Tour: "Road trip" full island tour in 13 steps!
Duration of the circuit: 9/10 hours
Category: private tour in vehicle with driver-guide
Click to see the route of the day
8:00 a.m.: Departure
At 8:00 a.m., the driver guide will pick you up at your hotel or residence.
We head south along the west coast to discover magnificent sites. Let’s go for a complete tour of Reunion Island!
Step 1: The “Souffleur”!
The “Souffleur” is a natural site, which, under the action of the waves, causes a great geyser which can reach several tens of meters high!
Step 2: The black sand beach!
We then stop on the longest black sand beach on the island: “Etang Salé” beach, a mixture of olivines and volcanic sand, an extraordinary beauty.
Step 3: The “Gouffre”!
A little further on, let’s discover the “Gouffre” of Etang Salé, a long volcanic crack in which the waves come to end their course in a spectacular way. The site is very pleasant and particularly impressive when there is huge swell!
Step 4: view of Manapany!
This view offers a superb panorama of the Indian Ocean and the green village of Manapany les Bains. You can see the long pebble beach as well as the natural swimming pool.
Step 5: Langevin!
We continue in the south of the island, and make a stopover at the Langevin River. The “Grand Galet” waterfall is one of the most beautiful on the island!
Step 6: Cap Méchant!
We are now arriving at the famous Cap Méchant: this is where we will have lunch. The place is most surprising: a vast green grass is covering ebony black rocks close to the deep blue of the ocean. A unique landscape where the forces of nature are fully expressed!
12:00 p.m.: it’s time to eat with tasty Creole dishes!
Step 7: the lava road!
We now arrive in the “Grand Brûlé”: what is this place? During large volcanic eruptions, the lava flows along the flank of the volcano in a very wide corridor (the Grand Brûlé) before going in the ocean. After the erruption, there are gigantic fields of solidified volcanic lava. A single road crosses this unique landscape: its name is the lava road, let’s go!
Step 8: the church “Notre Dame des Laves” !
Let’s continue the trip to Sainte Rose, where the church “Notre Dame des Laves” still stands proudly. It was indeed in 1977, during a large volcanic eruption, that a lava flow destroyed everything in its path, but miraculously stopped at the entrance of the building before bypassing it. The legend was born.
Step 9: the East River bridge!
Shortly after Saint Rose, let’s stop near an old suspension bridge over the East River. With a maximum span of 152 meters, it was actually the longest bridge in the world when it was built in 1894! It is a much-photographed work of art, on which it is now unfortunately forbidden to walk or circulate. However, a national renovation project is underway to rehabilitate this unique monument in the world.
10th stage: The Church of Sainte Anne !
We now pass in front of a baroque church whose beauty catches the eye. The Church of Sainte Anne, listed as a historical monument in 1982, is one of the island’s remarkable churches!
Step 11: the Niagara waterfall!
Now let’s go north towards Sainte Suzanne, take a narrow road in the middle of the sugar cane fields to arrive in a small creek with a very beautiful waterfall. It is called Niagara, because in the rainy season, its flow can be torrential, like the famous Niagara Falls!
Step 12: The Barachois of Saint Denis !
The Barachois of Saint Denis is an emblematic place of Reunion Island.
It was once a small port. Some old cannons, supposed to counter the English invasion in 1810, still face the sea. Today, it is a very popular place to walk, located near the prefecture and the statue of the 1st world war hero: Roland Garros.
Step 13: Cap la Houssaye !
It is now time to go back on the west side! Our tour of the island will end with this last step: Cap la Houssaye. This place generously offers us two completely different environment.
The savannah and its golden herbs under the very hot sun gives to this place an African style: but where are the lions???
The vertical cliffs are hurted by the waves of the ocean. You may apppreciate the splendid panorama of the entire bay of Saint Paul.
We then return calmly back to your hotel or residence.
5:30 p.m.: End of the tour
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