Family-friendly hikes in Réunion Island

What actually works on foot with young children

Réunion Island is built for hiking, but most of what makes its trail network famous — the Piton des Neiges summit, the multi-day crossings of Mafate, the canyoning descents above Cilaos — is not designed with a six-year-old in mind. This page stays narrow on purpose: it’s about which walks genuinely suit families with young children, which don’t, and how to check before you leave rather than find out halfway up a mountain. For the wider question of where to stay, what to pack and how to structure a family trip, see Réunion Island with kids, which this page deliberately doesn’t repeat.

The short answer is that the greenest, most accessible family walking is in the Salazie cirque, around the village of Hell-Bourg, where several waterfall paths are short, mostly shaded and close to a road. The long answer needs a bit more nuance, because “short on a map” and “short with two tired children” are not the same thing.

Salazie and Hell-Bourg: the family base

Salazie is the greenest and most accessible of Réunion’s three cirques, reached by a paved road from Saint-André rather than the mountain driving that Cilaos requires. It’s also the cirque with the gentlest walking options, which is why it’s the starting point for most family itineraries.

Voile de la Mariée viewpoint. The path from Hell-Bourg toward the Voile de la Mariée waterfall is one of the more reliable short family walks on the island: mostly shaded, well marked, and short enough that a child who can manage an hour or two on foot will handle it without drama. It’s not a walk to the base of the falls — most of the route is viewpoint-to-viewpoint — but the payoff (a multi-strand waterfall dropping down a green cliff face) is immediate and doesn’t need a long approach to appreciate.

Hell-Bourg village walk. Hell-Bourg itself, one of the villages officially listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France, rewards an unhurried walk through its creole houses and gardens with essentially no elevation gain, which makes it a natural rest day between two more active outings, or a half-day with very young children who won’t manage a real trail at all.

Around the cirque, more cautiously. Salazie has longer trails toward Grand Etang and the Trou de Fer viewpoint from Belouve, but these run several hours, cross exposed sections, and are better treated as adult or older-teen outings — see best hikes in Réunion Island for the fuller picture of what’s out there once children are older. A short organised look at the wider island, without the walking, is also an option: a guided day tour covering the island’s highlights in easy stages works well on a day you’d rather rest young legs.

What doesn’t belong on a family itinerary

Three routes come up constantly in trip planning, and all three are wrong for young children.

Piton des Neiges. At 3,070 metres, Réunion’s highest point and the highest in the Indian Ocean, this is a genuine two-day mountain hike from Cilaos: a long approach on day one to the Caverne Dufour hut, then a pre-dawn final push in the cold to reach the summit for sunrise. It suits well-prepared teenagers with experienced adults, not a family day out. Full detail on what the climb actually involves is in the Piton des Neiges summit hike guide.

Mafate, on foot, overnight. Mafate has no road at all — none, anywhere, in or out. The only way in is walking, from trailheads such as the Maido, the Col des Boeufs or Dos d’Ane, with supplies for the remote ilets brought in by helicopter. A multi-day crossing with gear-carrying children is not realistic for most families; the Mafate planning guide lays out what a proper trek there involves, gîte bookings included. Families curious about Mafate without committing to a trek do better with a short guided look from its edge, or a scenic flight over the cirque, than an overnight crossing.

Canyoning and via ferrata-style routes around Cilaos. Cilaos is the island’s canyoning capital, but its signature descents (Fleurs Jaunes, Gobert, Bras Rouge) involve abseiling, jumping into pools, and equipment — this is a supervised adult and older-child activity, not a walking trail, and it belongs in a different conversation than the one on this page. What Cilaos does offer for lighter days is covered in things to do in Cilaos.

Reading a trail distance the right way

A recurring mistake on this island is planning by kilometres. A 3-kilometre path on flat, shaded ground and a 3-kilometre path with 400 metres of stone steps in full sun take very different amounts of time, and neither matches an adult’s solo pace once children are in the group. Plan in hours, not kilometres, and build in a wide margin.

Walk	Distance	Typical time, adults	Realistic time, family with young kids	Suitability
Hell-Bourg village loop	under 2 km	45 min	1–1.5 hours with stops	Young children
Voile de la Mariée viewpoint, Hell-Bourg	2–3 km	1–1.5 hours	2–2.5 hours	Young children, with breaks
Grand Etang, Salazie	6–7 km round trip	3 hours	Not recommended under about 8–10	Older children only
Trou de Fer viewpoint, Belouve	8–10 km round trip	4–5 hours	Not recommended	Adults / older teens
Piton des Neiges summit	around 12 km round trip over 2 days	2 days	Not a family route	Trained adults / teens
Mafate crossing (multi-day)	20 km+ over several days	2–3 days	Not a family route	Trained trekkers

Prices and current departure times for organised outings change; treat any figure here as a planning range and check the booking page for the day’s rate.

Check the trail before you leave — every time

Réunion’s paths close often and with little warning, mostly after heavy rain, landslides or rockfall, and the cirques and the volcano area are hit hardest. A trail that was open last month, or even last week, can be closed the morning you arrive, sometimes for a single damaged section rather than the whole route. The ONF (Office National des Forêts) publishes current trail status, and checking it before every family outing — not just once at the start of the trip — is the single most useful habit for avoiding a wasted morning or, worse, being caught on an unstable path with children. This matters even for short, easy walks like the ones around Hell-Bourg: “easy” and “open today” are two separate questions.

Weather adds another layer. Réunion’s seasons run opposite to Europe’s: the wet, hot austral summer runs roughly November to April and includes the cyclone season, while the drier, cooler austral winter from May to October is generally the better window for walking with children, though mornings at altitude can be genuinely cold. The weather by month guide and the cyclone season guide cover this in more detail; the practical point for a family hike is that a clear morning can turn to heavy rain within 30 minutes, especially in the eastern, wetter half of the island where Salazie sits.

Getting to Salazie and Hell-Bourg with kids

Salazie is reached by road from Saint-André on the east coast, a more relaxed drive than the mountain road into Cilaos. A rental car is close to essential for reaching the cirques with young children and their gear on your own schedule; see driving in Réunion Island and renting a car in Réunion Island for the practical side of that. Families based around Saint-Gilles-les-Bains on the west coast can treat Salazie as a full day out rather than a base to sleep in, which keeps young children from having to pack and unpack too often — the full logistics of building a multi-stop family trip are in Réunion Island with kids rather than repeated here.

Balancing walking days with rest days

Young children rarely want back-to-back hiking days, and Réunion’s roads take longer than the map suggests, so a realistic family plan alternates a walking morning with a slower afternoon rather than stacking full-day hikes. A short circuit like three cirques in four days can be adapted for families by dropping the longer legs and keeping the Salazie stop as the main walking day, filling the rest with lower-effort time at the coast. On the water side of a rest day, a guided snorkelling outing to see turtles in the Saint-Gilles lagoon gives tired legs a break while keeping the day active, and a boat trip along the west coast works as an easy half-day that needs no walking at all. Both stay inside the protected lagoon rather than open water, which matters given the shark-related swimming restrictions that apply outside surveilled zones around the island.

The honest summary

Family hiking in Réunion Island means choosing carefully rather than picking the best-known trail on a map. The short, shaded, well-marked paths around Hell-Bourg and the Salazie cirque — above all the walk to the Voile de la Mariée viewpoint — are where young children genuinely enjoy themselves. Piton des Neiges, Mafate on foot, and the technical descents around Cilaos are real achievements for trained walkers, not family outings, and treating them as such is how trips go wrong. Check the ONF trail status before every hike, plan by hours rather than kilometres, and build in rest days with lighter activity such as lagoon snorkelling or a short coastal cruise between walking days.

Frequently asked questions about family hiking in Réunion Island

Can young children hike to the Voile de la Mariée waterfall?

Yes, in most cases. The viewpoint path from Hell-Bourg is short and largely shaded, and it’s one of the most reliable short walks in the Salazie cirque for children who can already manage an hour or two on foot. Always check the ONF trail status before leaving, since heavy rain closes it without much notice.

Is the Piton des Neiges hike suitable for kids?

No, not for young children. The route from Cilaos to the Caverne Dufour hut and on to the 3,070-metre summit is a genuine two-day mountain hike with a pre-dawn final push, cold temperatures at altitude, and long exposed sections. It suits older, well-prepared teenagers accompanied by experienced adults, not a family day out.

Can you drive into Mafate with kids?

No. Mafate has no road at all, in or out. The only way in is on foot, from trailheads such as the Maido, the Col des Boeufs or Dos d’Ane, or by helicopter for supplies. Families who want a taste of Mafate without a trek usually take a scenic flight or a guided day walk on its outer edge instead of an overnight crossing.

How do you check if a trail is open before hiking with kids in Réunion Island?

Check the ONF (Office National des Forêts) trail status listings before every outing, not just once per trip. Réunion’s paths close often and with little warning after heavy rain, landslides or rockfall, especially in the cirques and on the volcano, and a path open last week can be closed the day you arrive.

Do trail distances in kilometres tell you how long a family hike will take?

No. A 3-kilometre path on flat ground and a 3-kilometre path with 400 metres of stone steps take very different times, and neither matches an adult’s pace once children are involved. Plan by hours of walking, not kilometres, and build in a wide margin plus rest stops.

What should you pack for a family hike in Réunion Island?

Water for everyone, a hat and sun cream even on a cloudy day, a light rain layer, snacks, and sturdy closed shoes rather than sandals. The tropical sun is strong at altitude and weather can change within 30 minutes on the same walk.

Are the Salazie waterfalls hikes better for families than Cilaos?

For young children, generally yes. Salazie’s paths around Hell-Bourg are shorter, greener and closer to the road than most of what Cilaos offers, where several of the best-known walks (canyoning routes, the Piton des Neiges approach) are aimed at older children and adults.