Hiking La Réunion

“We don’t understand why you don’t sell way more of this trip! Réunion is undersold.”

The sunset I just watched was exceptionally beautiful. Warm, turquoise saltwater has just washed away dust and sweat after several days in the mountains. Sore legs have enjoyed a few hours of rest on the beach.

Now I am sitting here listening to a group of happy participants who can’t understand why even more people don’t join us on this trek on the small, unfamiliar island far south in the Indian Ocean. It’s the final evening before they fly back to Norway. 

They tell me they are going home to enthusiastically pitch the trip to friends and acquaintances. 

Because more people, they say, should definitely go here.

East of Madagascar, far south in the Indian Ocean, lies the island of Réunion. It is a small slice of tropical France; here you say “Bonjour” to everyone you meet on the trail and are served baguettes for breakfast, and there are daily domestic flights (!) with Air France to Paris. Because mostly they are French, all 450,000 tourists who travel to Réunion every year.

We have run trips to Réunion for a decade. The mountainsides we hike are tall and challenging, so even though we’re here to enjoy life on tour, you need to be ready for tough climbs and steep descents. We hike up and down sheer crater rims, through beautiful tamarind forests, and past wild orchids.

The island is relatively small, but the highest peak reaches 3,000 meters. 
If we are lucky with the weather, we’ll hike up to catch the sunrise from the summit. 
For five days, we trek through three vibrant green, overgrown, and extinct volcanic craters. 
For two nights, we stay in a village that can only be reached on foot. 
On our final hiking day, the destination is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. If Lars Monsen had been dropped off here by his helicopter, the TV show would likely have been about him believing he was on the moon. 

And then we round off our trip with a few days on the beach. 
If you check the news online from your lounge chair, chances are the lead story is about slippery roads, the winter’s first cold snap, or tips on buying the right snowblower. 
Since the only thing reminding you of snow is the white sand around you, you just scroll past (you’re in the EU anyway, so mobile roaming is cheap) or, best of all, head out for another swim. 

I don’t know why Réunion is among our destinations that are always challenging to sell. It’s even harder to understand after having been there. Outside of France, few have heard of the island, but as a travel destination, it’s truly fantastic. It is safe and exotic, far away yet close by. It’s a bit like Europe and a bit like Africa. It is completely different, yet somehow familiar. 
Some of our most well-traveled guides rank the island as their absolute favorite. 
The guests who sign up are always thrilled. 
Because Réunion offers spectacular nature and great contrasts. 
Here you see the sunrise from the mountain and the sunset on the beach. 

We have a new trip coming up in November. A group of newly converted Norwegian Réunion ambassadors will now likely tell their friends and family that there is no destination nicer than Réunion in the middle of November. 
At least not in Europe. Or Africa. 
Or both.

Read more about our trip to Reunion.