One week in Réunion: the itinerary to see it all

Seven days to discover Réunion is short… but enough to be dazzled if you plan well. Here is our loop itinerary, travelling clockwise, to see the best of Réunion: the Creole city, a cirque (a natural amphitheatre), the waterfalls of the east, the wild south, the volcano and the lagoon.

Day 1: Saint-Denis, the Creole capital

Start with Réunion’s capital: the Jardin de l’État, the Creole houses (cases créoles) of the centre, the cathedral and an evening at the Barachois, facing the ocean.

Day 2: Salazie, the green cirque

The lushest of Réunion’s three cirques. Stop at the Voile de la Mariée waterfall, then wander around Hell-Bourg, listed among the most beautiful villages in France. Stay the night to enjoy the evening calm.

Day 3: the east and its waterfalls

Réunion’s windward coast is its greenest: Niagara waterfall, the Maison de la Vanille, Bassin La Paix and the Anse des Cascades, where water falls straight into the ocean.

Day 4: the wild south

Cross the lava flows on the Route des Laves, admire Notre-Dame-des-Laves, the church spared by the lava in 1977, then the cliffs of Cap Méchant and the beach at Grande Anse.

Day 5: the Piton de la Fournaise

Drive up to the volcano via the Plaine des Sables. Depending on your fitness, walk down to the Formica Leo or set off on the hike to the crater. On the way back, the Cité du Volcan explains it all.

Day 6: Cilaos

The road of 400 bends leads to the mineral cirque of Cilaos. Climb up to the Roche Merveilleuse for a view over the whole cirque.

Day 7: the lagoon

Finish gently on Réunion’s west coast: mask and snorkel at Saint-Leu, then sunset at Boucan Canot.

Our tips

• Hire a car: it is the easiest way to follow this itinerary.
• Set off early each morning, before the clouds rise over the Hauts (the uplands).
• Book your nights in the cirques well in advance.

Find this itinerary in detail, day by day, with restaurants and accommodation along the way, in our trip ideas.