Reunion Island 2 Day Itinerary

Reunion Island 2-Day Travel Itinerary

Two days on Reunion means picking a lane, not attempting the whole island. This itinerary pairs one full mountain day with one coastal-and-capital day, and drops the common mistake of trying to combine Cirque de Salazie and the Piton de la Fournaise volcano in a single afternoon, since the drive between them alone runs well over two hours on narrow mountain roads.

Day 1: Discovering the Natural Wonders

  1. Transportation: Renting a car at Roland Garros Airport in Sainte-Marie is genuinely the only practical way to do this itinerary. Multiple agencies, including Europcar, Hertz, Sixt, and local operator Jumbo Car, have counters right at arrivals, with rates starting as low as a few euros a day for basic coverage, though realistic all-in daily rates for a small automatic run closer to 30 to 50 euros. Public transport exists but does not reach the highland cirques on any useful schedule.

  2. Morning: Cirque de Salazie

    • Drive up to Cirque de Salazie on the eastern side of the island, one of three volcanic amphitheaters that make Reunion’s interior so dramatic. The road climbs through cloud forest and past dozens of waterfalls, and the Creole villages along the way, particularly Hell-Bourg, are worth stopping in rather than rushing past.
    • Ilet-a-Vidot and the walk out toward the Voile de la Mariee waterfall are worth the detour if you have the morning to spare; the “bridal veil” falls are at their best after a few days of rain, noticeably thinner in the dry season from May to October.

  3. Afternoon: Hell-Bourg and the Salazie Highlands

    • Have lunch in Hell-Bourg itself, officially recognized as one of France’s most beautiful villages, and known for hearty Creole mountain cooking: think civet de porc or a good rougaille sausage rather than coastal seafood.
    • Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the cirque on foot rather than driving toward the volcano. Given the actual driving time between Salazie and the Piton de la Fournaise visitor area at Pas de Bellecombe, which realistically takes more than two hours via the coast road or the long inland route, cramming both into one day means seeing neither properly.
    • My honest opinion: skip the volcano entirely on a two-day trip unless it is the single thing you came for. Reunion’s real strength on a short visit is the cirques and the coast, and the volcano deserves its own dedicated day with an early start, not a rushed afternoon add-on.

  4. Evening: Saint-Gilles-les-Bains

    • Drive back down to the west coast and Saint-Gilles-les-Bains for the evening. Note that the beach here is a fine white-to-golden sand rather than black volcanic sand, since the darker beaches are mostly found further south and east where the coastline is younger, more recently formed lava rock.
    • Have dinner at one of the seafood restaurants along the marina and try a rum arrangement, the local infused rum that comes in flavors from vanilla to lychee, a genuine Reunion specialty worth seeking out rather than a tourist gimmick.

Day 2: Urban Exploration and Cultural Immersion

  1. Morning: Saint-Denis

    • Visit Saint-Denis, the island’s capital, and walk the colonial-era streets around Rue de Paris. The cathedral here is properly called Saint-Denis Cathedral, built between 1829 and 1832 in neoclassical style, not a “Cathedral of Saint-Pierre,” a mislabel that shows up in some older guides and mixes it up with a different church entirely.
    • The Museum of Reunion (Le Leon Dierx museum and the natural history museum both sit in Saint-Denis) gives good grounding in the island’s volcanic geology and colonial-era plantation history before you go further afield.

  2. Afternoon: Local Markets and Traditional Creole Life

    • Lunch at a local restaurant serving traditional Creole dishes, rougaille or a good cari (Reunion-style curry) rather than a westernized menu aimed at tour groups.
    • The Saint-Denis market is at its best on Friday and Saturday mornings when it expands significantly; a weekday afternoon visit will still have produce and spices but a noticeably thinner crowd of vendors.
    • Wander the older residential streets near the cathedral for a look at the ornate wooden Creole houses with their lambrequin trim, a distinctive local architectural style found almost nowhere else.

  3. Evening: Saint-Paul’s Market and Dinner

    • Drive to Saint-Paul for its Friday and Sunday market, one of the best on the island for street food, live music, and souvenirs; check the day of the week before planning around it, since it does not run every evening.
    • Dinner at a restaurant offering a proper Menu Creole, typically featuring rougaille saucisse or curry with camarons (freshwater prawns), the two dishes most worth ordering on the island.

Visa Requirements: This is the detail most guides get wrong. Reunion is an overseas department of France but it is not part of the Schengen area, so a standard Schengen visa does not automatically grant entry unless it is specifically endorsed as valid for Reunion Island. Citizens of the EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia, and a list of around 85 other countries can enter visa-free for stays up to 90 days within a 180-day period for tourism. Everyone else should check requirements directly through the France-Visas portal well before booking, since the standard mainland Schengen application process does not cover this island automatically.

Things to Know:

  • The official language is French, with Reunion Creole spoken widely and often preferred at home and in markets. English is limited outside hotels, so a handful of French phrases go a long way.
  • The currency is the Euro, and Reunion functions like mainland France for payments: cards are accepted almost everywhere, though small mountain village vendors and market stalls still favor cash.
  • The coast stays warm and humid year-round while the highlands, especially around Cirque de Cilaos and Salazie, get genuinely cool at night; pack a light jacket even in summer if you are sleeping up in the mountains.
  • Respect for the land runs deep here, particularly around the volcano and cirques, which are part of a UNESCO World Heritage listed national park; stick to marked trails, since erosion and unstable ground are real hazards on the steeper cirque paths, not just a caution added for liability reasons.