8 Insider Tips to Reunion Island

Want to explore Reunion like a local? Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your trip to one of France’s best–kept secrets:

1. If you’re not a hiker or don’t have enough time to trek, some lovely viewpoints accessible by car are: Le Maïdo to see the cirque of Mafate, La Fenêtre des Makes for Cilaos, and the Gîte de Belouve to see Salazie. Whether driving or hiking, if you want to make the most of Reunion’s majestic landscapes try to head for the hills as early as possible, as clouds tend to build up during the day, especially during summer. However even if you’ve arrived at a viewpoint and it’s cloudy do stick around for a short while – the clouds might lift and all will be revealed.

2. Talking about the cirques, if all that hiking/mountain-biking/canyoning (delete as appropriate) in Cilaos has made you hungry, check out the Tsilaosa hotel in the main street of Cilaos town for afternoon tea. They have scrummy home-made cakes, a wide selection of teas and coffees, and even Rooibos!

3. Still in the cirque of Cilaos, one of my favourite places in Reunion has to be Ilet à Cordes. This small village of 500 souls is perched on a plateau at 1200 metres above sea level and is literally at the end of the road – you can go no further. Buy lentils direct from the farmer, and spend a night – there are several comfy bed & breakfast places, including one with a heated outdoor swimming pool!

4. Many scuba divers visiting Reunion head to St Gilles, which has a wide choice of dive clubs and spots. But don’t forget to try out the clubs at St Leu and/or Etang Salé, which are less well-known and have different underwater life. If wreck-diving is your thing you can dive the Antonio Lorenzo, and hammerhead sharks can sometimes be spotted at St Leu’s famous Pointe Au Sel. And wherever you choose to dive between July and September you stand a chance of seeing, or at the very least hearing, humpback whales.

me & my better half, diving at St Leu

5. When you set out on a trek don’t forget raingear even if it’s sunny, and sun protection even if the weather is overcast – the weather in Reunion can change in the blink of an eye. While you’re at it, throw in a jumper and a swimsuit – with 180 microclimates and its diverse landscapes Reunion is always ready to surprise you!

6. One of my favourite Creole dishes has got to be Carri Ti Jacques. This dish mixes exotic jackfruit with locally-cured pork. Delicious!

7. Whether or not you like rum, take at trip to the Saga du Rhum at St Pierre. This fascinating self-guided museum not only describes rum-making in English but also explains all about Reunion’s history, AND you get to sample a selection of local rums at the end of the visit.

8. Don’t forget to taste some mouth-watering pineapple while in Reunion. A top French chef has called Ananas Victoria (the local variety) the best in the world. While pineapple (and bananas) can be enjoyed all year round, take advantage of seasonal fruit too: mangoes and lychees from November to January, and longan from February to April. You might also discover fruit you’ve never even heard of before: strawberry guava, ox-heart, soursop, tree tomatoes, sugar apples, Japanese medlar fruit …

This post was originally published on the Welcome to Reunion Island blog. 

Related articles

• Glossary of some useful words in Réunion Island
• 48 hours in Cilaos & Ilet à Cordes
• La Fenêtre des Makes

Reunion Island Jobs & Housing

Tip of the month - if you're an expat and you blog, or you're just a reader of expat blogs, you've probably come across Expat blog before. A web portal launched in 2005 by and for expatriates, its ambition is to help people living or willing to live abroad, wherever they are from or would like to go.

There are others in the field, but Expat blog is one of the most active online expat communities, with 420 000 members from 206 countries and 400 big cities. It has various tools to help expats and potential expats: discussion forums, an expat blogs directory, guides, photo albums, a business directory and classifieds.

Why am I telling you all this? Well to meet the demands of expatriates and soon-to-be expatriates in Reunion Island, Expat blog has launched two new dedicated spaces: a jobs section and a housing section. As the name says they are aimed at helping people in their search for work and/or accommodation, which as we all know are two essential steps when expatriating.

Jobs section - the idea is to get access to job opportunities in Reunion Island, wherever you are. You can access job offers, per job category and job contract. You can also create your CV and contact potential employers.

Housing - The Reunion Housing section enables you to look for or to offer accommodation: rental, sale, flat share…it’s up to you! You can also see pictures of the accommodation and get in touch with the person via Expat blog.

P.S. If you'd like to know more about Julien, the founder of Expat Blog, here's an interview with him at international man.com.

Travel Tip - Mekong basin area

If you're planning a trip to one of the countries in the Mekong basin area (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar or the Chinese provinces of Yunnan or Guangxi), or even if you live in the area, here's an interesting link: Responsible Tourism in the Mekong.

The site features responsible tourism operations and operators, and has been developed to complement existing travel guides to the Mekong Region. Designed with the intention of providing mainly independent travellers with a choice of responsible operators who will cater for all their needs: accommodation, activities, sites to visit, restaurants, shops, museums and wellness services, it can also help you find responsible tour operators if you prefer an organised trip.

P.S. Check out the logo!

Travel Tip

If you're travelling to Cambodia, use the online e-visa system before you go. It's easy and practical to use. Here's the link : http://www.mfaic.gov.kh/evisa. A single entry tourist visa costs USD $25. (Don't forget there's also a USD$25 departure tax when you leave.)

Some useful apps for travelling smart phone users

Here are a few tried and tested applications you might find useful when travelling with your smart phone :

1. MetrO - helps you find your way in public transport systems in more than 400 cities around the world. Once the cities have been downloaded online, it works offline.
2. Tripadvisor - the smartphone app version of the well known travel website. Has reached N° 1 free travel app in more than 20 countries.
3. Tripit - puts all your travel plans right on your iPhone no matter where your travel was booked. 
4. World Map - this app has a useful world map that can be viewed even if you don't have an internet connection 
5. World Nomads - a series of podcast language guides in 25 languages including Swahili, Nepali, Laotian, Mandarin. Contains essential phrases to keep you travelling safely. Voted N°1 freebie language translation iPhone app by MSNBC.

All of the above are free, or are free 'lite' versions of paying applications.

World Clock - Time Zone Converter

This handy little online tool helps you calculate the time anywhere in the world. It takes into account daylight saving time, local time zone and accepts dates in the past or future.

Etiquette Bell

If you're female, travel in Korea and use a public toilet you might see one of these on the wall :

If you press the button it doesn't chime but makes the sound of flushing water to cover any unladylike noises you might be making ! I took a photo of this one at Incheon airport en route for the Philippines, but you can see them in many public toilets. Here's another style found in a motorway service station