Réunion in 2 Days

This two-day plan is for first-timers, stopover travelers and anyone who wants warm water and easy logistics without renting a car. It runs at a relaxed pace from a single base, and the Car Jaune coastal buses (about €2 a ride, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour from Saint-Denis) plus a few short local hops are all you need.

Days 1-2: The West Coast Lagoons

Make Saint-Gilles-les-Bains your base for both nights: it has the widest spread of guesthouses, a harbor full of snack bars and boats, and every beach on this route sits within 10 to 20 minutes. On the afternoon you arrive, head north to Boucan Canot, a golden crescent below a row of beach bars where locals gather for sunset; swim only inside the netted, lifeguarded zone, since shark rules on Réunion are strict and enforced.

Give the second morning to L’Hermitage, the longest stretch of the reef lagoon, with knee-to-chest-deep water, parrotfish over the coral heads and casuarina shade for a picnic. Walk or bus south to Plage de la Saline, where … read more 👉

This two-day plan is for first-timers, stopover travelers and anyone who wants warm water and easy logistics without renting a car. It runs at a relaxed pace from a single base, and the Car Jaune coastal buses (about €2 a ride, roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour from Saint-Denis) plus a few short local hops are all you need.

Days 1-2: The West Coast Lagoons

Make Saint-Gilles-les-Bains your base for both nights: it has the widest spread of guesthouses, a harbor full of snack bars and boats, and every beach on this route sits within 10 to 20 minutes. On the afternoon you arrive, head north to Boucan Canot, a golden crescent below a row of beach bars where locals gather for sunset; swim only inside the netted, lifeguarded zone, since shark rules on Réunion are strict and enforced.

Give the second morning to L’Hermitage, the longest stretch of the reef lagoon, with knee-to-chest-deep water, parrotfish over the coral heads and casuarina shade for a picnic. Walk or bus south to Plage de la Saline, where the sand gets whiter and the Sunday crowds bring rice-and-curry pots under the trees. In the afternoon take the bus 20 minutes to Saint-Leu for Kélonia, the sea turtle observatory and care center, where you can watch green and hawksbill turtles in recovery tanks and learn why so few nest on these beaches today.

For sunset away from the crowds, walk out to the black basalt rocks of Cap La Houssaye, just north of Boucan Canot, where whales pass offshore from June to October.