Reunion Island

I’d heard so much about Reunion Island before I went. It’s only 4 hour plane ride from where I live in Johannesburg South Africa. Plus we don’t need visas to travel there. I’d heard it was the snazzier Mauritius but with more of an adventure angle. I’d heard that it was super first world (it is a foreign department of France). All these things were true and yet there’s so much more to this little island floating in the Indian Ocean.

We hired a car and went on scenic drives through steep winding roads on the island.

My husband and I decided that Reunion was well suited to a romantic getaway sans child, which was what we did (thanks grandparents!) and I’m so glad we did. We relished the night time restaurant scene and spent hours ogling French grocery and pharmacy products which are things that aren’t do-able with a 3 year old.

Where we went:

We flew Air Austral into Saint Denis, only a 4 hour plane ride from Johannesburg and rented a car at the airport. Everything was slick and easy. There aren’t sim cards for sale at the airport so we used roaming to navigate to our hotel, the perfectly positioned and only 5 star hotel on the island, Lux St Gilles. We stayed there for a blissful 3 nights. Highlights included fresh crepes for breakfast and the perfect beach to swim and watch the sunset every evening in spectacular fashion. We went on 4X4 tour of the “Wild South + Volcano” with Connections Reunion. This tour was fantastic. We got to see the newest part of the island where the lava is fresh and black and plants have only just started to grow again. We had lunch at a local restaurant in the mountains and dined on fresh palm hearts, Creole dishes with wine from the south of France and fresh baguette. Everything in Reunion comes with fresh baguette and I’m not complaining!

The Lux St Gilles is the only 5 star resort on the island and it doesn’t disappoint.

The beach at Lux St Gilles. Perfectly clear and calm waters, perfect for snorkelling.

A desolate lava bed

The beach at Lux St Gilles

We then moved onto our Air BnB which was walking distance from the young and trendy Boucan Canot Beach. Cool beach side bars and restaurants line the coastline which we took full advantage of every evening. We attended the St Paul Market on the Saturday morning which was great. Woven bags the locals use for buying fresh market produce (and lots of other touristy stuff) as well as delicious fresh food is for sale.

There are luscious fruit and vegetable stalls throughout the island.

Sunset at Boucan Canot beach

A big part of local weekend life on Reunion Island are picnics. On Saturday and Sunday mornings there are large roadside grills with whole roasted chickens for sale. Families go on scenic drives and picnic in their favourite spots. Being a French island, simple sandwiches are just a snack and the real picnic is often lavish with a lot of home made goods. We bought some French cheeses and snacks and had a roadside picnic with a beautiful view, I highly recommend you do too!

Otherworldly landscapes

The sunsets at Lux St Gilles are amazing.

What to pack:

We travelled in September which is Spring time. I lounged in my bikini on the beach but it wasn’t overly hot. I missioned in a dress and sneakers because I was walking a lot and kept a light jacket in my backpack. Some days I wore jeans and a T-shirt.

Have you been to Reunion Island? Is it on your list?

Our flights were sponsored by Air Austral, our tour by Connections Reunion and our hotel by Lux St Gilles as part of #GoToReunion by Reunion Tourism.