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MTP - Reunion Island


World Class Sites near Reunion Island

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List of MTP Visitors : 761
 
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Trips to Reunion Island | Add Trip
- Iles Eparses Expedition

 

 

 

 

MTP Member Photos - Reunion Island

Photo: Oili in St Denis 2004 Photo: Reunion Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise 2510 Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise

Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Le Volcan Piton de la Fournaise Photo: Reunion - Cirque de Mafate Photo: Reunion - Cirque de Mafate

Photo: Reunion - Cirque de Mafate Photo: Reunion Photo: Reunion Photo: Reunion Photo: Reunion Photo: Reunion - Salazie Photo: Reunion - Salazie Photo: Reunion - Salazie Photo: Reunion - Salazie

Photo: Reunion - Salazie Photo: Reunion - St-Denis Photo: Reunion - St-Denis Photo: Reunion - St-Denis Photo: Reunion - St-Denis Photo: Flag of Reunion Island Photo: License Plate of Reunion Photo: War Memorial and former Hotel de Ville, Saint-Denis Photo: Former Hotel de Ville, Saint-Denis

Photo: Statue of Roland Garros, Saint-Denis Photo: Cirque de Salazie over Hell-Bourg cemetery Photo: Cirque de Salazie Photo: Aerial View of North West Reunion Island Photo: Aerial View of Saint-Denis on the North Coast of Reunion Island Photo: Beach at Grand Hotel Du Lagoon, Saint-Gilles-Les Bains on West Coast of Reunion Photo: Storm over Reunion while French Research Vessel Marion Dufresne Departs Le Port Photo: North West Coast of Reunion Island from the Sea Photo: French Research Vessel Marion Dufresne  Arriving at Le Port on Reunion\'s West Coast

Photo: Cascade Niagara (30m) on North East Coast of Reunion Island Photo: Tamil Temple (Hindu) Le Colosse at Saint-Andre, Reunion Island Photo: Cirque de Salazie.  Central Reunion Island Photo: Cirque de Salazie. Central Reunion Island Photo: Creole House in Hell-Bourg, Central Reunion Photo: Street in Hell-Bourg Village in Central Reunion Photo: Evening View from Grand Hotel Du Lagoon, West Coast of Reunion Island Photo: Reunion Trou de Fer gigantic view Photo: I traveled by ship (Marion Dufresne) from Reunion to Kerguelen Island

Photo: Street Scene, St Denis, Reunion Island Photo: Government Building, St Denis, Reunion Island Photo: Reunion Island Photo: La Piton Fournaise, Reunion Island Photo: La Piton Fournaise, Reunion Island

 

MTP Member Posts - Reunion Island

 
2012 May by Michael Novins
May 2012 -- I began my trip in Saint-Denis, the préfecture (administrative capital) of Réunion, where I stayed at Hotel le Juliette Dodu, a historic Creole home (http://www.hotel-jdodu.com/). I rented a car and drove around the island, including the RN5 from St-Louis to Cilaos, which is Réunion's premier drive with more than 400 twists and turns. From Cilaos I drove to Hell-Bourg, the most attractive village in Cirque de Salazie, where I stayed at Relais des Cimes (http://www.relaisdescimes.com/).
 
2008 Apr by Ted Cookson

"Reunion Island, Secret of the Indian Ocean," written for the expatriate community in Cairo, Egypt by Ted Cookson in June 2009

 

Reunion, an overseas department of France, is situated some 800 km (500 miles) east of Madagascar and 200 km (130 miles) southwest of Mauritius.  With a length of 63 km (39 miles), a width of 45 km (28 miles) wide, and an area of 2,512 square km (970 square miles), Reunion was visited by the Portuguese in 1635 and then first occupied by the French from 1642 to 1649.  Although under British control from 1810 to 1815, immigration from France over the succeeding two centuries plus immigration of Africans, Indians, Chinese and Malays has given rise to a mix of ethnicities on the island.     

My last visit to Reunion was by cruise ship in April 2008.  I had reserved a Hertz rental van which the firm had agreed via email to deliver at the port.  Although Hertz kept reassuring me by phone that the van was on the way and would arrive shortly, after an hour and 45 minutes of waiting I finally gave up and hired a taxi van for 200 euros to take our party of six on a six-hour circular drive around the beautiful verdant island. 

From the port at La Possession on Reunion's west coast we drove past the many beach resorts which stretch south from St. Paul 45 km (28 miles) to St. Louis.  The best sandy beaches are on the west coast of the island.  Although we didn't have time that day to make the side trip from St. Louis into the center of the island to view Cirque de Cilaos, luckily I had done that on a previous visit.  Reunion boasts three cirques, which are spectacular calderas in the interior of the island formed long ago by collapsing underground lava chambers.  Eventually deep canyons were eroded from these amphitheaters out to the sea.  The roads into the cirques wind through these canyons up to grand vistas of volcanic peaks and forested ravines.  The 37-km (22-mile) road from the coast at St. Louis up to Cilaos boasts over 400 bends.  Cilaos, situated at a height of 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) and with a population of 6,000, was developed as a spa in the late nineteenth century.  On 15-16 March 1952 1,870 mm (73.6 inches) of rainfall fell at Cilaos.  This is the world record for the most rainfall ever recorded in a 24-hour period!  Tourists with enough time should attempt to view or visit all three of Reunion's cirques.

From St. Pierre south of St. Louis we headed inland, driving up to Reunion's High Plains which lie at about 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) and which separate the island's cirques from its volcano.  As we climbed, the temperature became much more comfortable.  The highlight of our day trip to Reunion was the lunar-like crater of Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world's most active and yet most accessible volcanos.  This shield volcano has erupted more than 100 times since 1640.  The lava flow from Piton de la Fournaise is roughly three million cubic meters (about 4 million cubic yards) per day!   Piton de la Fournaise is similar to the volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii in that they are all located above hot spots in the earth's crust.

Following our visit to the volcano, we stopped at the Nez de Boeuf viewpoint over the spectacular canyon of the Riviere des Remparts.  A popular ten-hour walk leads from this point down the steep cliff and onward by trail through a national forest to the town of St. Joseph on the south coast.  Then, after crossing through Reunion's interior, we descended to St. Benoit on the island's east coast and then continued north to the capital of St. Denis.  Founded in 1668, St. Denis was named for a ship which had sunk there.  With a population of 140,000, St. Denis, constructed on a grid pattern along the north coast, has a few buildings  interesting for their architecture as well as a pretty seaside park.

Although the population of Reunion is over 800,000, about half of the inhabitants actually live in France.  Nevertheless, interestingly, there are some 340,000 automobiles on Reunion!  Needless to say, the road system is excellent, and there is a motorway which wraps around a fair amount of the island's coastline.

Reunion is not usually thought of as a dive destination.  However, the island's west coast boasts some colorful and even stunning diving sites offering a wide array of tropical fish.  In October and November pelagic species such as barracuda and tuna are also in evidence.  The Indian Ocean waters surrounding Reunion are warmest (28 C./82 F.) between October and April.  At the other extreme, water temperatures drop to 21 C./70 F. in August.  Divers will want to avoid the height of the cyclone season, which is in February and March.  (Cyclones may arise anytime from December through March.)  Reunion's hot and rainy summer stretches from December until April while the cool and dry winter lasts from the end of April until October.  Reunion attracts the most tourists from late June until early September but there are also tourists aplenty from October until early January.  

 

Ted Cookson
Manager - Maadi
Egypt Panorama Tours
Cairo, Egypt
21 May 2009
www.eptours.com
www.tedcookson.com


 
2005 Sep by Jorge Sanchez
Reunion is one of the Mascaireigne Islands, together with Mauritius and Rodrigues. There are frequent flights between these islands.

Reunion is a French department. Since there are not many nice beaches compared with Mauritius, tourists go there mainly to practice extreme sports, such as “cannoning” or rafting.

I made an easy trekking to the “Piton des Neiges”, the highest peak in the Mascareignes (3070 metres). If you climb slowly it will take you two days and one night, round trip. There is a camp base near the peak where you can spend the night, eat and drink. The views are rewarding; Nature is wonderful in Reunion Island.

Air Austral offers a cheap air pass flying from Reunion to Comoros, Mayotte, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Harare and Nairobi, but the ticket must be bought in Europe.

Two ferries make regularly the route Reunion - Mauritius - Rodrigues. From Reunion sails the scientific ship MARION DUFRESNE to Crozet, Kerguelen, Saint Paul and Amsterdam islands, in the French Antarctica.


 
2004 Feb by Veikko Huhtala*
While I was working in Sudan 1984, I made my first holiday to Mauritius. During my two weeks holiday I visited also to Reunion and Madagascar. I had Air Mauritius flight to Saint Denis. It is the capital of the island and is located in the northern part of the island. Reunion has an area of 2500 sq km and has population less than one million. Reunion is the mountainous island with some volcanoes. Highest volcano is Piton des Neiges in the middle of island. It is more than 3,000 meters high. An other one is Piton de la Fournaise in the SE and it is still active. I stayed in Reunion four days, mostly in Saint Denis area only. From Reunion I had Air Madagascar flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar. 2006 I was travelling with Oili and we had Air Austral flight from Mauritius to Saint Denis. While staying there we flew to Mayotte also, before returned back to Mauritius.
 
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