Reunion is part of the Eurozone, so as in many other European Union countries the currency used is the euro (symbol: €).

It is compulsory, for the large majority of businesses, to post prices in windows. Hotels and restaurants must have their rates visible from outside.

Most shops accept international credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) but most of them require a minimum amount for credit cards payments (usually €15).

There is a good number of ATMs (called “gabier”) which don’t charge you for using them.

BY TAXI:

Hailing a taxi on the island is fairly expensive, especially when leaving the airport (expect to pay €15).

BY BUS:

Intercity bus travel around the island is served by Car Jaune (“Yellow Bus”, buses are easily recognizable by their yellow color). There are 13 lines. Apart from these buses there are also local buses. Most of lines operate between 06:00 and 18:00.

Car Jaune, Ligne B, from Saint-Denis to Saint-Pierre and back, Par les Bas (via the coast). Operates approximately every 1½ hours.

BY CAR:

There is one main road around the island (74 km of it is four-lane) and another road from Saint-Pierre to Saint-Benoit (route des plaines) through the interior of the island.

Due to the volume of cars, traffic jams often occur so you should avoid travelling during peak times.

Because of the volcano, the road is sometimes closed along the east side of the island.

The four-lane highway between La Possession and Saint-Denis, known as the route du littoral, runs between an unstable cliff and the sea. Because of the rain (mostly between December and March), this highway may be “basculée”, that is switched to a two-lane road. Expect traffic jams in such circumstances. It is being replaced by a remarkable €1.7-billion, 5.4-km viaduct a few hundred metres off shore that is planned to open in 2020.

The Route des Tamarins is an expressway linking Saint-Paul and Étang-Salé offering spectacular views of the coast. With its completion, a 4-lane divided highway now runs around three-fourths of the island.

Do not underestimate driving times, even if the island seems small. The main roads, especially on the west coast, tend to jam; so do the streets of Saint Denis. The roads in the interior are mountain roads, some with many turns and steep slopes.

Car hire is available.

HIKING:

Reunion Island has almost 1000 km of hiking trails, with an astonishing variety of landscapes for an island. The cirques, plains and volcano have been classified as a french national natural park. The best hikes are probably in the Mafate cirque and on the volcano (see Piton de la Fournaise). The exceptionnal Mafate circus has no roads, and about 800 inhabitants.

You can find hostings on main hiking places.

AIRCRAFT:

Some helicopter and airplane companies do touristic flights. These depart very early in the morning (in order to avoid clouds and fog at altitude). There are also some helicopter trips, e.g. to La Nouvelle in Mafate.

Thanks to its history, Reunionese cuisine is a mix between different cultures: French, Indian, Chinese & African.

Typical dishes are cari and rougail which are a meat or a fish cooked in a sauce and eaten with rice.

Depending on the season, many tropical fruits are available, like lychees (December), mangoes, pineapples (the Victoria types in Reunion are said to be the best in the world by the locals), bananas, papaya…

At lunchtime, you can have many kinds of sandwiches and samosas in snack-bars (cheap but not very balanced, except for the spicy “achards sandwich”), and find restaurants easily (average of USD10-15). Other local specialties are bonbons piments, which are spiced and salted fritters, piments farcis, which are stuffed hot peppers, and bouchons, which are morsels of meat or fish that are surrounded by rice paste and steamed before being served with soy sauce.

Réunionnais pastries are often quite thick and sweet. There are pastries made from sweet potatoes (gâteaux patates) and (for a bit of an adventure) manioc (gâteaux manioc).

Reunionese cuisine is quite safe, but ask for some dishes to ensure that they’re not too spicy. The spice level is below that of much indian cuisine.

The main local drink is rum. The lowest quality rum is made from fermented cane sugar molasses and is not aged (thus its color is clear). It is often drunk as rhum arrangé – rum flavored by fruit and spices. Rhum arrangé, being fruity and sugary, is easy to drink but beware of the high alcohol content! Higher quality rum is rhum agricole, made from fermented cane sugar juice. It is either clear, or aged in oak barrels, giving it a brown colour.

There are many possible accommodation types in reunion: Ordinary hotels; privately run Gîtes d’Étape; Gîtes de Montagne are mountain cabins or lodges located in the central areas appropriate and operated by Reunion Island Tourism Board; youth hostels are operated by Auberge de jeunesse de la Réunion. There are five youth hostels at Réunion Island ; Hell Bourg, Bernica, Entre Deux, Saint Denis and Cilaos.

Here are some ideas for gifts:

• shirts;
• rum;
• spices;
• local music;
• book or dvd about volcano’s last eruption;
• local fruits (might be forbidden depending on your country).