travel in. Although statistics declare Reunion to be 40% more expensive than mainland France, there are still innumerable ways to explore the island on a backpacker’s budget.

The best way to do it is a combination of both ends of the cost spectrum – luxury where necessary and budget experiences to connect with the local culture. Our itinerary and recommended hotels take this into consideration. And if you’re looking for customization, plan a personalised visit to Réunion Island with our friend, Anne Laure Payet, who is authorised to facilitate visa on arrival for Indian and other travellers (for the invitation letter). You can reach her directly on WhatsApp (+262-692-240-386). 

EUR 125-150 per day, can easily get you very good accommodation, food and some local sightseeing depending on where you are in the island.

Tasting Creole cuisine on Reunion Island

Reunion’s Creole culture is a medley of African, Indian and French culture. Besides a wide variety of meat and fish, Creole cuisine offers the quintessential rice and curry. You must taste this at any of the community food courts or beachside shacks in Saint Denis, Saint Pierre, and even in the villages of Hellbourg and Cilaos. If you like barbeques, you’ll enjoy visiting Grand Anse beach in the Wild South of the island.

Tip: Check out the shacks around ‘Le Resto De La Gare’ on the Saint Pierre Public Beach for their sandwiches and delectable paninis. 

How to get a Reunion Tourist Visa

Reunion can be visited by obtaining a non-Schengen French visa (from French consulate/embassy) or by taking a Visa-On-Arrival (for many nationalities including Indians). To get the visa on arrival, the visitor must present a return flight ticket as well as a visa letter from an authorised tourist agency – we got ours from Anne Laure Payet (contact her directly on WhatsApp (+262-692-240-386) to get the letter). It is important to know that the letter can only be issued with hotel bookings at government approved accommodations (Anne helped us to identify these as well and tailor it to our budget). Make sure to submit your one week itinerary for Reunion Island along with the application. Alternatively, you can seek the visa invitation letter through the Reunion Tourism website. They assign an agent who can help with the visa letter. Very easy!

After arrival at the aiport, our immigration took less than three minutes with this letter – it’s officially the fastest immigration we’ve ever experienced!

If you have more questions, or want to explore Reunion with us, write to us!