Reunion Travel Forum

My best friend and I are planning a holiday from 1 to 9 of December, to escape somewhere warm, and one option we are weighing is Reunion.

My best friend and I are planning a holiday from 1 to 9 of December, to escape somewhere warm, and one option we are weighing is Reunion.

First, yet another boring weather question! (soooorry!). I know hat no one really knows about weather, but I read conflicting info. Some places say there are heavy rains and cyclones from December to March. Provided we would be there at the beginning of the rainy season, maybe is not so bad?? Or we should expect rains all the time? (so we'll change planes and visit another time)

On the other hand, our interests are both hiking and snorkeling. We know Reunion may be "the" place for hiking. But my friend keeps saying there are no beaches in Reunion worth it. I find difficult to believe that an island may have no beaches! (well, I understand these may be not so wonderful as Mauritius or Seychelles, but...I saw there are a few beaches) Is there any good place for snorkeling??

Last but not least, anyone knows where we can rent a sailing boat for a day?

Thanks!!

Yes, from what I've read in books and cites heavy rains and cyclones are to be exppected from february onwards. December is the start of summer, hot. I and my girl are contemplationg going to Reunion for 2-3 weeks by the end of 2008. I think the hiking condition should be good. Also up in the mountains the temp is below 30 centigrades. So in your shoes I'd go to R. ´but be prepared for chaining plans depending on prevailing conditions. Snorkeling on the west couast. By Bradts guidebook and the detailed french topo map (1:25.000) that covers R. in 6 sheets (expensive though) www.ign.fr if you are in to trekking with plans for camping in the outdoors. Good luck!

Thanks Torgil!

After reading a bit more, a few days ago we booked out plane tickets! Now my friend is even more enthusiastic than me regarding the hiking part. As more I read, we are getting more excited about this trip! Can't wait

Well, I went to La Reunion this May and I was fascinated by the island!
Yes, it's true that from December to March there are cyclones. But it's not like there is one cyclone after the other! Of course it might happen that a cyclone hits the island straight on! But that's unlikely... That happens maybe once a season!
Here are a few tips:
If you visit the vulcano, go there very early in the morning, because there are often clouds in the late morning! A good starting point is either the hut on top of the vulcano (very basic accommodation) or the hotel "les Geraniums" in La Plaine des Cafres.
For hiking I can recommend the cirque de Cilaos. A very popular route is the climb of Piton des Neiges, the highest mountain on the island. There is a big tourist information center in Cilaos (next to the church at the end of the town) where you can get all necessary information!
For snorkeling I can recommend the beach at La Saline les Bains. The beach is good (not as white and fine as in other places, but really ok!) Here either the hotel "Les Villas du Lagoon" or "Le Nautile". Both are ok! They are only a few meters next to each other, so they share the same beach (the best for swimming and snorkeling on the island).But I prefer the "Les Villas du Lagoon". The atmosphere was really great and the swimming pool is great!
Check out Saint Gilles les Bains for hiring boats or for boat trips!
Enjoy your trip!

Thanks chikidee! Loads of good info... I'll check all these places.

Just to say we had a FABULOUS time in Reunion. Yes there was some rains but did not last more than a few hours. In fact the heaviest rain was just when we're visiting the lavas from the last eruption of the volcano and the sight of vapors of the boiling rain water from the lava fields was so great!

We went only a couple of times to the beach but we really did not missed it. The landscapes were so amazing all around the island. Great treks at Cilaos and we enjoyed especially Salazie so we spend there the last 3 nights of our trip. We had not booked our accommodation as the weather forecasts seemed so inestable, so we can move accordingly. We decided our itineraries according the last weather forecast and as it was raining at the East Coast on our arrival, we started visiting the island in a anti-clock sense. It returned to be great as we liked the West coast and the South, but we liked even more the last stops of our trip at Cilaos and Salazie. We had no problems at all finding accommodation every night, and we found a couple of gems: Hotel Les Aloes in Cilaos and Relais des Cimes in Hell-Bourg (Salazie)

I guess we were not especially impressed by the volcano as we had already seen others before, but I've to admit it was a great sight to spend half day. However, we did not the trek there, we preferred to leave earlier and spend our time in some tropical forest (more exotic to us!)

As a summary: a great vacation, wish we had a few more days!

have a great 2008!!!

I'm happy you enjoyed your trip to La Reunion! I hope my tipps helped you to plan it!
I hope I'll be able to visit this island again soon!
Happy travels!