The Reunion Island online

Reunion Island : essential information on one page

You have decided to visit Reunion, but you have very little time to plan your trip. This page will give you some of the practical details you will need.
Don't hesitate to drop us a line if you have any questions about your stay : we will do our best to answer them, and please share your impressions and experiences with us on the Runweb forum.

Find out more about Reunion Island in a few words and a map.

Choosing the best time to come

For those who have not yet realised : the seasons in Reunion are the other way round to Europe. You'll need to pack accordingly.

Winter (May to October)
This is the dry cool season. Don't forget to pack a jumper! In the mountains, temperatures can be low, particularly in the evening and at night. You will need a jumper, a jacket and even an anorak.

Summer (November to April)
The hot wet season. The cyclone season starts officially on 15th November, but the information services giving weather forecasts and precautions to be taken are very efficient. The weather can change very quickly : one minute it's raining, the next it is sunny. One thing you can be sure of : it will be hot!

School holidays in Reunion for 2006

Southern summer holiday : 18th December 2005 to 29th January 2006 included
March holiday : 25th to 26th March included
April (Easter) holiday: 14th to 17th April included
May : 7th to 14th May included
Southern winter holiday : 9th July to 21 August included

Booking a flight from Paris

Looking for the cheapest flights?
Some information and advice :

Regular flights (Air France, Corsair, Air Austral)
There will be several tariffs for the same flight. The cheapest seats are, of course, those booked first. So, to get the best deal, pay for your ticket as early as possible. This particularly applies to the holiday periods (the dates of the holidays in Reunion are not the same as those in mainland France). If there are any seats left, there are companies that offer them at the last minute for a very low price, but for very specific dates and in general for short-stay holidays (See the Auction Site of Nouvelles Frontières).
Multi-destination flights (for example Reunion-Mauritius)
If you are looking for a flight that is not simply a return to and from the same airport, for example : you'd like to land at one airport and take off from somewhere else, with possibly local flights in-between. The website Opodo is without doubt the most efficient for this kind of information. Once you've found the Opodo website, click onto 'flights' ('vols') and then select 'multi-destinations'.
For the moment there is no 'low-cost' air-company you can fly to Reunion with : they have all closed down one after the other. The latest Air Horizons only survived three weeks !

Test our air-fair comparison service !

Runweb.com proposes a particularly efficient comparison service for air-fares, integrating several existing price comparison services.

Click here to compare air-fares

If you are travelling by air : what you need to know to have a trouble-free flight!

- Have you chosen to fly with an authorised company?
- What are your rights in the event of over-booking?
- What are the objects you may not pack in your hand-luggage?

Flying is the safest way to travel. But for this, as for many other things, there are preconceived ideas and rumours :

> Authorised/unauthorised air-companies
> What are the articles you may not take on board (in the cabin) ?
> What are your rights in the event of delay, cancellation or over-booking ?

Booking a hotel-room, a mountain lodge, a self-catering flat

Renting a car, motorbike or bicycle

Voiture au bord de l'eau Look up renting cars and motorbikes in our directory.

What to do and what to see

The musts : not to be missed!
Three suggestions of stays and circuits :
- A six-day stay (being prepared)
- A ten-day stay (being prepared)
- A two-week stay (being prepared)

Discover the island's 24 local councils and the wealth of activities in each area

The local councils presented by Runweb.com

A few addresses and websites

Reunion Tourist Bureau

Mountain Information Bureau and Information on Mountain Lodges
Address : Rue Rotaunay 97400 Saint Denis
Open Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday 9am to 4pm, Saturday 9am to 12
Tel : 0262 90 78 78
Fax : 0262 41 84 29
On-line bookings: resa@reunion-nature.com
or http://www.reunion-nature.com/crm4/formulaire.php

Tourist Bureau of Cilaos
Address : 2 Rue Mac Auliffe - 97413 Cilaos
Tel n : 0262 31 71 71
Fax : 0262 31 78 78
mmocilaos@wanadoo.fr or mtc.servicecom@wanadoo.fr

Tourist Bureau of Salazie
Hellbourg Crafts Centre
Address : 47 Rue de General de Gaulle - 97433 Salazie
Tel : 0262 47 89 89
Fax : 0262 47 89 70

Marine Observatory of Reunion